You will get varied responses on this. Vacant houses bother some people and not others. I think most people say they want to see at least a little furniture in each room, which helps them gauge the rooms sizes better.

That being said, we just bought a house in January that was totally empty. We'd looked at many houses. Most of them the owners were still living there. A couple were vacant with no furniture. I knew pretty much what we wanted so it didn't bother me to see the empty houses, and in my career I'd been trained to visualize sets in empty places. My husband had a harder time seeing in his head how things would fit together.

So, as for many things regarding real estate, it all depends on the individual buyer. Some will not like the empty house, some will like it, some won't care either way. Just keep it clean and make sure someone's looking after the outside, too.

Good luck with your selling.

You will also get mixed reviews on painting all woodwork white. Is the wood you plan to paint in good condition and a lighter colour? It sounds to me from your description that it will be overly neutral, especially without furniture in it.

If the wood is in good shape, rather than painting it white, why don't you freshen it up by re-staining it? We did that with all our woodwork and it looks like it's new.

I actually prefer to see an empty home -- allows me to see the condition of the floors and walls without furniture hiding stains in the carpet or worn spots in hardwood floors etc. Some people are actually pretty good at visualizing their own stuff in an empty home. Not everyone feels this way, so you're going to get varying opinions.

We sold an empty house without much difficulty, but in hindsight I would have followed the advice to minimally furnish one room. Somewhere (here?) I read to furnish one room with two chairs and a table. Why? It gives potential buyers and maybe their agent a place to sit down. It also lets people see how furniture may look in a room.

I agree with cordovamom - an empty house allows the buyer to see EVERYTHING - all dings, spots, worn places, stains will show show up. The seller has to make sure the place is spotless. A furnished house hides a lot of sins.

I'm another who prefers to see empty houses when buying. I can see the actual size of rooms/floors and what shape they are in. How a person decorates or stages is of no concern to me. I go to see the house. NancyLouise

Sold and purchased empty - I was very glad to see all the imperfections in the rooms. When we sold our 1920s home, we cleaned, painted and redid the floors. I knew it looked great and was priced very, very well. I did leave a few small tables with lights in the living room which had no ceiling light. It sold within the week. I was so glad to have it done.

When we move from this place we will sell it empty. We are fortunately in a financial position whereas we do not have to sell one place to buy the next house. If affordable, selling an empty home lessens the stress of the situation. I did travel back to the house I was selling to make certain things were locked tight after showings, the place was not dusty and the bathrooms were clean. A lock box an open viewing are another perk to selling empty - no need for an appointment!

Good luck :-)

The more into the selling season you are I think the more people want empty homes. Reason being, it sends the message that the house is ready for immediate occupancy. None of this having to work with the seller on a date when they can move in after the closing.
Many of your spring and summer buyers have kids in school to consider in their moves. Getting them in and the house settled before school starts is a MAJOR concern.
Most seasoned buyers will tell you they prefer empty homes so they can see EXACTLY what the house looks like, all the flaws and warts. It gives them a better idea of what they are getting themselves into.

I bought both furnished and unfurnished... prefer unfurnished, though the idea of 2 chairs and a small table it great.

Is the woodwork already painted? If not , please don't paint it! It's so much work to restore and many times it doesn't work..

We just bought a house that was furnished. I think it hurt them.... it was hard to imagine how things would look empty. Their furnishings were not the best & where rooms were painted, they just "missed". Lucky for us, I think most people walked in & out and never considered making an offer. We could look past it but I think it was too distracting for most. If it had been empty, I'm 100% sure it would have sold before we got a chance to look. When we did the walk thru prior to closing, our realtor was shocked at just the improvement taking their stuff out made - we could have popped it right back on the market with fresh paint & made a profit because it had been on the market long enough that we got a good deal for the area.

Many people are unable to "furnish with their eyes". It is quite inexpensive to rent furniture. You absolutely need to have some lamps anyway; strictly ceiling lights are so harsh. This is why builders furnish model homes: They want to sell them!

I am in the process of selling mine, it is furnished but very clean. I took everyone's advice and storaged alot, the house I am buying is empty. I saw houses that were not empty but could envision more, seeing it empty. If you haven't painted the wood work yet, I agree, stain it! Good luck to you!
deb

I also agree seeing a home empty.......I can actually see all the imperfections in each room. As far as furniture and decor, that shouldn't matter since you will taking that with you anyway..

Good Luck~
maria

Please note the posts from people who like to see the house empty. THEY CAN SEE ALL THE IMPERFECTIONS. Good for the buyer. Not good for the seller.

Just like with everything else, what someone likes someone else hates. This situation is what it is...do whatever is the norm for your area. We found people assumed we must be in a pinch if the house was already empty and we had to fend off comments like "You must really be in a hurry to sell."

We also found that the kid's bedrooms looked extremely small when empty. They held double beds and were fine, but without the furniture it was difficult to imagine. I was also unprepared for how dirty an empty house gets. Every little smudge shows up on the walls. I swear there was some grimlin coming in at night touching the walls. I think I did more cleaning on a daily basis than the place deserved.

Gloria

And... just to throw a twist into the mix---

I would rather have a carpet allowance than have you put in all new carpet. I might end up tearing it all out....

Oh, and it doesn't matter to me if it is empty or not, and I prefer the woodwork be unpainted.

Thank all of you so much for offering suggestions and advice. I really appreciate your help. I let you know how it goes. Our old home should be ready to go on the market in about three weeks. Wish us luck!