Here's the dining room.

I wouldn't give an allowance if it's the first time on market. Price it at a price the sellers would be happy with getting and what your realtor recommends with the current market. If down the line the house isn't selling or getting bites, either add an allowance or lower the price. Most people expect to have to repaint a house or change flooring when moving in I would think. Those are very easy changes.

I don't understand this allowance thing..put your offer in, it will either get accepted, rejected, or counter offered

If paint can influence my decision not to buy the house-it means I don't love the house enough in the first place.

(We had two darker rooms, buyers didn't have any negative comments about these..but these were bedrooms. And right they were grayed..purple as some other colors can fall really flat if it's not muted somewhat)

I personally think it's a beautiful color your DD and her husband have there. Would love to work with it. But I'm a bit nuts about purples..especially aubergine etc.

But if I for example would like another color, and I love the house -well then I repaint when the house is mine.

Same with flooring as ellusionz correctly mentioned. Same with lots of stuff. It's taste specific..if it bothers me and bugs me and I don't want to invest my time/money/energy in changing it-why would I take others' time, and make an offer in the first place?

I can come to see the house several times to make completely sure, that I can. If I'm seriously thinking about it.

If this allowance is just a way to say "I want to pay less money"-why just not to offer less money, and see what happens? Why do you need to spell out everything that's not to your taste? I don't know..I feel it's not appropriate somehow. Repairs etc is something else.

In short I'd leave as is.

Now of course depends on one's market and circumstances.

But unless no showings, no activity, and the feedback is that the culprit for it is paint(which is very very hard to believe, in this case)..don't see any reason to start with allowances etc.

What's your market like - you should be able to get local info. Around these parts where houses are selling within days with multiple offers over asking price, if anyone was to balk at something as minor as paint colors they just wouldnt get the house. Recent articles are saying this year is shaping up to be "strongest seller's market ever". I spoze that varies, depending on location.

An allowance for paint??? No. The buyer can afford a couple gallons of paint.

I think that automatically stating an allowance for paint draws one's attention to paint and makes it a negative right away. Some will likely be fine with the color, some may not even notice. If during negotiations, somewhat want's to pay a little less because of the color, they can negotiate then. I would not bring it up right away.

Denita, I actually decorated the room for DD. Lol Her realtor uses a stager who came to the house and commented 'she would't change a thing.' Things are not as close as the picture indicates~it's a big space. There is at least 5 ft between the table and credenza. As for the picture/mirrors, it's a very long wall which expends into the living room. The picture would look like a postage stamp w/o the accenting mirrors.

Ellusionz, it's a huge room with the ceiling painted a slightly lighter shade, so lots of paint. It's in a hot market just outside Austin, where many young proffesionals are moving and want an acre or so. It's actually priced lower than many of the houses in the area, even though it has more sq ft.

April, it's *their* house. Lol The color is very muted, and is actually an aubergine shade, not purple in the slightest. I've also considered it to be a 'ploy' to get the price reduced. They'll leave it, and if they hear negative comments, may repaint or give some sort of allowance. As an aside, they've only been in the house 3 years, and my house warming gift was paying for the interior of the house to be repainted, to the tune of $7400!

CR, same here, a very hot market, but they certainly aren't the highest in their area of comps. If anything, they're low. I've also heard it will continue thru 2017. It's only been on the market 3 weeks and they've only had 3 agents bring in potential buyers. Dd is very disappointed.

OV, lol. Unfortunately, it would be more than a couple of cans of paint. It's a LR/DR combination, so a very long space. Not to mention the ceiling being a slightly lighter color than the walls. Personally, I would find it daunting, and wouldn't even consider doing it myself. Ceilings are also 14'.

Tish, it hasn't been brought, but it's in the thought process. They just want to be somewhat prepared if it should be brought up. As for it not being noticed, I don't think it can be helped. Lol After entering the foyer, you're right inside this vastness of color. It's a very large space.

Oh I understood it's their house of course. I was writing as if I was a buyer..:) At the same time writing as if I was a seller..:) Been alternating between the two lol

PS they're blessed with their stager..ours didn't allow any portraits, cities, landscapes, flowers, birds..nada. The reasoning: the buyers might like your art. But the art doesn't convey. So they'd become confused.

So everything went off the walls and I had to spend I don't want to remember how much time energy and money to do the freaking touch ups(also very high walls on the first floor etc)..especially as some paint had to be color matched...

And instead we got these canvases prints etc..some with waves, some with squares, some with I don't know-what, because obviously no one would like them thus get confused LOL

Ah, Austin! No, the color is fine! My youngest daughter and her husband live in Buda, just south of Austin. Austin and surrounding areas are very artsy - in a good way. The real estate does move fast there and color, paint, style is not a hold back from what I have seen. Patty_cakes42, I couldn't see the size of the room in the photo - that was the only reason I mentioned removing some of the items.

April, sorry about *my*confushion. Lol The stager only removed one small chair which was in the family room, Her logic was, 'not everyone is as small(5'0"/100lbs)as you are'. Quite true, but at 40, is obviously finished growing! Lol The woman in the picture actually looks a like like her, which was my reason for buying it. I hope no one asks for it.

Denita, would you believe my DD lives on the 1826 in Driftwood, The Buda sign is right there, as well as the Salt Lick and a couple of wineries. She's only about 12 minutes from Dripping Springs where the kids go to school. I'm actually looking to move out closer to them and looked in Buda~I love the little downtown area. I would love to be able to walk downtown, which is why I also like Dripping Springs. I'm all the way east of Austin, about a 50 minute drive to visit my 2 grands. They'll be staying in the area, but want a bit of acreage.

" 'not everyone is as small as you are'.-aaaaaaaa!!! you've just made my day patty

now I'm going to think of similar statements that can be made just about anything..very amusing:)

April, I should have reiterated on the comment. In order to get to a guest room/bath, you would need to pass thru the family room. The chair was up against a wall, with a sofa fairly close, creating a narrow space to passs thru. What she meant was most people would be larger than DD.

DD called later this afternoon. They're getting an estimate tomorrow for several rooms painted to be repainted. Of the 3 couples who have looked at the house, she just found out the second husband/wife were 'put off' by LR/DR/MB and coral laundry room. They did like the red kitchen, although it isn't a lot of wall space. DD is sad......me too. With her 'aubergine' she's right 'on trend', as witnessed by myself and DS in model homes about a month ago. Several even had accent walls, but most of the color was used in furniture, window treatments, bedding, pillows, and accessories. White and silver were also used. The homes are in the same area and if buyers would see them first, they would think of DD's house as very currant. I just HATE for them to have to repaint. It's so pretty.

Here's a picture of the LR, which is at the other end of the space.

OK..I wouldn't paint it if one person would mention he was put off by it

I was put off by this and that in my current place yet I still bought it. Things can not be perfectly to yours and everybody's taste every time..if they are it means you've built yourself and had a pretty great GC too lol.

Now, logistically..they need a) to find a new color that will work. as we all know here it's not something you decide in 5 minutes) purchase and put primer and two new coats of paint at a minimum (plus patching blah blah) c) the house wouldn't be ready for showings for a couple days..maybe three..so whoever wants to see it needs to wait.

All that why? Because one couple didn't like the colors?

It was obviously not a house for them which is also fine..most people have money for one house at a time anyway..:)

Me, Id be "put off" by grungy greige, battleship gray, or stark raving white. I just go in to a new place knowing I'm going to have to paint regardless. That color is interesting, sort of at the verge of being cocoa brown - dont know if I would keep it but its far from being a really obnoxious color like you sometimes see in listings.

Painting could be opening a can of worms. - the new color would need to be just the right color or the other existing colors (furnishings, trim, etc.) could look "off." The wrong color could make the space look dingy and drab .... not a good effect either. Painting is a lot of work - I would just want to be sure it achieves what I want it to

They do say that you should "depersonalize" the space, though, so people can better get a sense of their own stuff being there. Maybe there's a way to "de-glam" it a little without painting - just remove some of the foofier things - eg all the feathers, s substitute plain mirrors for the ornate frames, etc.

patty_cakes72, I love Dripping Springs! My youngest married her husband there at The Creek Haus. We all had a great time there :)

Good idea moving trying to get closer to the grandkids when you can.

Be careful with just the one person providing feedback. I know that the person that is the most interested, usually is the one that has an objection to something about the house and paint is one of those very easy to change items. If someone has a small objection, they most likely are very interested because they are moving in mentally. If they don't care about the house - they dismiss the property immediately and may not even remember seeing it.

I don't think the issue is paint color. Three weeks on the market and three showings is slow. Most people can see past color, even when they are just looking online.

are they competing with new construction? Something is missing if they aren't getting much traffic. I am not an expert, but lean towards price. What does their realtor say?

I saw your daughter's house online, and the listing I saw had the new paint colors and also the photos from before they painted. Yes, it absolutely was about color, those walls looked Barney purple in the MLS photos.

I don't think it was one color but the multiple colors -- eggplant, coral, red. It sounds like everything would have to be painted and that is a lot for most people. Some folks will redecorate and paint everything to their colors, but it seems most buyeers can handle perhaps one or two rooms to paint before they see it as too much. Basic white or off-white is a "we can paint it when we want to" redecorating that is a more fun experience than "every room needs to be painted before we can move in."

I don't know

While house hunting we saw this one house..DH really liked it

The great room-humongous, very high ceilings- was painted in two colors-dark olive green plus dark red. That yes, that was problematic.

Yes, I did calculate it''d cost a couple thousands probably just to repaint this very very taste specific huge place

(It had many pluses-amazing backyard, private, saltwater pool and all..nice area)

But I didn't buy it not because of that paint. I didn't buy it because a)from the outside it was probably most ..not so gracious house on that street (facade, yes?)..b) it had unfortunate master bath, recently and expensively remodeled-that would already set us back 20 K..if possible to redo at all..and c) most important-it wasn't really walking distance. And we sorely needed walking distance.

They did sell, and it didn't take them especially long, as far as I remember.

I wouldn't offer a paint allowance because it means you're aware there's something wrong with the house; however, I think you'll find out if/when potential buyers complain about having to repaint and ask for allowance or offer accordingly less.

Sorry but if its a "hot market" and they've only had 3 buyers come through in a few weeks there's something else wrong. Is the location bad or are there many new construction houses nearby? It may be overpriced despite what they think it is worth. The seller and buyer have to agree on a price; that's what the house is worth.

Obviously paint/decor is a matter of personal taste. For me personally if I saw listing photos with those colors I would scroll on by even if there was an allowance for repainting. For me it would be an expense and inconvenience I'd rather avoid and instead find something else I could live with for awhile before painting. The exception would be if the house was so ideal in every other way and no others were.

^^^what 3katz4me seems to be the prevailing attitude among today's buyers. I don't understand it because to me paint is a personal choice and each person gets to make their own choice. That actually is the fun part of buying your own home, making it your own decor.

However, I see it all the time with buyers now. Especially if they are first time buyers and don't have the time or money to paint after closing.

I can't imagine passing a house by because of paint color. No matter what the colors were, I'd likely change them. Our present house had been painted a hideous bandaid beige when it was on the market-- I'm sure the sellers thought they were doing an inoffensive neutral, but it was truly ugly. I was looking at the lot and the layout and the condition of the house. The ugly paint was a non-issue. We just had the whole interior painted before we moved in. No big deal.

Denita:) So they'll wait until they have time/ money until they paint

This internet era has a really big influence on people's perception of time..or so I feel

I myself feel I'm out of my game lately lol.

But my thing albeit kinda reversed, can be age related too..everything that feels like was yesterday in fact happened 5 years ago. Everything that feels like was the day before yesterday=ten years. I live in a state of constant shock:)

what 3katz4me seems to be the prevailing attitude among today's buyers.

But 'twas ever thus. I can remember looking at a townhouse near the beach back in 1990 or so, and it had been on the market forever despite being in a very desirable location at a very low price, because it was like a museum of the most outrageous foil wallpapers of the late 60s and early 70s, and nobody could get past that.

I scampered out PDQ as well, which just shows you. These days, on the other hand, I'm busy trolling for a house that's just a shade above being condemned in order to be able to afford to move to the area where I want to be.

I wouldn't even think about the possibility of a "paint allowance". We all have different tastes! Maybe if it were cracked and peeling off, but not for a color!

When I bought this house, all the bedrooms and baths had just been painted gray. Slowly, and as I had time, I re painted all to colors I preferred. Should I have expected a painting allowance (grey wasn't even "in" back then, but I don't like it better today...)? I don't think so.

If the paint is in good condition, leave as is. I personally like the color as it shows up here, and would probably enjoy it for several years. I bought this house for location, a private yard, and the fantastic sense of cleanliness they kept it in. Oh, also the oak floors and the price. Paint is about the easiest thing to fix, and one which is so subject to a viewer's taste.

I like the color as it shows here, it looks elegant and rich. Although, I wouldn't choose that color for myself , for that large of a space anyway.

But, if it is showing up as a more purple in the actual listing photos, that is a huge problem that needs to be fixed ASAP!

I also would tone down the glitz & glam. It does make the space look small, stuffy and crowded in the photos, no matter how large the actual space is.

Put a simple frame on the painting, get simpler mirrors, take half the stuff off the table, reduce the fussy/dustcatcher items. People are attracted to clean, simple, light, bright, a feeling of openness.

Perhaps they could paint one wall in a complimentary llght, cream color instead of the whole area? and then neutralize one of the other strong colors in the house?

Something is deterring folks from even coming to look, so I wonder if it is the photos

(the painting is unframed as far as I can see)

the previous house we bought the same day we saw the listing showed pics (not wide lenses) of a home full of furniture that was a bit too big and fussy for my taste, and lots of personal art. It looked not really dark but not bright either. It was very tidy, but the pics weren't "Simple, bright, feeling of openness"

Nevertheless we were there the same day, and put our offer in right after we saw the house.

When we sold it recently the stager tried to make it as generic as possible..it was very light very bright and the wide lenses pics sure gave sense of more space and openness.

I disliked the pictures a lot, and I wonder if I'd run to look at the house after seeing them as fast as I did the first time.

Interestingly-it was the same photographer..he recognized the house:)

was complaining about how now he spends more time tweaking pics on the computer than actually shooting them

well it showed. lol.

As a seller of my sister's townhouse I gave a $5K reduction for painting. It needed to be painted, I was out of state, I wanted the house sold before the winter, and the buyers loved everything else. Sold!

Omg, I forgot I had posted here so have been away for quite awhile. Yes, they have painted a very nice neutral which gives a much more classic look to the home, and takes away the 'personal' touch. I have a very hard time wrapping my head around buyers who are looking to purchase an existing home, yet want or expect the home *not* to reflect the homeowners likes, or to change things and then be stuck with the *hated* changes if the house doesn't sell. Where and why do buyers get off with such outlandish expectations? It infuriates the be-jesus out of me, since i'll more than likely putting my home on the market within the next year.

DD had a realtors open house on Thursday. Supposedly, 18 of the best realtors in the area showed up and here were the negatives:

Dining room table should be turned lengthwise, rather than widthwise in the room/3 realtors

Chandelier needs,to be over DR table/3 realtors

"Fancy" chandeliers should be replaced/2 realtors

The last remaining decorator items, not personal, should be removed/1 realtor

Stove should be replaced(currently has 5 burner cooktop)as well as replacing the kitchen sink with a larger one. The kitchen is listed as a gormet kitchen "and isn't"/1 realtor

Repaint red kitchen/50% of realtors.

Boys bedroom too dark even though it was repainted the neutral color. It's on the side of the house between 2 other bedrooms and is just a dark room! Brighter bulbs in the ceiling fan might help/1 realtor

1 *hairline* cracked tile was noticed. Covering with a rug suggested/1 realtor

Girls bedroom too bright/1 realtor

My son in law took it upon himself to flip-flop the DR/LR spaces, which drops you right into the DR right after entering the house....awkward. He did this because that's where rhe chandelier is located. When we originally looked at the house, this was the furniture placement, and it seemed odd then. When they decided to purchase the house, they kbew ahead of time they would flip flop the spaces, the DR behind the 'louge' as we called it. LR's are becoming extinct and because this was a large space, furniture was needed.

Thoughts?

my thoughts-how about these 18 realtors join efforts and money, and do it all themselves? will be fun night(or three) I'm sure plus they'd order pizza

Did they think the price was appropriate?

Has the house been for sale this whole time?

Hahaha April!! Great thought. Seems not only are the realtors but pseudo decorators/designers. Oh to be so talented. ;)

Yes, they thought the house was well in line with the comps. Actually, a couple thought it was low, which came as a surprise. ALL said it was a beautiful and very clean home.

This is before my son in law flip flopped the 2 spaces.

Jn3344 yes, the house is still on the market. The contract will be up at the end of July after which time they've decided to take it off the market. Luckily, they haven't found a property that knocks their socks off. ;)

As for existential question about "how the buyers" and all that-I could try to put together a short essay giving a bits of what I've learned during my more or less fine education that included a bit of economy a lot of sociology and tons of psychology of the groups

But I'm very cranky since I'm sick and on some antibiotics that make me nauseous sleepy and much bitchier than I usually am, so I suppose it won't be the best short essay in my life and won't be helpful too, to anyone including myself

I also suppose everybody here got quite fine education at some point themselves lol

so yeah..I guess I'd take the jn's approach..the price

Look we listed in fall-right before the elections, pretty dead market, etc. And yes, lots of feedback was "we like the house we think it's not the right time to purchase right now"

(the offer we went with was the offer from people who also said it, then thought for the couple of months then still made the offer)

I could be smart and wait for spring, and we'd get 20K more for the house

But I didn't want to be smart lol I wanted to be wise-I was very tired..we had absolutely no economical reason to be in a hurry, but I had lots of reasons to believe that psychologically, me and the family, we'd do better with just wrapping it up, you know?

So it's a question of their market, (the niche? expensive always takes more time to sell. where are they on that range?), their needs, their circumstances, how much of a hurry they are in.

It's timing, location, bones, layout, price. And a little bit of luck(c)

And picking your battles.

AA prayer hits the nail too lol

Some things you can change, some you can't. And some you can but why and is it worth it, in a long run? For you? Not for somebody X but for you?

("you" can be "me" or "he" or "she" or "they"..doesn't matter)

ah, ok, the price is fine as per local market

looks beautiful, yet they still had fun with suggestions..yeah, lol. Understandable

so maybe they're in that niche that has less buyers from the get-go?

If buyers cant afford paint ....they really cant afford to buy a house. There are lenders who will tell you you can spend your every last dime and that you can affordway more house than you really can.... you shouldnt listen to them.

I'm so sad that they changed their paint colors and then took it off the market. When I sold my first house, I chose the agent who closed on a ridiculously small house in our neighborhood. She marketed that house like it was a grand estate. I thought if she could sell that house, she could sell mine. And she did. For far above what I imagined. I had already updated the bathroom, but beyond decluttering, changed absolutely nothing. Your DD's home will sell when the time is right and they won't have to change a darn thing.

The house sold a little over 30 days ago and they've already moved into their new home. They did repaint a few rooms in a neutral color, as well as drop the price 40k. It sold to the first couple who came in after the new paint. Even the two other couple who commented on the color never came back. I have a feeling it was too overpriced for them and were using the paint as an excuse. The couple who purchased it were relocating from Fl and wanted a house with a large lot since they were planning to put in a pool. DD/DH will be repainting the new house in neutral colors. DD feels she's had her 'fling' with color. lol

Many congratulations to your daughter and her husband. I hope she enjoys her new home enough to get brave and decorate it in her colors :)

I hear "repaint a few rooms as well as "drop the price 40K". Happy for the move on, but- Sorry, but I don't think the paint had one thing to do with that sale.

Although that house is sold, I'd like to share a discussion we had with our agent when we listed ours in April.

My husband was balking at the staging--take everything off the counters, make the house look as if no one lives in it--as if it's a vacation rental someone could just move into for a week. DH thought it was silly.

Our agent explained that we had to think about our competition. There were only 2 other 5 bedroom homes in our city, so they weren't our competition. Our competition was new construction, so we had to make our home look appealing to people who were also looking at brand new, professional decorated models.

We had a lot of painting done. When we listed, all of the paint was Shaker Beige, which looked great with our floors and the white trim. Perhaps the new owners won't like Shaker Beige, but we think they are unlikely to have felt "we can't stand this and have to change it before we unpack". (but who knows)

But that'll stick with me--our competition, at our price point, was new construction.

No, I would not give an allowance for paint.

You don't know what a buyer might want. When I moved to my current place I could hardly wait to paint over the drab grey rooms... little realizing that within a decade or two grey would be the new trend... (that I'd still paint over)

When searching, I rejected a lot of houses, but none over the color they were painted.