Price it low is the best selling tip. Someone will want to get ahold of it to restore all of those original details that you removed or trashed. It was a great Contemporary. It’s now a remuddled mess. The price needs to reflect that confused state. Price it below market value. You might get lucky and have a bidding war.

No more “improvements”.

Declutter everything and remove dead flowers from table. Have professional pics taken.

Consult a realtor who knows your market.

If you're interested in examples of excellent staging checkout this company that's local to me https://www.facebook.com/SpadeArcher/

Declutter, and then declutter again. This house needs so much work, I agree with Sophie, price below market for reasonably quick sale. Of course depends on market in your area. You say it is open concept, but I don’t see that so be careful how you market it. Don’t set expectations you can’t meet. Clean, clean. Organize and I mean every drawer cupboard and closet. The more you can remove the better. Give yourselves several months to accomplish this before you list.

Get someone to help stage it and be prepared to rent furniture - lots of your stuff just doesn’t look the right scale for the spaces. Also, minimize the ‘farmhouse’ look as much as possible - it’s not a farmhouse, it’s never going to be a farmhouse, the farmhouse just looks out of place.

I might add undercounter lighting in the kitchen, especially in the corner which looks quite dark even with the new lights. Ikea or similar places have inexpensive options, some of which are battery powered so easy to install.

Also, put away as much kid stuff as you possibly can, ESPECIALLY for the listing photos. It makes the space look cluttered and the whole idea of listing photos is to get people interested so they come see the house in person. (You’ll have to keep it clean and tidy for showings, but I think people are a little more willing to ignore something like a high chair in the kitchen as long as it’s out of the way of traffic when they’re in the house in person.)

Just trying to be honest so you don’t put on market before you are ready. I am sorry for your tragedy and know that can set anyone back. Just realize, what might look ok to you, a person looking to buy will use any deficiency as a reason to cut your price. Buyers are very savvy so just try not to react to what feels like strong input, but rather eyes trying to help you get max dollars for this home. Wishing you the best.

The white table in the kitchen, the barn door on the pantry, and the shiplap on the fireplace are the elements saying “I really wanted a farmhouse” to me the most. That’s why I suggest getting a stager to help - store the white table for now, and rent some furniture and decor that will tone down the farmhouse aspect of things. If it is a good market hopefully you won’t have to rent for long.

One tip I can offer is to give each room purpose. Looking at the photos above, it wasn't clear what room I was looking at. If a room can't be staged according to it's purpose, I think it's best to leave it empty. I love to look at real estate listings and a random chair and lamp in a bedroom to "stage" devalues it by comparison to an empty room.

Also, do not set the tables. It's better to just have a clear dining table.

Stop "fixing", just clean/ de clutter. Then price it way under market, and whatever lying price a realtor tells you can get. Sorry.......it just needs more than you or anyone wants to spend to make a cohesive whole. Too many "hands" have already tried. That's apparent in the photos.

Find the best Realtor in your area, one who specializes in homes in your price range. He/she will guide you as to what buyers expect in your area. Follow that advice.
I always had fresh flowers on the island in the kitchen and master. A wooden bowl filled with large green apples was the only thing on my breakfast table. Always leave during open houses and showings. (Library, coffee shop, mall, park...)

Just leave it be. No more remuddling. Clean and de clutter and that is it.

I agree with the suggestions that additional fixing is not the right path. Some older friends of ours are putting their house on the market and have put in a great deal of work on what they consider as improvements. I privately tell DH that the new buyers will most probably rip out/replace most of what they've just done. There are excellent tips in this thread, best of luck with a quick sale, and please let us know how it goes. I don't know if anyone has mentioned baked cookies or fresh bread - the smell is wonderful :) I seem to remember also someone dabbing something - was it vanilla? - in the vents as well.

efredericks50, everything will work out.

Once the house has personalized items removed & cleaned up for show, you should not have a problem selling this home if your market is hot, like most now. Nothing wrong with posting pictures during the process. That's why people post in design dilemmas to ask what to do during the process;)

If you're feeling overwhelmed with these decisions now, get a realtor to put on MLS & a stager to help you make these decisions. They are a wealth of info & worth the investment.

I was a license Realtor for years. Get an agent who knows your local market well. Ask them for sales comparables, tell them you want to sell it fast. Tell them to be honest about the price you can get & avoid the overpricing games to get the listing. Give them a 3-5 month agreement to put motivation to sell it fast.

If you're going to sell it FSBO, try it for a month. Pay to get the house on MLS & offer 3% to buyer agents. Realtors have MLS access. Make sure the agent you hire will have your home on MLS, that's where the buyers & agents mostly look. If it's not on MLS you will loose valuable buyer exposure.

People telling you to put your house lower than market without knowing the market & comparing the numbers, is pre-mature opinion, not useful advice based on facts.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Good news, most areas are having hot markets, the economy is better, & the house will probably sell fast. I have 2 friends who sold there houses within 3 days this month. Their new problem is they need to find their new home faster than expected. So, be prepared.

I think the best thing to do is finish all the cleaning and reorganizing as you stated. Once you have to the point that YOU think it is good to go, THEN repost your pictures. I see that it can be a bit frustrating by some of the comments posted (though all valid) when you have not finished your project. I like the fact that you painted the walls white from the previous colour. I look forward to seeing final pictures and hopefully some of the comments that come after that will be more valuable and make more sense to you.

I would declutter, clean thoroughly and step back and look. If it still needs something I would paint every single wall throughout white. All that painting would be a ton of work so make sure it will be worth it, but it will make everything light, bright, clean and contemporary.

Once your daughter and her family move out, you can declutter and hire a stager. If you don't want to hire a stager who might recommend paint colors, are you willing to paint the green walls the same blue as the other walls? Don't spend money on any big change like a new fridge. Do buy some puffy new king pillows for the master bedroom (2 for $20), a great new comforter with shams ($100), and some fluffy new towels ($50).

A week before the pro photographer comes in, take your own "dress rehearsal" photos with all the lights on and the curtains open, and no clutter. Then look at the photos on your biggest screen and your phone. You want the shoppers to see "light, bright and airy". If the photos don't look that way on a two-inch phone screen, use more lights, put in brighter light bulbs, take down the curtains, and remove dark accents such as black throws, wrought iron doodads, navy curtains, and dark throw rugs.

Stop where you are and this weekend visit some open houses in your area. Get inspired to simplify, de-clutter and stage minimally. Then make it clean enough to eat off the floor. You'll be ready to go.

Not sure why we needed see any "before" pictures. It made your post hard to follow. If you're looking for advice on where to go from here, we only need to know what you have now. I won't repeat the good advice you've already received.

I honestly liked it better before, surprisingly enough - your color taste was excellent and fit the house and wood very well. Your renovations are nice, but not really helpful to selling fast - better to just finish what you’re doing and not do anymore. Really!

Declutter, use a storage container if necessary. Clean it until it is spotless. Then price it aggressively. Those are really the most effective - clean and well priced.

i know it is so hard to keep it in good shape while you’re living in it with kids, but the big pickup and cleaning out all that isn’t critical is going to go a LONG way. Good luck!

I agree, Don't do anything else. I've been house hunting, and wouldn't care at all what it looked like inside if it's priced right and in the right location. I want to put my own touch on things. I'm in a sellers market too, and have had dated houses sell on the first day for over asking before I could even see them! I want to know the big things are in working order; roof, ac, water heater, foundation....

Just wanted to say good luck with the sale. Once daughter has moved out it will be easier to declutter etc. Take it one room, one cupboard at a time. Don`t look at the big picture, it will drag you down. A little bit at a time and it will get done.

We’ll be putting our home on the market shortly so I can empathize with your stress. I’m sorry there are so many people on these forums (primarily “pros”) who seem to get a kick out of burying advice in between blunt and often down right rude comments. Setting aside this sad display of crassness that some couch as “honesty,” I think the consensus is declutter, declutter, declutter. I’ve heard many agents say that buyers will often only want to pay pennies on the dollar for upgrades or they simply want to do their own thing. I’m sorry that you and your family are having a difficult time and I wish you all the best.

In looking at the fireplace remodel, I am concerned it does not meet code for non-flammable surfaces that close to firebox.

The advice not to spend anther nickel "fixing" is good advice albeit painful.

The only energy that should go into this is immaculate cleaning .

Nobody was rude, it's just fact. It has been muddled. ....

I fail to see how a love fest of paint this , paint that. do or don't set a table. .... Etc helps. The house will sell at the right price. As do all houses

Stop spending. Talk to your realtor. Get it super clean- like eat off the floor, clean. Remove as many of your personal items as you can. Then set the right price. That is all. Stop spending though :-)

As someone buying a house, I look at price first and location a close second. If the price is right I can budget the cosmetic fixes. You might be wasting money when someone out there would have liked the house the way it was or plans to tear everything out anyway. I personally don't like the old color or new color, but odds are you may not like my color choice. I would rather a seller allow me to pick the color and have it painted my choice a closing. I can also tell the difference between a clean and a cluttered house. I can look past clutter.

One other suggestion, hire a home inspector to go through your house to learn what problems exist prior to listing. Get those issues addressed before you spend any more money on lipstick items. I also agree with the others, get with a Realtor to get advice on what your house needs appearance wise in order to sell in your market. Talk with a stager, clean & declutter. I would not consider much beyond the foregoing unless it is to paint walls to neutralize the space or renting furniture to improve staging. Lastly often your first offer is your best offer so consider carefully and remember that there is a “time value to money.” I had a physician neighbor who refused to sell because he and the prospective buyer were $9,000 apart on a $650,000 house. The seller refused to budge, the house sat on the market for another year and went into foreclosure. The seller in his zest to save $9,000 spent much more on mortgage payments, property taxes and then his credit getting tanked.

We recently sold our home (before it even went on MLS), very quickly. I had a decorator I’d used before give me advice on what to do to get it ready, e.g., remove wallpaper and paint, replace carpet, but no changes to a dated kitchen or baths. Then once I had done all that she recommended and I agreed with, I had her and my real estate agent walk each room of my house with me taking notes, giving me their recommended staging changes, e.g., remove 2/3rds of books from bookcases, get rid of these 3 chairs, remove all but a few family photos on mantel and other surfaces, etc., etc. it made a huge difference in how the house showed. All of this was on top of major clean and de-clutter. Since we were downsizing to our new home, it was actually a very productive if painful exercise. Good luck to you on your sale and believe that you are getting good advice here, even if it’s not delivered in a way that is easy to take. I actually didn’t enjoy having the decorator and my real estate agent tell me that my house was cluttered and hence unattractive ...... but they were right!

I don't think your house is dated, it's just super unique.

I would totally hire a stager if I was in your position. Someone who knows the local market. The place has oodles of potential. A stager can help you attract the right buyer, who will totally appreciate the unique features of your home and stage it to attract those who also will. For much less $ than any further efforts beyond a good cleaning & decluttering and a staging fee to rent furniture temporarily.

Why did you go towards farmhouse with your updates here? Do you think the local market wants that? Or is that what you want in your next home? I am curious.

If the former, rest assured not everyone in the market wants farmhouse. Some of us want anything but, and it's difficult to find what we want these days, as flippers have gone crazy with shiplap and barn doors and white kitchens, regardless of what the home's "bones" seem to want.

If it's the latter, there's nothing wrong with that, there's room for all sorts of preferences..... but do your wallet a favor and no more updates that you can't take with you to your next home. Save your pennies for decorating your next home, not this one, just the way you like it. Leave this home more open to the imagination of potential buyer.

There IS one out there for your home... the pool may be smaller, but it exists nonetheless. Hire a good stager and let them work their magic to find that buyer.

Some things to consider:

The shelf above the range is a code violation - no combustable surface within 30" above of a stovetop. Replace with a stainless hood - a better look than an over the range microwave. Many will not consider a home without a functioning range vent.

If the house does not move and since you are into DIY, repaint in a color more amendable with the warm wood tones and a lighter feeling. There are some light sage green /grays that might work to blend the warm tones with the cool or consider whites perhaps with gray undertones.

If it does not move still, lower the price. Unfortunately HGTV has led people to believe that a home needs to be "updated" to sell faster and it also makes people think they can get their remodel money back. Remodeling should be done for your own enjoyment, not to sell a home because you cannot predict the taste of home buyers and only rarely will you get 100% of the remodel dollar back. My neighbor across the street is learning this lesson as her over priced "updated" home has sat on the market for 9 months, even with dropping the price $75,000 while older non updated homes, reasonably priced are selling well.

The remuddle was mixing warm tones with cool tones. This is a frequent "design dilemma" that gets posted - attempting to mix older warm woods with trendy grays. If the dilemma gets posted before anything is done, many here can help point the right direction. The reason homes 20 years ago were not painted gray is because gray works poorly with warm wood tones. The new gray paint colors were developed because they work well with white cabinets and trim. Do not paint the cabinets and trim - that is not where new designs are headed especially for this style of home.

The newer 2018 design pics are turning away from the over use of gray to a reduced use of gray, a return to whites and creams and warm wood tones. Mosaic backsplash are no longer popular and they don't work well with oak cabinets - too much movement between the oak and the backsplash. I would not replace it as new owners will want to do the countertops or a whole new kitchen. If it is within your skills, and if complaints come back about it, consider removing it and replacing with painted drywall - then the new owners can do as they please. You could shiplap it like the fireplace, but again, new owners will have to change it if they change counters, so a possible waste of resources. Plus, there is a bit of a disconnect between "oak cabinets" and "shiplap" - I know as someone with oak cabinets. While many like open concept, many don't. By opening walls, you have decreased the wall space needed for a good kitchen layout. The fridge needs a landing space and there isn't one - and why it looks big and lonely.

The difficulty here is if you desire to make money on the work you have done, you may be disappointed. Some of what you have done is good. Increased lighting is always good - hopefully proper permits were pulled or it may come back to bite you. Price the house and see what happens - you can never tell depending on your market how fast it will move. If it does not move - ask the realtor what people complain about. Whole house remodeling should be done with the help of a good designer. There are ways to skillfully blend the old with the new, but it can't be learned on HGTV.

Any tips for finding good pros for a whole house remodel?

Yes I agree. The updating advice came from a previous decade where it was much more a buyer’s market, and the choice was to get the house to move or not based on whether it could attract eyes. It hasn’t been that way for over a decade now, most home buyers don’t demand an older home be updated in this market, as long as it is priced accordingly.

Clean is critical - shampoo carpets, power wash, get out any smells, and the rest will take care of itself. Old or lacking updates is not the same as dingy. Avoid the latter :)

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