"home theater electronics and screen negotiable" seems better. We just bought a house which had a hottub in the sunroom and also a chilren playhouse as negotiable items.

Not everyone will want the home theater system. Some people will see it as just something to get rid of, so they could use the space for other purposes. So to me it would be best to make it a negotiable item.

I'd say negotiable too...

my suggestion would be not to include it and later if needed throw it in the deal for leverage while negotiating.

The promise of an included home theater system would not entice me to buy any home that I was not going to buy anyway. That said, I would not include it initially, but you could use it to sweeten the deal (if you need to) during contract negotiations.

Good idea Laura and try 99 -- I'll run that past my husband, thanks all for your replies.

Wow - I asked the same question 6 months ago and received different answers.

Originally, I put "Home Theater Equipment negotiable" on our home sales fliers, MLS, etc. Everybody has the same question: "is this included?" It's a big feature - it makes the lower level seem, well, like it's not a lower level.

I distinctly remember an answer from this forum: "make it conveyable." I didn't heed the advice.

After many showings and hearing the same question, I finally did make things conveyable - I swapped out my big dollar stuff for brand new "ok" stuff - essentially a home theatre in-a-box and a cheapo DVD player.

People like it. Most don't notice that it's low end. The 92" screen showing "Toy Story" during the showing gets a lot of raves.

Here's why I did this - in this market (somewhat slow), it'd be easy for somebody to write it in an offer. I never wanted to deal with that, so presto, there it is.

Two offers in the last two weeks...we had an inspection on our accepted offer today.

Kris

Kris - thanks for your input. So you swapped out the good stuff for a theater in a box and let it convey? That's not a bad idea, although honestly our system is 3 years old and husband would like to upgrade in our new home. Did you find that the theater was a selling point with most people? Did you have the projector on during the showing everytime? Sound and all? Just trying to think of the best way to show off the theater to it's advantage. What about your theater seating, did you let that convey as well? Do you think the theater helped to sell your house faster? Just trying to decide what to do in the situation, all input is welcome.

Yes, the projector and the line doubler/scan converter stayed as planned. Everything else was brand new.

I think the Home Theatre set the home apart from others. I'd keep "Toy Story" running when showing the house at a sane volume level - the same you'd use if you were just watching TV.

I don't have theater seating - it's a home theater that can be a family room with the projector off and lights on.

I'm not sure about how home theaters are installed, but isn't the rule, "if it is attached to the house it is part of the house"?

I think if the speakers and screen are built in, it is considered part of the house and buyers wouldn't have to mention it separately in the contract.

They're not built in, they're attached by brackets. The projector itself is mounted on the ceiling by a bracket, but not built in. The screen is attached to the wall, it could be removed and there would be a blank wall there. Think of it as mounted like drapes, in our area if someone wants drapes and drapery hardware to stay, or blinds for that matter it has to be specified in the contract. It's not the same thing as being built in like a dishwasher or range top or wall oven which would have to stay.

I think what I'd do is up the asking price a little bit and include the theatre.-- build it into the cost. While the Misses is figuring out how the sofa will look in another room, the Mister will be steadily gaining desire. Don't put on the Toy Story, put on Apacolypse Now or some football game (on mute). --gives the Mr. something to relate to, possibly build rapport.

Not to be a cheauvenist but you have to realize the theatre is more than likely going to appeal to 50% of the decision makers! The Misses will see it as a place the Mister will go and never be seen or heard from again.

With the 20 some odd minutes they have to look at the house before the agent gets the jitters, they won't notice it's a lower end system provided the house isn't finished cheaply with things like imitation wood floors and PVC products.

This can be likened to those TV offers selling stick on closet lights for 19.99 if you call within the next 30 minutes, we'll give you 3 more stick on closet lights for free. The buyers will be preoccupied with thoughts on where /how they will use it to realize it's not really a great bargain.

I see where you're coming from quirky -- like my husband says, the kitchen (which has been remodeled) will sell the woman on the house, the theater will sell the man on the house. So instead of Toy Story or Finding Nemo -- put something like Star Wars on. The system isn't low end either, just three years old although there are newer systems out there with more bells and whistles my husband wants, so he's all for leaving it. Me, I know we'll have to buy a new one for our new house and would rather take this one with us unless it's the thing that will make the deal happen.

I agree, not Toy Story and not any kid's movies. I think Star Wars or other blow-up action films might be too much and might send the woman running. Maybe sports. Can't go wrong with golf or fishing. Someone that golfs is usually in the same demographic as someone that wants a home theater. Or travel. Or a Yanni concert. If you really want to keep the guy interested, try, uh, ...never mind.

With its bold colors and beautiful DVD transfer, Toy Story looks stunning from an image perspective - it's family appropriate, and, unlike many movies, was shot with a 1.77:1 aspect ratio, filling a 16x9 widescreen perfectly - no black bars anywhere. The sound is also not as dynamic as Star Wars.

Star Wars is shot in 2.35:1, resulting in letterboxing on a 16x9 widescreen.

Kris, my husband probably understands all that so I'll probably leave the choice of what's showing up to him. He'll probably know better than I would what appeals to themale buyer.

By doing all that, you'd lose the portion of the buyers that are like us & would not see the home-theater as a plus. You would just be drawing attention to something we'd want to remove. So, I'd suggest an approach less "in your face" than having a movie running during the showing. Anybody who's jazzed about the home-theater will still see it but those who aren't won't be as turned off by it...you win both ways!

As for conveying, or not...I'm certain people will ask no matter their preference for its staying or not. So, I agree with those who suggested using the "it's negotiable" clause. Again, you'll be 'playing' (pun intended) to both sets of buyers. I'd know that I wouldn't have to tear it all out & another buyer would think, "Gee, I could negotiate this wonderful home-theater into the purchase & finance it over 30 years!"

Tricia

When I sold my mother's home last year, there was a leaded glass china cabinet in the home. My cousin had asked for it and I had given it to her. However, she never got around to having it delivered to her home. After a problematic sales process, I received an offer which included all home contents. I called the cousin and she said that she decided against taking the cabinet after all.
I'm sure that the clause for all contents was made because the buyer wanted that one piece. But it was very easy to agree to that part of the offer. I would have had to deal with having the remaining items sent to charities or whatever. As it was, I was able to take the remaining personal items and walk out the door.

I think the buyer felt that they had gotten a great bargain with the good antique. So I would suggest to state nothing and see what the buyers ask for.
Good luck
Susan

cordovamom, my wife is a realtor and would advise you to do exactly what the other posters said and have the theater running with a whimsical movie like toy story. This is assuming that your room is a real home theater room with seating, sound dampening, lighting and built-in electronics and not just a room with theater equipment in it. If that's the case she would probably tell you to not even mention it in the offer and leave it off.

A real home theater is a feature of your home (just like a pool) and in today's market is becoming more mainstream in the middle market and up homes(homes +$700k). It certainly is not something to hide.

kitchenshock -- it's a real home theater all right, high end equipment, high end theater seating, several different types of lighting, all remote controlled. It's my husband's baby and all done right. From all the advice I've had from everyone here, I think we'd be wise to have a movie running, not mention that it's negotiable and let it be a bargaining chip for all offers.

Oh yeah - just to have a little fun I programmed the scene lighting system to go into "movie mode" when the home automation system detected people in the home theater. It's a bit over-the-top, but I heard a lot of great things about it. Sure, maybe there were those that didn't like it, but hey, the people that put in the offer did, and we found out today that the inspection went just fine - we close on or before March 30.

To me this is just a 180 degree turn from the poster who asked about her extensive cottage gardens. She got varied responses, depending if someone thought the gardens were a positive or negative.

cordovamom, you thought they were a negative. So you wouldn't buy her house. She would probably think the home theater system is a negative, so she wouldn't buy your house.

Seems as if we maybe do talk fluff, as Big T accused us of - we keep repeating the same ideas over and over. Buyers will see things in any house from their own POV. The seller can choose to present his house in any way that seems fit. Some buyers will like it, some will not.

So far the opinions on this thread seem to be running about 50/50.

minet...interesting post. On the "cottage gardens" thread, I posted how much I loved the gardens and expressed a not so enthusiastic attitude about the home theater. So, you're correct. My posts did contain personal preferences. You noted that responses were running about 50/50. So, the question is whether this small group is representative of the larger population?

Tricia

Home theater systems do not just appeal to men...
We have systems set up in our family room and DH's office.

Our house was THE place to watch sporting events with friends and neighbors, guys and gals (until they got their own!).
Our kids and their friends LOVED using the large screen and surround for video games and karaoke (and still gather here on college breaks).
And me... I must confess that seeing a movie on a great audio/visual setup is wonderful. Plus I listen to music through the speakers when the TV is off.

I thought the gardens mentioned were going to be a LOT of work for the new owner... this is different as there is no labor involved.
However, people (men OR women) will either love it ot hate it! And that is how plenty of topics on this board end up....

Different things will appeal to different people -- you're right, I didn't think the gardens would appeal to anyone but an avid gardener, as luann stated above gardens involve a lot of work. Nothing will appeal to every single buyer, there will be some that won't like the gardens, some that won't like the theater. I'm not trying to do the impossible, appeal to every buyer. I'm trying to appeal to the broader audience. Trends today show that a home theater is a big appeal to the broader buying public. There will still be the people that don't watch movies, my home won't appeal to them. There will still be the people that look at the room and envision a different use for the space and may buy the house but not want the theater equipment. In our area and home price range a theater or media room is highly desirable and a selling point for a house. Of course it is only a selling point for those that want a home theater, but as I said, you can't appeal to everyone and the theater will appeal to a broader range of buyers than would vast gardens with a lot of upkeep.

I know you're not trying to capture every possible buyer, but your original question was about pricing the house with or without the system.

In your last post you said: "There will still be the people that don't watch movies, my home won't appeal to them. There will still be the people that look at the room and envision a different use for the space and may buy the house but not want the theater equipment."

For this reason I'd go with letting the system be an option rather than a part of the sales price. Let's just say Buyer A really likes the layout of your house, the location, everything except the tv system. Buyer A has cash and is ready to go but thinks the price is too high because he'll have to have all of that stuff removed. He doesn't think you'll come down enough, so he moves on to another house which is similar to yours and he likes it too and it doesn't have the tv system so it's an easier move-in for him. He buys the other house.

If you price the house without the tv system and put in the MLS notes that the equipment/furniture is negotiable, then the people who don't want it won't have to pay for it and the people who do want it will pay extra for it.

Your market may be a strong enough selling area that you'll get several offers, so this may not matter. But if your area is slower in selling then I'd not want to overprice the house based on something people may/may not want included.

IMHO, YMMV, etc. :-) (And my DH would love to have that room.)