We listed our house for sale, again! LIP

[house]

Our renters will be moving out in June. So here's our house for sale! WDYT? How does it look? Last summer we painted the LR and the Kitchen, the spare bedroom and the hallway, all on the same floor a neutral greige. I can't remember exactly which one it was sorry, I remember it was SW and it was last summer. This is the first time I saw it after it was painted with furnitures in the rooms.
And the two bedrooms upstairs are really no longer yellow and blue. They are currently some funky green color that even the realtor didn't want to post the pic of them! He used old pics. So even though our renters told us they were going to paint a neutral color, apparently they lied! Or its neutral only in our renter's mind! LOL!

Please if you have any recommendations I would love to hear some feedback!

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1410-Stewartstown-Rd_Morgantown_WV_26505_M42198-70826

[kaylie]

I would dock the renters on their security deposit if they don't paint the room back to its original color.

As far as the listing - he didn't write a description which I find strange. I would mention if you've updated the water heater or the HVAC systems. Those are the things I would wonder about given the age of the house.

I can't tell what picture number 7 is. It looks like the hot tub is there, but is there also room for a stove or something against the wall?

Otherwise, the house looks like a great blank slate. I like that there isn't a backsplash because I'd want to do my own. =)

[smiley]

I would also want a caption written with the listing. If you have done any updating or remodeling that should be listed.

[smiley]

I would also have the rooms painted neutral again because I would hate to see the pictures online and then go to the house to have it look totally different inside. The color on the wall can definitely drive people away.

[sjh722]

May 13, 2012 10:22:39 GMT -5 kaylie said:

As far as the listing - he didn't write a description which I find strange. I would mention if you've updated the water heater or the HVAC systems. Those are the things I would wonder about given the age of the house.

Ditto. That's what you're paying them to do. It takes 10 minutes, tops, to write a paragraph describing your house. I've gotten more than one listing because people liked my marketing compared to competitors. Anyone can say:
"3 BR/2 BA ranch, 2100 sq ft, 0.96 acre lot. $239,900."
but he's probably got at least 1000 characters to work with, so why not:
"Sprawling country home with great views! Enjoy privacy with a huge lot and beautiful setting. This well-maintained home offers a beautifully updated kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. 3 spacious bedrooms, all with brand-new carpeting! Pride of ownership shows; new high-efficiency hot water heater and high-efficiency furnace."
blah blah blah - you see the difference.

I agree with pp that captions would help. Photo 7 looks like it's maybe a finished basement or a room with a spa? Labeling things like that help a buyer to figure out what they're looking at.

I would also try an updated front photo. Once a house has been on the market for awhile, buyers get used to seeing it in search results. If these are the old listing photos, try swapping out the front picture, maybe with one from a different angle, so it looks fresh.

Also, it looks like you have amazing views. Add a few more exterior pics. I ca't tell a lot about the empty rooms with no furniture, but those outside shots show me that you have great property.

Get the rooms professionally repainted. From your location, I can guess that you'd be able to find someone for $15 an hour who could repaint ceilings and walls in the 2 offending bedrooms. (Most people think they're good at painting. A lot of people....aren't, LOL - and if you're not sure about your tenants, just have it done.)

Are your tenants still there? Tenants can be a real detriment to trying to show a house. (They have no interest in it selling, so they're not always super accomodating about showing requests or keeping it as clean as you would for a showing.)

[justinlove]

May 13, 2012 10:22:39 GMT -5 kaylie said:

I would dock the renters on their security deposit if they don't paint the room back to its original color.

You probably cannot withhold their deposit for this. It sounds like gave them permission to paint but did not approve the colors first. Be careful as many states have very strict guidelines for keeping the deposit and paint is not usually one of them.

[housegeek]

^ that. Repainting after a tenant is considered a regular maintenance thing, and usually the tenant isn't held responsible.

Captions would be nice, I hate looking at pictures and trying to work out what I'm seeing (like the last couple, is the room half blue and half yellow or is that 2 rooms?).

See if you have a college photography program, and hire a student for cheap to take pictures of your home. Your photos aren't bad, but great photos make a difference.

[house]

The yellow and the blue are two different rooms and we painted those. The renters were given permission to paint and I don't think DH told them they have to paint it back. They were given permission after they told us it was a neutral paint they were using and ovbiously we took their word for it didn't look it up to approve. DH is laid back and not really too concerned with paint.. well, because it's just paint.

DH is also keeping the option open for renting out again and probably will let the new renters paint again. Hopefully this time
DH will be more eager to find out what the paint color is and approve.

Room 7 is a sunroom off of the livig room with the hot tub. There is cabinets in there with room to put a cook top or a grill or a woodburning stove there with venting.

As for listing details I will definitely tell my DH to talk to our REA to add description!

Thanks ladies!

[house]

May 13, 2012 10:32:15 GMT -5 smiley said:

I would also have the rooms painted neutral again because I would hate to see the pictures online and then go to the house to have it look totally different inside. The color on the wall can definitely drive people away.

This worries me. Specially because even the REA didn't want to take pic of the new paint the current renters used.
Anyway, the renters are already losing their deposit because they are leaving before their lease is up in August.

[mrsg123]

I would def. add new and more exterior pics. That is an awesome shot of... the driveway, it seems to me. The house looks great. Hope it sells!!!

[kaylie]

May 13, 2012 13:19:12 GMT -5 housegeek said:

^ that. Repainting after a tenant is considered a regular maintenance thing, and usually the tenant isn't held responsible.

Captions would be nice, I hate looking at pictures and trying to work out what I'm seeing (like the last couple, is the room half blue and half yellow or is that 2 rooms?).

See if you have a college photography program, and hire a student for cheap to take pictures of your home. Your photos aren't bad, but great photos make a difference.

Maybe this depends on location? When I rented in NYC they definitely took some of your deposit money if you didn't repaint back to the original color. In NJ, they repainted after us but if we painted something that would require them to do more than two coats to cover it, they would deduct from our security deposit.