Looks great to me. Here is a direct link to the house.

Here is a link that might be useful: house link

Couple of things:

For only .38 acres your yard looks enormous!!

Get rid of the water cooler. Nothing says "our water is undrinkable" like a water cooler.

Picture #8 - Ever watch Designed to Sell? This is a perfect case of get rid of the TV and showcase the fireplace. You could easily do that before your open house.

Picture #6 - The furniture makes the space look very small. Again either rearrange or lose some furniture before your OH.

3 showings the first week is excellent in a slow market!

Wow, thanks for the suggestions! xamsx, that isn't a TV (well, unless you are referring to the big screen to the right of the pict), rather a corn stove next to a gas fireplace. We have used it to heat our house @ $400 a year the past three years. If you are referring to the big screen...I need my HD ;). After your suggestion, I have been busy loading more chairs, couch, etc into the garage. Is it okay to put your belongings in the garage before a move or is it abs necessary to rent a storage unit?

Yup, I was referring to the HD. Sorry. ;-)

As far as storage - you will have people tell you to box up and load all your stuff into the garage. You will have recommendations to get a POD and park it in the driveway. Others will suggest a storage area.

The perk to boxing is it is ready for the move. :-)

Would it be possible for you to re-post in a new thread because the long link is making the page go way over the computer screen. Chances are, your post will be deleted by the mods and you will have to start over anyway.

You can put the full link in the url box at the bottom of the post page.

We're moving to the TC's sometime this year and I would probably want to look at your house. However, the many different paint colours is a huge turnoff for me.

I like the wainscotting in the eating area, but the colours in all the rooms are not making me want to buy your house. That and the lack of a fenced yard.

Is it possible to move your HDTV to the wall where the very busy couch is and do an L-shape area of TV and fireplace? To be honest, the couch has got to go. My eye was drawn to that instead of the FP because it's so busy.

Kitchen looks good and it showcases the counterspace. It is the only neutral coloured room in the house from the pics.

You might try re-arranging the furniture in the LR. It looks too crowded and cluttered. You might want to put the piano in storage and put either the burgundy or other lazyboy chair where it is now. It also looks like there is very little space to pass through btwn the DR and the very large burgundy chair.

The banana yellow in the office is too bright.

While I would look at your home, it does have alot of promise. However, I've been there, done that and don't want to buy a house that needs the entire interior painted to my taste. Right now, this house with all the colours is painted to your taste and will likely hinder and slow the process of selling it because people won't want to paint the entire inside - and that's what most will have to do because you have so many different colours in there.

Why aren't there any photos of the master bedroom and at least one bath? Why are there 4 outside shots?

Another concern is the higher slope from the garage in the back to the walkout basement. Do you have any water problems during the spring melt? What about during heavy rain? Alot of water would come down that slope in the direction of your w/o basement, which, I bet is a concern for many lookers.

Wow, sparksals, excellent feedback. Okay, to answer your questions. Yes, the oouch is very busy. My parents bought it for us as a move in gift in 2001. If I toss it...well, you know... The multiple colors are certainly a taste issue. When we bought the house it was all white, which I can't stand. I agree the yellow should go, but what about different neutral colors thoughout the house? Every thing is earth tone. Do you think the whole house should be the same color? Regarding a fenced yard, I can see the desire for such a feature. In our case, the neighborhood is very close (block parties, sharing of lawn tractors, blowers, etc) it may be offensive to do such a thing to my neighbors/friends. That being said, it's not about what I want rather than what you want, so point taken. About the slope, no, we have not had any issues. The home is drain tiled and has been graded. We have never had any moisture problems in the house. The slope actually runs water away from the house rather than towards it. The photos don't do said feature justice. Regarding the inside, is it worth it to change colors as the paint in most rooms is fresh/new and some may love it where as some may hate it? What if I were to pay the sellers closing costs or offered to pay a $3k decorating allowance? I totally agreen about the living room. The prevous post made me remove the lazy-boy & ottoman. It is much more open now.

Everything being said, I'm a man so my outlook is different. I put in a new heat pump, 96% effeciency furnace, corn stove which heats the house @ $400 a year, new energy star softener, sump pump, 12 year heigh E water heater, garbage disposal, washer/dryer, fridge, dishwasher, stove, carpet in the whole house, tile, hardwood floors, roof, siding, shed, solid oak doors/trim, windows, exterior doors and built a deck from wood imported from Brazil that will out last any composit decking you can buy. Are things like that looked at or is it simply the color of a $10 sheetrock wall?

I loved the undrinkable water comment, never thought of it that way!

Thanks saphire. The living room is not pink at all, It is more beige/taupe. Agree on the office. The only other offending room is the 'princess room' for my daugher. She chose the color. On that note, is it required to put away toys? We have a guest room (no photo's on the mls) downstair that is very nicely done. This also doubles as a play room for the kids. I have already packed away most of the toys/play kitchen/bathroom, tables, chairs etc but want to leave some toys out for the kids. Is that a turn off? As far as the fence, it is not common in our area. It is a very affluent area and that type of barrior is looked at as a negative rather than a positive.

Can you remove some of the desks from the office? It is a little startling with all the equipment. Kids rooms are supposed to be fun colors.

According to every home show, lose the kids toys. Perhaps have a chest they can be put into and leave just enough for that chest. It is not fun selling. I would not worry about the fence issue, I understand what you mean

sparksals Would it be possible for you to re-post in a new thread because the long link is making the page go way over the computer screen

I have to agree. Your post shows 2 different ways depending on what browser you use - with IE it isn't so bad but with firefox there is a 6 inch bottom scroll, left to right to read. Most people will open the post, see you have to scroll to read, then click the back button.

We were all newbies once. On the new post, type it out, do not include the link just yet; click on preview message, on the next page, scroll down to You may use this form to make corrections: you will now have the link option. Where it says Optional Link URL: type the http, where it says Name of the Link type in my house, click preview, then submit.

Your house is nice, I too am not nuts about how the colors photograph. Might pay to take your own pics. If I had to paint a few rooms for staging, it would be the yellow and neutral the dining area. My house is also custom colors, I'm hoping that I do not have to change them since they are pretty neutral to begin with. Depending on the light the rooms take on different colors.

The way I see the storage issue, putting it in the garage says we pulled furniture / stuff out to sell. If you move it yourself it's a lot cheaper. We were going to do a pod but went with a storage. We got the kids to help so it wasn't so bad. Nothing says small house (or we need a bigger house) more then stored stuff in view.

Everything being said, I'm a man so my outlook is different.

Now I understand! Your house is in superb mechanical condition. The problem is that you can't see that in pictures!

Buying a house, for most people, is at least partly an emotional decision. You've done a great job on your house in appealing to the mind of the buyer, but not the heart.

When I bought my house, it was, decoratively speaking, plain and unloved-looking. Furniture was utilitarian, every knick-knack had been removed, and the living room looked like a doctor's waiting room with the furniture lined up against the walls.

However, like your house, it had wonderful, updated mechanicals, a brand-new, top quality roof, new Marvin windows, a new efficient furnace, etc. An engineer had lived in the house, and it showed!

The house was on the market for a long time before it sold--to us. This is our eighth house. I've learned to buy with my head, and not my heart. But not everyone has enough experience to do that.

Your house may be one of those that will sell better empty. That way, the focus is on the bones (which are great) and not on the decor.

Well, I have to say that I think the interior colors are fine. Certainly you will find buyers who will agree. If you paint it neutral colors there will be people who don't like that either. You can't appeal to everyone.

As for the fence, that would be a negative to me. I don't want a fenced backyard, for the reasons you mentioned about your neighborhood.

As for the furniture, it's great that you removed the chair/ottoman combo but otherwise I can't see a huge issue with anything. I don't necessarily agree that it would show better empty. It might not be my exact decorating choice, but why would I expect it to be? I'm buying a house, not the furniture. I don't even look at the furniture. I guess to each his own.

I guess you will always find people who buy with their "heart" and not their "head". But I'm not sure you're ever going to find a way to appeal to all those people, either. You just need one buyer, and your house is very nice with a lot of great features, and my initial opinion looking at the pictures was that it was clean and that you had done a decent job of de-cluttering. With this you have done better than 95% of the (several thousand or so!) houses I've been viewing in the area where we are soon moving. I wouldn't sweat it too much at this point.

Just another perspective. :)

I am envious of all the detail regarding size in the listing. In GA, agents aren't allowed to list sf. in listing, so you have to go to Zillow to get that. It makes research extra time-consuming.

My suggestion is a bit of a nit-pick. Can you neaten up the bushes next to the tree in the front yard? They look a bit over grown and unkempt.

To me, your house shows fine but just needs some tweaking. Good luck!

Thank you all for the great feedback! Akkw has a great point. To some it will appeal and to others it won't. I wish I could have a holigraphic house that would alter itself to suit each potential buyers needs ;). Deee, I agree on the bushes. I'm heading outside shortly to trim them up. I've never had a green thum and that does show. I really don't want the added expense of a storage locker, but agree it looks aweful in the garage right now. Again, from a guys perspective, one of the first things I look at is a nice garage/work area.

Can I modify my initial post? This thread has been strong and I'd hate to loose it due to scrolling issues.

Modifying a post isn't an option here unless you can email someone from the site to edit it

rmhartos

Yes, the oouch is very busy. My parents bought it for us as a move in gift in 2001. If I toss it...well, you know...

Oh, yes, I know! My parents bought me a gawd awful country dining room set that I finally unloaded....er.. I mean sold. I absolutely hated it. It was nice of them to buy it for us, but something like that, I prefer to choose my own to my taste. I now live in another country and my mom most likely won't visit, so what she doesn't know won't hurt her! LOL

That burgundy chair might work very well for the HDTV room. Nice and comfy for sprawling out to watch the Hockey game!

Do you think the whole house should be the same color?

No, everything doesn't have to be the same colour. Because of the colours you have, some people can't envision their belongings in the house. I wouldn't be able to match my furniture in your yellow office, for instance. What if a family has all boys? Would one of them want a yellow room?

Generally, I skip over the homes that have alot of kid type wallpaper, borders or froofy colours in the bedrooms. We don't have kids and don't want to be put in the position of having to paint most of the house. I'm sure people with kids won't mind.

Regarding a fenced yard, I can see the desire for such a feature. In our case, the neighborhood is very close (block parties, sharing of lawn tractors, blowers, etc) it may be offensive to do such a thing to my neighbors/friends. That being said, it's not about what I want rather than what you want, so point taken.

OK, that makes sense. However, what do people with dogs do when they need to be let out?

From your description, it sounds like a wonderful neighbourhood and one that I would want to live. That would almost negate the colours I don't like in your home knowing it's a friendly and helpful area.

Regarding the inside, is it worth it to change colors as the paint in most rooms is fresh/new and some may love it where as some may hate it? What if I were to pay the sellers closing costs or offered to pay a $3k decorating allowance?

That may work if people don't like your colour scheme to offer a decorating allowance of a couple thousand. Some people will walk in and love all the colours. After having to repaint our house thinking that it's only paint and wallpaper removal, I just don't want to do that again. One or two rooms, OK. Not an entire house like we had to.

All your mechanical updates are great and should be noticed - by the man. The wife will be looking at paint colours, how much cupboard space there is etc. Normally, it is the wife who makes the final decision on the house.

It might help to put a list of supplementary information on the kitchen table so that lookers can see all the mechanical updates. Having an energy efficient furnace etc. are major plusses, but most likely the woman would not even care about that. It will be the man who notices that the furnace is newer and efficient, that there is a sump pump, etc.

How far are you from Mall of America?? That's where my dh's office will be!

Like I said, if I was looking now, I'd look at your house, but the non-fence thing is an issue for us since we have dogs.

We are ten minutes from the MOA. Just drive right up 77 and you're there. There are a lot of dogs in our neighborhood and none have fences with the exception of my next door neighbor who has an electric/underground pet fence. Our neighbors across the culdasac actually train and show dogs. Everyone is very considerate of their animals and I when I see a dog happen to 'utilize my yard', the owner will come over and clean up.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions. It's been another busy day as we have an open house tomorrow as well as have our 4th showing (fingers crossed!). I was halfway done with resealing the driveway when murphys law came in to play and got rained on. Guess what I'm doing this evening?

One final question. If you were looking at a house, and noticed that a room was recently primed and had paint can's, etc in it, would it be a turn off? I'm worried if I attack the office a potential buyer may come in w/o it being finished.

Well, if we get the transfer news and your house is still for sale, I'd love to look at it. Do you get alot of airport noise?

The priming and paint cans wouldn't be a turn off, per se, but it would be best to have them out of there pronto.

We're not in a flight path and do not have any airport noise. Good news! We have two more showings coming in today outside of our open house hours!

Good luck selling.

As to the mechanical features...my DH and I paid close attention to that while buying (cheaper to repaint than replace mechanics, etc). I'd be ecstatic to get updated features and a decorating allowance.

I would agree that a few changes are in order, though you seem to be making them. The first impression is almost always the most important.

Glad to report we had an offer for full asking price two weeks after listing! Now, our only concern is the fact they want to close in less than three weeks and we haven't even found a house! We are also thinking that we sold the house at much less than the worth....

Congratulations on the sale. :-)

Congratulations!

I really liked how all the deferred maintenance had been done on the house-I was about to post that because your house was so well maintained I could look past some entertaining colors with no problem-but it looks like your buyers felt the same way!

Congratulations! Don't worry about the price. That's a common thing when it sells quickly.