Hi, I click on the picture and a page comes up, but no actual picture... I wonder if there's something going on with the picture itself, or is it because I have a Mac (tho' don't usually have this problem)? The one thing I know, whether it's a new house or not, is that any feeling of clutter is a big no-no for selling and personal items are best cleared out (except for a couple of small tasteful things for accent), especially on kitchen counters, bins (?) beside desk, and in particular I'd find a way to let a little 'space' show up between the divans and that chest - pref. replace it with a smaller round table for now.

Like I said, this picture is an old one from another post that was used for another reason. It is not a picture for a sales ad or was it even cleaned up for these shots. Of course for a sale there would be a lot more cleaning and decluttering to do, that is just common sense. It is more to get a response on gut reactions when you see the colors. Would it never sell with these colos and should the house house be painted "basic beige" if we ever put it on the market? Obviously, I had no resale concerns when we did all this. But there is an unbelievable victorian for sale that is almost too good of a deal to pass up. ;)

We sold our older home a couple of months ago. Our house dates to 1946 which is not OLD old, but it's old for these parts. We had added lots of period details like a checkerboard vinyl floor and the paint colours were bold - red kitchen, deep yellow hall, green living room, black front door (front and back) with white woodwork and trim, etc. I worried that we would need to neutralize in order to sell but it sounds like the decor is one thing that sold the buyers on our home - they've asked us to leave all the leftover paint we have behind, so they can touch up scuffs, etc. and keep the colours as they are. If your home is decorated true to its period, I think you are best off leaving it that way to sell. You are definitely marketing to a different segment of the population than typical new construction homes.

Old home owners are a different breed. The rules for selling old houses are a little different. You can have color on the walls even wallpaper. It's expected especially if you've decorated to highlight the history of the house.
The one thing that stays the same is the issue of clean. ANY house that you want to sell has to have that clean fresh feel to it or it won't sell.
Old house lovers aren't just buying a house they are buying the idea of that house, that time period and all it's history so that is where you need to focus.

And unless your colors are really wild and obnoxious, RE agents routinely say to leave paint alone... people can see past that (if nothing else).

Old home owners/buyers are a different breed. The one thing I will add is to stage your house to show off the panache that old home buyers are looking for...moldings, hardwood floors, high ceilings, big windows, etc. From your photos, it appears to me that your decor already does this pretty well.

So, I'd listen to your friends, and just do a "my picky mom is on her way to inspect my clean house" declutter/clean.

Except for the floor in the bedroom (nice), I am not seeing anything "special" about this house (I'm not seeing anything bad either). No fireplace with antique tile surround, no beautiful staircase, no interesting trim. If those things are there then get them in the photos.

I think the colors in so many of the rooms (and on the ceiling!) are a bit much and aren't really part of a spectacular overall decor.

I'm assuming you are handy, so I'd suggest painting *some* of the rooms. Probably the red one.

I just sold a relatively old home in FL. It was built in 1970 and most of what was for sale was a few years old. It was 3000 sf, one floor, with 15 different colors of paint! When people came through, the comments were "refreshingly different" and "lots of personality". We had many showings, several serious lookers and finally a great offer after only a few months. Amazing, given the market in FL these days.

I left all my paint colors as they were. They made sense with the house and the rest of the decor. I cleaned as if my life depended on it and we did a major job removing extraneous things (it's my life, not clutter!) like tons of books, some family photos, a bit of tchoch, etc. Cleared out about 30% of furniture from each room. What had been cozy became just a bit sparse -- perfect.

People remarked again and again about how clean the house was. I think that is crucial in any home, but perhaps especially in an older home. (I hate to think what the other houses they were seeing looked like. Blech.)

As someone who likes very vivid colors and older homes, I think your colors are generally fine except for the purplish room. The main reason I have an issue with it is that I know what a pain it will to repaint that room--probably multiple coats of primer and then a few coats of regular paint--plus the color being on the ceiling as well makes the room seem very dark and represents extra work. And honestly, I think you would have an easier time selling in this market if you painted more of your rooms like the pale blue bedroom and your living room. Those rooms seem particularly sunny and cheerful.

As a lover of older homes I have to say I am definitely not loving that purple room & ceiling either. Bold crayola colors are not typical of this period.

If you have the gorgeous woodwork it cannot be seen behind those swags either. But I can't tell if it is the gorgeous woodwork or todays builders standard. Your pictures are too small.

Thanks! You have all helped. Yeah, I know burgundy ceilings are too much for a sale. The room looks fantastic in the evening at supper, but I always knew that someday I would regret that impulse. Grin.

It would take too many close up shots to show all the unique / time period things in our house. They are certainly in there! I have actually built several pieces of furniture, built in bookshelves, rewired light fixtures, facelifted support beams, and even built our staircase to reflect the era. Some things I have allowed to be modern, (like the bedroom floor, oh, that took days!) but I have tried to keep a unified feel.

I am just thankful all of you did not scream at me to repaint the whole house. I have always said some day someone will be trying to paint over the colors I have picked, cursing over me, and posting on the Gardenweb about their frustrations with the PO.... and I will read that post and just laugh.........

Recently, I bought an 'older home' built in 66. Actually we will close next month. This is not really old and would be considered new in Connecticut where I come from. There is wall paper in this house and some less than modern details, but there is also large, light beautiful rooms. They don't build houses like this anymore. I look beyond cosmetics when I buy a house. As a seller, I know that many people can not do this. On the other hand, people who were looking for completely neutral will probably buy a new house.

I looked at the rest of your album -- fabuloso house! From the outside, it's hard to believe what's inside.

dainaadele:
The big trend in upstate SC and NC is exactly what you have. The colors are bold inside and out. Everyone here wants a craftsmen style home or a bungalow. Whole neighborhoods are built this way--they are beautiful but having a real one would be so much better. You have a beautiful home as it is I think people will see that when they walk in the door. Authentic trumps a copy any day. Good luck selling.

I would love a Craftsman. What I'd look for is in the details, crown moulding, wood details, built-ins etc. I would play up those elements as much as possible. I also would be looking for updates like updated electrical etc. It sounds like a good job you've done. I am a different type of crowd though. I'm an Interior Designer who happens to not appreciate the look of Mc Mansions. Also, I grew up in a Craftsman around the same age as your house.

I have a house built in 1970-in my case I'm removing all the original light switches, fixtures, vents, knobs, etc from that era because they're UGLY!!!! And old.

I think the key is to accentuate a "vintage" house but to update an "old" house.

Now my house has all lutron designer light switches instead of yellowing old gross ones. My joke was "vintage, smintange, if it's old, out it goes!"

Everyone's votes of confidence certainly helped. I had our old realtor come by and look at our house yesterday and it was very disappointing. She has not come back with a figure yet, but I have a feeling it will be about $120 thou versus the 150 I was hoping for. About the only thing that she was very positive about was our acryllic one piece shower. Sigh. She asked if we could turn our rather large garage into a double (it has only one door but is large) and asked if we had ever put in a sprinkler system. AND than suggested that we really needed to finish every project so it would be "move in ready". She also mentioned that she would have kept the trim painted white instead of stripping it like I did. She did admit to me that she is personally the type of person that does not like the thought of doing work on a house and she needs to go back to the office and do some reasearch before she can come up with suggestions. My DH and I discussed about checking with one another realtor in town. I feel bad about it since she is one that sold us this house and has been a friend/aquaintance to us over the years. But if she can't see this house's positives, how can she sell it well for us?

We live in one of those towns where 1/3 of the homes were built in 1920's, 1/3 middle century, 1/3 built in the last 15 years. Our home would be the only older home for sale in the "nicer" NW side fo town. A house for sale on our corner is being listed for 265, when I asked her about that price she came back that it has had a "very expensive" addition with high tech appliances. My guess is they ripped our everything old and put in new stuff. Most of the other older homes for sale in town are in a mixed neighborhood where next door can be a multi-family half-kept-up rental, ours is pure residential on a quiet street. A couple of the older nicer homes in these other neighborhoods are being listed at 150-200, but they also do not have new roofs, new wiring and new plumbing and new furnace and heat pump like ours does. I can't help but feel that that alone is worth a TON of money to an old house lover. Ah, the joys of a market economy, no such thing as a simple formula. Anyhow, just thought I'd vent.....

If you want to drool a bit look at the one we are thinking of buying. It has an old boiler, half of it is knob and tube electrical wiring, some water damaged areas that will need repair, and a high rise next door on a busy 4 lane street. No one else wants it because of those things, we want it since it is zoned for offices and we can fit our home business in the attic or basement. It recently had a price drop from 200 to 169.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drool House

dianaadele-

Be realistic about YOUR current house. IMO what the agent told you is not half as tough as the buyers are out there today. The buyers will rip your house apart & use every little excuse to get your price down. Besides, would you prefer an "honest" realtor who will tell you how it is, or would you prefer someone to lie just to get your listing?....hence everything from then on would be a lie.
A dose of reality is good given by a seasoned realtor.

We all think we have "castles", but that's not how the buyers see it. If your realtor did a good job for you in the past, that is a good guage of what to expect now. If you get a realtor that will be all compliments, they'll give you false hopes & you'll become frustrated when the house does not sell quickly. Personally, I prefer to work with someone who underpromises, but overdelivers.
Listen to your realtor. She is trying to help YOU sell. She doesn't control as to what the buyers expect. You will make it easier for yourself & her to sell your house quickly if you cooperate.

As to your new house. It's gorgeous. The decor really needs working, but the bones are great. Good luck.

I strongly suggest that you talk to other realtors. Keep in mind that selling and buying homes is NOT a personality contest - it's a business transaction plain and simple.

We found when looking for our current 1918 bungalow that it REALLY PAID to work with a realtor who "knows" old houses and all they entail. I am so glad we didn't work with someone who thought vintage woodwork that was painted white was a good thing. In our experience, a realtor who works especially with old homes is going to have a client base who wants old homes.

Yes, buyers are going to pick apart homes. But as you can see from all the comments above, not everyone is meant to own an older home. I'd continue to interview realtors and then evaluate ALL comments.

Find a Realtor who likes old houses. We have a new house. Our Realtor really liked our house-she likes new houses. It makes a big difference. Also, if you do not have to move quickly, you can go with a higher price. I needed to be done within the month so we priced our house accordingly. We were lucky because my husband's company guarantees our purchase price and pays an award so we could price the house lower. The company also pays the Realtor. If I was selling without these bene's I would have had to get more money.

Well, the second realtor had to come back twice and brought in reinforcements, because she said there was really nothing comprable sold in this town over the last 5 years. The combination of older home in a good neighborhood made it hard for them. They eventually settled on 150 if we want a quick sell and 165 if we were willing to take a chance. I feel so much better. Now we just have to decide if we want to do it. Thanks everyone for your input!

I would definitely repaint the purple room, though. Comparing that to the other rooms, the purple ceiling makes the ceiling look low. I wouldn't have any objection to it if it was just on the walls, but I have a feeling that this room could be the "defining characteristic" of your house and not in a good way. For example, when DH and I were househunting a couple years ago, we tended to classify houses by their worst feature -- the "sticker house" was the home where all the kids' bedrooms were festooned with stickers on the walls; the "basement laundry house" was the house where the laundry was in the basement and the basement ceiling was only 5' high; the "cracked foundation house" is self explanatory. You don't want to be the "purple ceiling house". Don't hand your buyers a possible major negative like that. At least go out, buy a heavy duty primer and paint the ceiling a nice, bright white.

The key to an older house is to make it look vintage without making it look old. Vintage adds value. Old is just ... old.