patty_cakes maybe your buyer watches HGTV for entertainment yet remains skeptical:) Most of people do I think. Don't they?

aprilneverends..a couple of pics of my niece's house from redfin!..the interest in this house still amazes me..she actually had more accessories than I remembered..so is this an example of a house that is NOT outdated?..

Who knows! There are some who are of the opinion that by the time things hit magazines, TV, and Houzz... they're dated and on their way out.

Some brand new homes can appear dated depending on the selections made.

April, I can only hope so!

Nick, traditional decorating is still 'acceptable' in Tx, whereas MCM/contemporary is quite popular in many other areas. Decorating in general shouldn't dictate whether a house sells or not, unless the furnishings/decor are a part of the sale. I'll pare down 'some', but personally find your niece's house looking bare bones, almost sterile but that's because I relate more to something that has a cozy look/feel. The decor definitely could have given it a jump start or other factors. I sold another home in SD almost 6years ago, and it didn't even get a chance to hit the MLS listing nor was the sign out. I was offered $5k under asking. Soon as the sign went up, the realtor called me with a full cash offer. I told her I wanted the first couple to have it because it was going to be their first house. She went back to them, and they offered full price, and I accepted. They wanted no inspection and the house was 10 years old, but in very good condition. I personally staged it, which I think does help. Hope I can be as lucky with this house. ;)

Current resident, so i've heard. Fortunately many of the options I chose are still being featured in magazines such as Traditional Home, but maybe NOT in Dwell, two very different publications. A buyer will either love/hate them, but they're stayin'.

Jn3344, see above post. ;)

I thought I had some pictures in my gallery, but must have deleated them. Will try to take new ones on Sun, although there will probably be no sun. ;)

1997.

Patty, bare bones does help sell a place because it makes the rooms all look bigger and airy. A so-called cozy house can look cluttered and smaller than it is.

Where I live, people who live in beautifully, professionally high end decorated homes are discovering that they must remove all their furniture, curtains, and any wallpaper, and paint everything neutral colors, in order to sell these very expensive houses. Apparently, the wealthy young are utterly devoid of imagination and can't imagine THEIR furniture in the house. So for them, it's not the finishings that are "dated", it's the decor and that really gets in the way.

I have told my own children to remove all wallpaper except in 3 bathrooms (it's a strie so it's like paint), and to remove all my lovely things from the house. Buff the floors and then list it.

One realtor in my town has some very special software and he photographs the client's furniture and is able to "put it in" the house they are considering. He finds this very useful and tends to sell his listings very quickly.

When I see oak kitchen cabinets and granite countertops, even if put in last week, to my eye, they are "dated".

patty..my niece's house is in a neighborhood where for sale signs are common..no special lots or custom homes yet her home attracted buyers..7 offers in 3 days is pretty good in my book..we sold a house on the first day years ago for full price but not for $10,000 over..it shocked her agent..just sharing a true experience in case someone could learn from it..

Nicholsworth55, those few pictures showed me a house that I would initially consider because even though the décor was utterly not to my taste, it made the house itself look good.

raee..agree..she took a modest house and added personality..she and her husband replaced flooring..added the bookcases..lots of painting..took it from a vanilla box to something more unique..and it paid off

I am of opinion that some homes are just more lovable. It doesn't depend neither on finishes nor on decor. They just have the vibe. They might have gotten it from their owners who clearly loved them, or were born ..I mean built lol..fortunate like that, or most likely both.

after all some people are..and homes, they're a lot like people

I wouldn't probably operate with words "dated" etc..some things are just bad from the very start. You see lack of thought, care, craftsmanship..and pretty often these are quite expensive homes.

and some things just are more gracious. what can i say. i saw so many builder's built ins that were utterly BAD, just bad, in pretty new homes-the shelves of your niece, nichols, would make a very good impression on me for example. somebody thought how to make them, that' pretty obvious. invested, you know. thought, feeling, time.

it's not about colors at all..it's about the feel that colors can give

and unless it's some cosmic neon we're not really used to see, or something that really falls flat, or something that looks too drab because of the poor lighting etc, -any color has a magic capacity to give a good feel. because it comes in hundreds of shades. also, any color can be eventually repainted. lol. i don't get this "beige is dated" . Kelly Wearstler has interior done in mostly beige that's mind-blowing. Recently done.(she's a world -famous designer..a very talented one. She's not my favorite-but talent is talent) It's not about this or that color..it's how it's been used, where, why, with what.

and i kinda suspect the buyers are as imaginative as ever..no reason to think this generation was born very different from all the others, and kids are very imaginative you know..i think it's mostly an instant gratification thing. to get everything very fast, and just so. And I also believe people were fed this "it's hard to imagine, it's hard to imagine.."

put them in different circumstances, time, place, even tell them many times they CAN imagine-and they most likely will start doing just that. imagining. pretty fast

Staging is most important and that also means paring down so rooms look as spacious as possible. Just as an example, when we sold our house back in 2010, we had a round table in the kitchen that was large enough to seat 6. However it made the corner look cramped. We replaced the top with one that would only seat 4 and it immediately opened up the space.

Patti_cake's while it might look "sterile" to you, that's really the idea. You need to depersonalize. In our condo we sold last year, I had a marble Buddha statue in the foyer on an old red Mongolian rice cabinet. One couple didn't like our house because "it was too Asian". I immediately hid Buddha in the closet (after apologizing to him, lol) and put out a large bowl of shells instead (we're in FL).

We sold our place for the third highest price ever paid for a unit (that wasn't a penthouse) in our building. Anything else that sold in our building last year sold for a lot less than asking. In fact the same unit as ours two floors higher (each floor higher should be an additional $20,000 premium) finally sold last month for $100,000 less than what we sold our unit for. Why? One was our bathroom was updated and his wasn't, but otherwise it was just a question of staging and things like wall color. (His second bedroom wall color was purple and his master bath was yellow).

Here's a link to our condo. Notice there are no family photos, no personal collections and it's not overly crowded with stuff. In fact it's fairly bare also. Cpartist's Condo

very IMPORTANT to strip away clutter..if the house has good bones buyers will focus on THAT and not be distracted by stuff..to me bare and clean is much more appealing than "decorated"..too much stuff makes me think "what are they trying to hide?"..

i think that staging, if done, should be done nicely, exactly the same as with everything else. and photos, if taken, should be good photos. both are not a given even if done by professionals. and sometimes a homeowner can do a perfectly good job himself. i think i'd manage perfectly well for example, lol-in staging, not in photography. cpartist, your condo is obviously an example of both done well.

i am also not a great believer in this de-personalization thing. nobody does it abroad, at least in two countries that i'm well acquainted with-and you know homes still get sold and bought, no problem. they should be clean, yes, not cluttered, well taken care of. that's always important.

that's the question of public expectation..why the expectation here is like that, that's a topic by itself.

("too Asian" is not the smartest thing to say i think, and I'm not an Asian, so don't have any personal reasons to be sensitive. well people can't exert control-mostly-over what they think. but they do have control over what they say. Again, mostly)

I think home buying and selling in the US is quite different from the countries I know in Europe. For starters, there is way less moving up, down payments are much, much higher, there's no easy refinancing when rates go down, so no cashing out. Because there's less turn over, people are looking for forever homes, not a "new" home every couple of years. Which means that move-in ready is also less a priority because you'll stay for a long time. And finally, my theory is that there's more emphasis on impressing by what one owns (at least where I live).

cpartist, your condo is obviously an example of both done well.

Thank you. I wound up borrowing a wide angle lens and doing the photography myself since I was able to color correct in Photoshop.

("too Asian" is not the smartest thing to say i think, and I'm not an Asian, so don't have any personal reasons to be sensitive. well people can't exert control-mostly-over what they think. but they do have control over what they say. Again, mostly)

It was said to the person's agent who then relayed it to my agent but I agree. And I did and do have lots of Asian furniture, paintings, etc but it's not my whole house. Trust me that wasn't the most ridiculous comment I got.

The most ridiculous comment I heard of from our agent was a couple came in and the wife complained that "it looked too sterile and clean." So the husband apparently piped up to say, "That's because you never clean!". LOL

Beautiful condo. No wonder it sold for top dollar.

Just a short comment on "sterile" - staging a property is to showcase its features and not distract the buyers with your personal collections or family photos. I have seen buyers become distracted with family photos and not focus on the property. With staging, you don't have to be sterile at all. You can still infuse your personality with colors and vignettes:)

Beautiful condo. No wonder it sold for top dollar.

Thank you. I do miss it but am looking forward to our new build.

I have seen buyers become distracted with family photos and not focus on the property. With staging, you don't have to be sterile at all. You can still infuse your personality with colors and vignettes:)

I think you're right. Sterile is the wrong word. I still had my vases, ceramic and glass pieces out, my bowl of shells, DH's antique cameras, some beautiful drawings and paintings, etc. But what I tried to do is make them part of the "background" so when you entered the house, you didn't notice it first.

I made sure the size of the rooms was what was noticed first.

Just to give another example. The condo we're renting now is larger, has a better view and is on a higher floor in the same building. It didn't sell which is why we were able to rent it until our house is built. Why didn't it sell? Because of a few reasons.

1. Every closet was stuffed with clothing. She is a clothes horse and never throws any clothes away.

The idea is to have the closets almost empty so people open the closets, linen closet, medicine cabinets, pantry, kitchen cabinets, etc and think to themselves, "wow, look at all this storage for my stuff."

2. Her taste is quite colorful but very specific. Her son's room was painted purple. The third bathroom has a mural wallpaper. She had very intricate ornate venetian glass sconces with lots of color in them. Every single wall was filled with very colorful artwork to the point there wasn't any wall "breathing" space. The third bathroom faucet fluted and definitely "over the top".

Again paintings are good. Even colorful ones, but not so many that all the paintings are almost competing with one another. Too ornate in this day and age is very specific. And some colors are hard for people to get past. I had a dark red/brown bathroom that my eventual buyer painted beige to give an example. The rest of my house read fairly neutral so she could see herself in the space.

3. The rooms were overstuffed with furniture. The living room not only had a baby grand piano in it, but two heavy overstuffed brown leather couches and a velvet lounge chair. You know the kind you can curl up in to read a good book. And ornate torchere lamps with bold shades.

The bedroom had not only 2 overstuffed leather chairs, but her ornate dresser and a treadmill.

The guest bedroom/study again had overstuffed and oversized sofas and a huge dark brown ornate breakfront. (This is Florida)

If there's so much furniture that it's hard to even walk around without bumping into it, you have too much. If furniture blocks pathways to other rooms, move it or store it. Also make sure the layout of the furniture makes sense for the room.

4. And of course she had stars in her eyes regarding the price especially since her kitchen is dysfunctional and her appliances were fairly basic and over 15 years old (except her new W/D). (This is considered a luxury building.)

But mostly what happened when you walked into the condo is you didn't see the space but all her "stuff". No one could figure out how to put their own furniture and their own stamp on the place.

I remembered I never came back to this thread~life! My pictures are terrible~not good at making the necessary adjustments, lighting, etc., but here's a few. I forgot about the exterior. Thank goodness I won't be responsible for house pictures. Please let me know what else is important, and if you want to see a picture. I have plantation shutters in the Greatroom and master bedroom/rattan Roman shades in a dark walnut in t g e ither rooms. Pictures I took were ridiculous. Opinions please.

Interior cabinets.

View of both cabs with Miss Molly Brown.

Eating area~i told you I wasn't good at adjustments....proof!

Iron railing w/stained staircase.

Foyer.

Familyroom fireplace.

Dining room.

My home with no upgrades.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/13805-Long-Shadow-Dr_Manor_TX_78653_M83460-16623

Opinions? Not sure what you are looking for.

Is your home dated? Is that the question? I don't know...Looks nice to me from the photos. The decor is a little dark, but overall it looks in good shape.

Will someone pay more for your home than they would for the empty one? Probably. How much more? Probably not as much as you hope!

Get some Realtors in there to do a market analysis for you.

Good luck!

It's not "dated", it's decorated traditionally. Which corresponds with exterior thus makes sense. You upgraded your home very nicely. Love your foyer and trim. Do you remember the paint color?

My main problem would be mentally adjusting to the prices lol

People will probably tell you to take some stuff away, I presume you've already pared it down a bit. I personally don't mind stuff. I still remember some art that previous owners of our previous home had, some furnishings..the evening that we saw the listing and put an offer on it. It's been seven years. It mostly wasn't my taste, yet it spoke to me somehow..it was their taste, their house..and I really wanted this house -it was alive. Whether by its own merit, or with their help and love. It had great bones. It stood there all white, gleaming in the dark, gracious, a bit happy, a bit sad, a bit shy, and very proud-like a girl on her graduation...:)

love is a metaphor, besides other things. when a person sees a metaphor-he finds his house.

ah..wouldn't be preoccupied with making it feel bigger..to me it's a pretty big house as is. I for example want what they call "human scale"..big intimidates me, to some degree..I also might feel undeserving ..is there a word like it?..of a big grand house. So I do appreciate cozy.

You can't please everyone, we all come with our own backgrounds, personalities ,idiosyncrasies, must haves, and wants-some are very easy to explain while some are intangible and we can hardly explain them to ourselves.

The bones don't look dated to me. As april said, it's definitely decorated 'traditionally'. I'd really pack away a lot of your stuff.

A couple of examples:

Get rid of all of the stuff on top of the kitchen cabinets.

Get rid of the greenery on the fireplace mantel. Is that an undecorated christmas tree in the foreground of that picture? I'm assuming that's going too.

The counter around your stovetop is cluttered.

It looks like you have a lot of stuff hanging on the walls. Cut down on that.

The plant in the front hall looks like it's creeping into the walking space. Cut it back or tie it back or get a smaller plant.

Way too much greenery, that dates it. I agree that it's the decor that dates it, not the house itself.

I agree that your house is very nice but there is way too much "stuff" for a real estate listing. Remember that people that post here are real estate savvy and can see beyond "stuff". Your average buyer may not be able to do so.

When I see a house that is over flowing with the owner's things, even if it is nicely done, it is a red flag to me. The house feels like the owner isn't ready to move and I wonder if negotiations or closing terms might be difficult.

As mentioned above, I would pack away all the things on all the horizontal surfaces. Counters, cabinets, fireplace, end tables, etc. Take the small pictures off the walls, stick all the living plants in a bedroom or bonus room, pack away small furniture, small lamps, roll up small rugs. Give the buyers blank spaces so they can imagine their things in the home.

Agree with greg_2015. You want your countertops and other horizontal surfaces as clear as possible. The greenery and Christmas decor need to be packed away. I would also remove the entryway rug and almost every item on top of the kitchen cabinetry. You don't need to pack away everything, but pack up most of it. It will give your home breathing room.

Staging is not decorating. Staging evokes an emotion with small touches. Decorating is what you do for you. Buyers look at your home differently. You want to capture their attention. Right now you would lose too many buyers even though you have a lovely home. When buyers see stuff - a lot of them think "work" and that is not what you want to convey when selling your home.

I have to agree with paring down, especially in the kitchen. Get some of the stuff off of the walls, and off the tops of the cabinets -- maybe spread your copper collection out a bit more? It just feels like every inch is crammed full and there is no space to work even thought there is lots! Definitely get rid of the plants, for some reason they make me feel crowded too (says the woman who has overwintered 6 pots in her family room, 7 in her spare bedroom...)

The only thing that I really would call dated is the ornate décor on the fireplace screen -- is that just for the holiday, or a permanent fixture? If it can easily be changed to something simpler I might consider doing so.

Jn3344, it was a dreary day and should not have taken pictures. Besides that, I can't do adjustments. The house is actually very bright, and when the plantation shutters are open, almost too bright for *my* old eyes, but when it hits the market all shutters/shades will be wide open. I get that people like light. I hope the other house sells before mine goes up for sale. Will also be interviewing a few real estate agents after i've decluttered/removed/cleaned/dusted/re-painted, and everything else. ;)

April, yes very traditional, but not over the top with Queen Anne furniture~I used to think that's what traditional *was*, but as I got more into decorating learned I was stereotyping poor Queen Anne. I do know the paint colors, as well as having paint from 2 years ago which I hope is still good. Haven't removed anything yet, but have walked the house and have a good idea of what needs to go. The art in the greatroom i'm leaving up since I may try to sell it. As far as 'making it feel bigger', that hasn't entered my mind. The sq ft speaks for itself. And you're so right about love. I fell in love with the house when I saw it bare a$$ naked. FYI, I don't consider my house to be 'grand', but I do look forward to downsizing.

Greg, i'll be removing most of what you see, but for the moment am enjoying it. With that said, as well as my traditional *taste*, that will stay. I'm not a generic trend-of-the-day kind of gal. The house has a formal vibe and I can't fight that, nor do I want to. Potterybarn/Ikea just ain't my thing, Also will be re-thinking the greenery. ;)

Sushi, lol. Silk *flowers*,may be dated, but I don't know about green plants. The 'dated' decor will be staying. ;)

Denita, I debated about the entryway rug, and will probably remove it. And the Christmas tree has been removed. Lol I needed to wait until my son could come over and put the 10 1/2 ft monster back in the boxes. Interesting concept, stuff=work. You're right it is! I've got some *work* to do for sure! ;)

Raee, I'll be removing the copper, or else everything else and spreading out the copper~undecided on that. Much has been said about the plants. I'll probably just keep the bigger ones. The fireplace screen has a design on it and it will probably stay. I wouldn't think it would make or break a sale, but people might find it hideous or hate it. I'll be removing so much already and it ties in with the brass latterns on the mantle, but I could decide to remove those also. ;)

Boxes are on standby waiting to be filled. Will post more pictures when I put the house on the market, but for now will enjoy my 'stuff'.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your opinions and input. ;)

Patticakes your home is absolutely lovely. However you have way too much stuff. For example.

Picture 1: I would remove everything on top of the cabinets. I would also remove all your medications. What I would do is put them in a pretty box in one of your cabinets. Lastly I'd remove everything on the counter except the plate under the window and the sculpture on the window.

Picture 2: Remove everything hanging on the cabinets so buyers can see the cabinets are in good condition. My first thought would be if I was looking at your house to buy, what is she hiding under the hanging stuff on the cabinets?

The only thing you should have on your counter is the coffee pot. You want your countertops to look spacious and with all the stuff on them, they don't.

Picture 3: Again remove everything above the cabinets, on the cabinets and on the counters. Each counter should have no more than 1 thing on it, 2 if you must. Remember you're trying to make it look roomy and spacious. All those pots and stuff above the cabinets says this is from the 90's.

Picture 4: I would remove the two chairs in either corner because they interrupt the flow of walking around the room.

Picture 5: Absolutely lovely.

Picture 6: I would remove the rug as it's competing with the floor.

The next two pictures are too dark to read what the rooms look like. And yes I understand you took the pics in bad light so I won't comment as I know you'll get professional photos when the time comes.

Your backyard looks like it's beautiful when it's not winter.

Agree that the plants need to go for now.

Also agree to remove the fireplace screen. It's beautiful but too specific taste wise and says dated. You want your house to say traditional, not dated. There's a difference.

Again realize people will not pay more for things you consider upgrades. What will happen is if you price it competitively and you do have upgrades, your house will sell more quickly and for closest to asking. Don't think because you added "upgrades" it means you'll make more money. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way.

You can't please everyone, we all come with our own backgrounds, personalities ,idiosyncrasies, must haves, and wants-some are very easy to explain while some are intangible and we can hardly explain them to ourselves.

No you can't but when you're trying to sell a house, you want to appeal to as many people as possible so that you can get the best price for the house. Otherwise you're waiting for that one person looking to buy your quirks and that may take a long time. If it takes a long time, it will mean the value of your house will drop in price.

Oh of course I want the house to appeal to people and all. Even if it's not on sale:)

but as a seller-I want to find somebody who loves the house. Someone who's confident he wants my house, won't drop the sale in the middle, won't give me grief..and when I'll think of him in my previous space, getting settled there, etc-it will make me happy rather than sad. I am an emotional person myself-the more you show me you're serious the more I'm willing to meet you. Money is important; but time and nervous cells can't be retrieved again.

Not only buyers are different; sellers are vastly different too.

(OK doesn't mean I'm going to give the house for free lol. I still want money of course. like, a lot of it. but there are many much more important factors than my/somebody's quirks..timing, economy, location, recent comps, position of stars..)) You're in control over some things. The easiest ones to take care of. And totally not in control over the others.

It also matters how lower you go from what price. if you go lower. as somebody said 10 K off 800 K is different than 10 K off 200 K. they're still 10 K of course. same exact 10 K. but it's surprising how different it feels.

PS patty_cakes..so what's the trim paint? I know you know it, I just wanted to know the name too lol. I like it a lot.

but as a seller-I want to find somebody who loves the house. Someone who's confident he wants my house, won't drop the sale in the middle, won't give me grief..and when I'll think of him in my previous space, getting settled there, etc-it will make me happy rather than sad. I am an emotional person myself-the more you show me you're serious the more I'm willing to meet you. Money is important; but time and nervous cells can't be retrieved again.

Of course that harkens a bit back to I love the house as I created it and want you to love it just the same.

On that note, my mother did a wonderful job on her retirement house. It was a beautiful ranch on Long Island on 2 acres with lots of trees, clapboard siding and the house blended beautifully into the land. It was very tastefully decorated. Inside the bathrooms and kitchen needed updating (based on how we want things nowadays but even they were usable and most people wouldn't think it was bad) but otherwise the layout worked, even down to the pegged oak floors throughout.

The house was sold about 18 months ago, and supposedly the gentleman who bought the house loved the house. According to my sister, he was so excited about it.

Well, I made the mistake this past summer of driving by. No more clapboard. The house had been stuccoed over and all windows replaced with black metal windows so that now the house was a flat white stucco with black metal windows. The front door had been turned into one of those two story monstrosities with with huge double doors and glass. (This was a ranch house originally built in the early 60's.)The house now looked like it belonged on a hillside in Southern CA or maybe down here in FL, but looks completely out of place in the wooded area where my parents lived.

Oh wait. Did I say wooded? Oops. He cut down most of the trees so now it was a barren looking lot.

My point being that once you decide to sell your house, it's best to stop thinking of it as your house and stop thinking that someone will need to love it as much as you. Hopefully someone will love it and care for it the way you have. However, it is no longer a home but a business investment you're trying to divest yourself from. If you don't think of it that way, you'll be upset and disappointed like I was when I drove by my parent's retirement home.

Get ready for some tough love. Now that you have decided to sell the property, you need to make a total mental adjustment. Your home is now a real estate investment. It is no longer an expression of your personality. You must make the mental transition. Take off your pride in homeownership hat and put on your cold business, let's make a deal hat. It's no longer about you. It's about the sale. Once you make that mental leap to fall out of love with the property, you can go forward with the business process and successfully sell your property for the top amount appropriate.

I hope that wasn't too personal, but buying and selling real estate is a business proposition. To be successful, you have to make the mental leap. Your home is lovely. Your collections are very interesting and show a lot of talent and effort. You need to pack that life away safely in boxes and move forward with the sale. Once you clear out the rooms with your personal touches, you will be thinking clearly about the next exciting phase of your life.

Read what Cpartist said and get some boxes out. Start in one room. Then, the next. So forth and so on. Look forward and not back.

"Of course that harkens a bit back to I love the house as I created it and want you to love it just the same."=actually, no. love cannot be the same. every love is a different love.

i understand very well what you're trying to say, nevertheless. all the homes we sold by now were condo..so I actually never experienced seeing a house itself change, as a structure. I believe it's a bit different feeling.

yet no, when it's yours-it's yours. love it in your own unique way

I don't know much about business. I just see there are many weird things on which any economy is based and every business is. It's not math; it's math and what people do with it and why:) And "why" often has nothing to do with math. Yet it is still studied in schools and used everyday-these very illogical "whys". And the whole selling approaches are built, actually, on these very illogical "whys"

Wasn't it said, in this very thread, that staging is for evoking people's emotions in ever so slight way?

Emotions are ok in business. Mine didn't stand in my way. On the other hand-I found them kinda helpful. You can work with emotions. If you work with other people's emotions-you should be able to work with yours. Translate them. You can be emotional and reasonable. Like me lol. So this is kind of buyer I'd like to have. They're the best, and make for the most pleasant transactions.

I'm not saying not to pare down the things, yes? Patty sold homes in her life, as far as I understood, and was totally prepared to pare things. The pictures were taken before she even started doing anything. It was not her question at all. Even though she got lots of answers to the question she didn't ask lol. Her question was about the home itself.

Oh, Ms. Ends, I totally relate to your wish to sell your house to someone who will love it as much as you do. DH and I felt the same way when we put our house on the market in 2015. DH is always on top of even the smallest maintenance need, but we did our best to make the old place (ca. 1956) look brand new. It was immaculate and truly turnkey. Also within walking distance of elementary, middle, and high schools and the DC Metro. We were lucky that there was a serious shortage of houses in our price range at the time because we listed on a Friday and had 10 offers by Monday morning, most of them from young families w/ children. Several of them wrote very moving letters to us, hoping we would accept their offer for a "beautiful" house in which they and their (present or future) children looked forward to living for many years. We sold to an elderly lady from the neighborhood who wanted the house for her widowed son and his 2 little girls. He wanted to live near her as she aged and needed help, and she looked forward to having a large part in the children's lives.

We were swayed by this tale of family devotion and happily accepted her offer.

I lack the words to express how devastated we were to discover several months after we left Maryland and moved to Tennessee that the neighbor lady had turned the house into a rental property.

So when the voices of experience on this board urge you to disconnect emotionally from the house you are about to sell, I wish you all the best in seeing the change in ownership as purely a business transaction.

Ms Ends is me, I presume?:) Sounds beautiful!

I'm not about to sell any house, at least for the moment. I've just recently sold another one, and hope to get a (well deserved) break. I'm not the OP. Nobody urges me to do anything, since I don't have to do anything, and didn't start the thread. And when I answered I related to the question asked.

Then of course I sound very emotional -so maybe it seems it's my house that's being discussed? well that's how I sound, usually. My DH, being born in the North, is frequently afraid I'm about to have a heart attack or something lol. Yet it's more of a cultural thing. I have a friend-if you listen to her you'd think she's Sarah Bernhardt. I'm the calmest person ever in comparison to her. But where she comes from, many people just talk this way.

I appreciate all voices of experience otherwise I wouldn't participate in these very interesting boards. I also am a voice of experience though. Why not:)

I'd be devastated too, though, hell, I was even devastated -well not devastated but sad when reading the thread about "updating" a Tudor that is thousand miles from me, and I never saw it before. So yes..exactly as I've said already, many things-most of them-are out of your control, and you can't predict them. What I'm saying I guess-don't overestimate your role (which is pretty much what others are saying, to some degree?). Between two buyers that impress me as serious buyers-if I can somehow predict which one is not going to be a handful, that's already great. If I had ten, each one writing me a moving letter..yeah..wouldn't be easy:) I have a friend up in Silicon Valley..every house is ten, twelve moving letters. On the other hand-in such a market, probably no buyer will be too fussy.

aprilneverends..I too have lots of words, opinions etc..at least we aren't boring right?..I HATED the renovations on that beautiful Tudor..some might say "why do you care?"..but I was sad too..as far as this thread I think there is good advice..if I was patty_cakes I would pack up as much as possible..it takes only ONE buyer to sell a house..and most people prefer a simple uncluttered presentation..

nichols I hope we're not:)

I never suggested to patty_cakes she shouldn't pare things down. but let alone me-who cares what I say-patty_cakes herself never said she wouldn't pare things down:) on the opposite-she stated she would. why to convince someone doing something he was going to do anyway? patty_cakes didn't ask "what should I pack away/do to stage the house/to present it for sale?" ..unless I misunderstood the whole thread...it was about upgrades, the more semi-permanent stuff..floors, cabinets, paint choices. It's kinda obvious the tree wouldn't be there for summer, and nobody wants others to see the details of their meds, even if the house is not for sale.

But I already feel sorry like I'm hijacking the thread or something..wasn't my intention.

And yes, I am interested in other people's opinions and stories. I truly am. First of all, I like people; second, I like homes. Third, I like how people and homes interact. Find it pretty fascinating.

(people and people-fascinating even more. but more dangerous a topic. lol)

april..you didn't hijack the thread!..patty_cakes thanked us for our comments..her house has nice finishes and I bet someone will appreciate it..

Wasn't it said, in this very thread, that staging is for evoking people's emotions in ever so slight way?

Exactly it's staging to evoke OTHER people's emotions so they want to buy your house. Those you want to sell to. From the seller's point of view it has to be a business transaction.

It's what stores do when you shop. Marketing 101. They put front and center the most gorgeous vignettes, whether it's that stunning designer dress with just the right sweater and handbag and shoes, or whether it's the vignette in Ikea showing how you too could live in the beautiful living room. It's even marketing how when you're waiting in line to pay, they put impulse items at the counter.

True. What in what I said suggests I don't know all that?

I can also tell how they make ads, and how fast food restaurants differ from high end ones in how they do business, and why, and by what means (music, light, color, etc). And explain volume vs niche, etc.

Why is the assumption that when you're a seller you're so cool and you're such a businessman, and when you're a buyer, you're suddenly not able to put two and two together without having clues-here's a table, it's for eating? You're the same person. Sometimes you sell, sometimes you buy. It doesn't change you profoundly. It's not a life experience that changes people profoundly(and thanks for that lol). It will be fine. Was fine for me, quite a few times already. In this hat, in that hat. Can't complain.

It's totally possible to be emotional without becoming an idiot. Whether you're a seller or a buyer. Give some credit to people I say. Because otherwise it will be like in this bad movie "Idiocracy"-the movie is bad, but the main idea is kinda happening.

(Wrong marketing insults one's intelligence too. "Martin Luther King's Day sale", "Presidents Day sale"..what's that? Seven Black Fridays for a week in a row -that's at least funny. )

Or is it about how people don't want to be too vulnerable? Yeah, me neither, yet I still am. Brings me sorrows; brings me a lot of good things too.

You know all that, same as I know how stores market their stuff.

Why is the assumption that when you're a seller you're so cool and you're such a businessman, and when you're a buyer, you're suddenly not able to put two and two together without having clues-here's a table, it's for eating? You're the same person. Sometimes you sell, sometimes you buy.

Again, you're making the assumption that like yourself and me, everyone can come into a space and visualize how it should look. I can assure you, that just isn't the case.

I know this to be true because unless a room has a table and chairs in it, my DH can't see that it should be a dining room. If a room has the bed on a wall which makes it difficult to walk into the room, he can't visualize that if you just move the bed to the other wall, it would make the room feel and live more spaciously and that it would then be easy to walk around the room comfortably.

So while you (and I) can put two and two together, that is not necessarily the person you're selling to. The person you're selling to may not be able to put two and two together, so you have to show them. You have to make it easy for them to visualize themselves in the space. Again, marketing 101.

And yes, you want the buyer to come in and have an emotional reaction to the space. Hopefully a positive one that says, I want to live here.

cpartist makes a great point. Many buyers do not have the ability to visualize. I don't understand it but I know it is true. I have shown buyers a large (empty) master bedroom suite and their first statement is "my furniture won't fit in this room". This happens even when the room is truly spacious (say a 15' x 21' type). The only thing worse than vacant is a room with too much in it. The buyer just can't see themselves in your home if there is too much. Striking a balance is critical to capturing the attention and the emotions of buyers.

By the way, even savvy buyers are swayed by emotion :)

I'm a pretty practical buyer/seller. I've done it lots of times. I still find it interesting to examine why I am attracted to one property over another. Once you understand the emotional triggers, you become a much more savvy customer. Many people, not all, do not take the time to understand why they have a visceral reaction. This emotional reaction is one of the reasons why you hire a realtor to represent you in the transaction, to prevent emotions from getting the better of you during the transaction. Learn not to fall in love with a property, it will save you a lot of heartache and angst.

I don't know whether patty_cakes still reads here, I hope she does, and finds comments helpful, since it's her thread. but I stopped finding this discussion constructive some time ago-I feel we're going in circles, and everybody's answering his own thoughts on the matter, without really listening to what others have to say. I, personally, am tired..and feel I'd rather excuse myself, for the time being. I'd like to distract myself since my MIL felt very sick yesterday and is in the hospital, and continue to talk to you guys, since whenever we disagree I still like talking to you-but for now I feel it's hard for me, and not sure how helpful it is to Patty.

One thing to add..since I'm sad and worried anyway..I'm old enough to know that the moment you're attached to something, you love somebody-you're bound to have heartache..you're bound to get devastated at times..you care-you'll be hurt. You have-you risk loosing. Yet I'd still rather fall in love, become attached, and take all the hell that comes with that. That was the deal. And this is the package.

As for the property per se..I don't need to own property. Don't feel this need, in the first place. I simply come from other society. As much as I hate it-I'm its product, to a certain degree. So if my family decides it makes sense to own-yes, I'd much rather fall in love, because otherwise I don't understand why to go through this hassle at all.

Well I guess that's partially why it makes it so interesting to discuss these things-we're different. Yet similar. Yet different. Yet similar. And so it goes, like in my nickname. Never ends.

homeshef59 i do like knowing my triggers. It is with much interest I figured them out You know when I love homes more? Or actually anything? When they remind me of people and animals..:) what about you?..

But I'm talking too much already, while I said I wouldn't.

So. I'm off to smoke. I hope you have a great day, and Patty, I wish you luck..it will be fine. If the question was "Did I elevate my place?" the answer is "Yes, you did".

April, my thoughts are for a speedy recovery for your MIL. You take care.

Patty, I think your house will sell without a problem. You're in Austin after all, the fastest growing city in the country. You know to declutter and that's all you need. As a buyer, the only thing that would bother me is the carpet. Still, that's not going to deter anyone.

When we sold our house, the photographer had more to do with staging our house than the realtor. For instance, she had us take up all of our throw rugs because they make rooms look smaller.

Oh my, some very long posts to come back to! I usually take weekends off from the forums since i'm out and about on weekends saving forum times for weekdays. Many mentioned decluttering/getting rid of stuff, and that will be my first task. What I do decide to keep, and use in the new house, will be boxed up and put in the garage on the heavy metal shelves. The garage will look neat, and at the same time everything will be ready for moving day.

Ahh, the emotions involved when selling that place you've called home and loved with all your heart. Like the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." Or I prefer this one, "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." But the fact is, it isn't the end, and I haven't really lost because i've enjoyed the time 'that was'. I sat the other evening, lights low, like a king surveying his land, tracing with my eyes the home I thought would be my forever home. How i've enjoyed being surrounded by 'it'! Encompassed by 'it's' walls, and remembering a time when I stood on the bare earth where it would someday stand. I got tears in my eyes, but I knew,*my* forever home could hopefully be some else's forever home, or even a first home to a new family. There would be holiday celebrations, birthday celebrations, bar-b-q's, lots of love and laughter with children, and maybe even grandchildren. This is *me*, baring *my* soul, but I know I'm not in this alone. Bring on 'the buyer', who looks at *my* home thru his or her *own* eyes, and like myself, also feels the emotional pangs of love-at-first-sight. I know that feeling too, because i've also stood on the 'other side', several times in fact. It's inescapable, to both seller and buyer, because that's how you 'know it's the one.' It will be bittersweet when I leave, and i'll cry like a blubbering idiot, but it's all good! I know my "kingdom" will be in the right hands.