Ugly updates to sell a home
Eileen
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Selling a House with a Koi Pond- Update
Comments (7)I think each market is different. In a winter climate a pond and even a bog is a lot more work and you get less prime time in return. I was expecting my ponds at my San Jose CA house to be a big problem for selling but was surprised they turned out to be an asset. For a few buyers the pond was the key feature. A did tear down some of the ponds and filled in others with gravel converting them to bogs. It was easy to show buyers the lush plants in the bogs and that it required zero weeding and adding water once a month was all that was needed. They all seem to see the low maintenance feature of bogs. From there is was an easy sell to say if they didn't like the remaining ponds in the future they could also be filled in with pea gravel and converted into bogs. They liked having an option. A lot of people wonder what they would do with pond if they didn't like it and think it's a huge deal to remove. Also I explained to families with small kids that the pond could be filled with gravel and then gravel removed as kids got older. Add to that a few "ponds are such great ways for kids to learn about nature" and they were sold. The house did end up selling to people with small kids and they wanted the ponds to stay. I had offered to convert all ponds to bogs to all buyers. People love the lush look... But worry about maintenance. Once they see the gravel and the pots they seemed to understand it was low maintenance. I also think not having a bunch of complex looking filters helped. These ponds only had a skimmer and UV which was off and had been off for more than a year. I also had a vacuuming system which was easy for people to relate to, they understood vacuuming....See MoreUpdating Fixtures to Sell House
Comments (23)Flyingflower: In response your question to the Realtor, I can't say how many are or aren't "aware" that brass is out of style. What I can say is that depending on where you live, there could be as many as 40 homes or more listed within .5 mile radius that are ALL comparable to yours and priced to sell. I HAVE sellers with that problem. A buyer may not know what is or isn't in style but most tend to gravitate to the cleanest, most updated home they can find for their money and like to have as much of the work already done so the house is essentially "move in ready". Prairiegirls5, I apologize, I didn't see your quesiton until now. Like I said in my first response, it's the little things that can make a big difference. Yes definately, changing a light fixture is an inexpensive way to give a fresh feel to a home as well as fresh paint in neutral colors, and clean trim. Small things a lot of people never think to do and are FREE are to clean their windows & window treatments or even the entry. Updating window treatments is another inexpensive way to update a room, or even changing out some old picture frames for new ones. In this market though, you don't want to go overboard, you just want your home to be clean, fresh and uncluttered more than anything. I don't know where you're located, but in the area that I'm in, we have lots of 50's bungalows, 2 story colornials and ranch homes that are older builds. No one is going to expect them to be perfect inside, but it's the clean, well kept home that definately sells before one that's not. If you have doubts about how it will fare once it's listed, now when you're in the process of preparation is the best time to call your Realtor and ask what buyers specifically in your area are looking for. I'd actually call more than one, so you'll get a variety of ideas. I hope that's some help, good luck! -- Lukki...See MoreOur house is ugly. Please help us with ideas to update the exterior.
Comments (1)You may want to try a more appropriate forum like Home Decorating....See Moreupdating our 1979 home to sell
Comments (23)I don't think the knobs are worth replacing, either in the monetary sense or the impact on the room. They are a tool more than a decorative element, and people stay on the doorway when looking inside the rooms (and inside the rooms they look at the walls and windows not at the door). We've got those and really they are the last thing in our mind to replace. It's also a matter of the context -- we have bright brass fixtures in one bathroom, but they go with everything else and they are not overtly offensive. On the other hand, non-rectangular brass light switch covers, like we had in parts on the house we bought, definitely stand out and are worth replacing with plain white plastic covers, which are super cheap. The small other change that made a big impact for us was changing the obviously worn vent covers. It really refreshed the feel of the bedrooms in particular (and probably the air too, given how much dust was stuck on the other side)....See Morelittlebug zone 5 Missouri
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