you need an estate sale. my mom's house really looked a lot like that. (she had every single dept 56 house, and as she passed at Christmas, they were all out on display). my sister and i hired a company that sold everything, and they began with private sales for the antiques. we took the jewelry we loved, a bit of silver, some keepsakes. the estate sale people do the clothes and everything down to towels and rugs.

once the house is empty, you can paint it a bright neutral (your real estate agent will suggest the local color of choice), have it staged only if the room usage doesn't make sense to buyers when empty.

De-clutter,paint and clean. That said, I've seen much,much,much worse.

First off, I am sorry for your loss. Losing someone is so trying and hard, but people rarely discuss how difficult it can be handling all the logistical things like painting a burgundy wall and begging people to take all the nick-nacks on top of everything else.

I would start by having an estate sale to empty the house as much as possible. The clutter seems to me to be the biggest issue. Fortunately for you, the house looks like it's in good condition and not so outdated that a buyer can't see the potential, burgundy wall and all.

What Halley said. Clean and bright, including getting someone in to clean the windows inside and out. Get rid of most or all of the tchotchkes and any larger pieces of furniture that don’t serve a specific and necessary function. So leave the dining chairs and table (though I would remove all the stuff and tablecloth), but remove the bulky cabinet in the first photo. IME, houses will often sell best furnished with items as neutral as possible rather than totally unfurnished, but hiring someone to help make those choices and then stage may be helpful. Many folks get distracted by things like the dining room color, so the more middle of the road you can be as far as that type of quick fix, the better. Also, go through it to see if there are easy fixes such as replacing a cracked tile or window pane, making sure doors close completely, or replacing washers in dripping faucets. You want buyers to feel that the house has been maintained.

Decide if there is enough value in what is there to bring in a dealer in antiques or second hand furniture to take things for a flat amount or if you want someone to run a tag sale or just donate things to get rid of stuff as quickly as possible. I have cleaned out for market three different elderly relatives’ homes, and we chose differently depending on time, energy, the need for financial inflow, and what was actually in the house.

Since my father-in-law is still alive, we can’t have an estate sale just yet. That would be my first action, if he wasn’t. Right now, I’m really just trying to declutter and store stuff in the basement, while updating, in case he decides to sell.

If your father in law is still alive, then I wouldn't change a thing. His world has already been rocked by the loss of his wife.

When & if you father in law asks for help ... help him.
A clean de-cluttered house is all it would really should take to sell that house. Whatever you might do is an expense the buyer may not be willing to pay for. Personally, I am so picky I would probably redo any repainting you would do.

What does your FIL say ?

What does your father-in-law (presumably the sole owner now) want to do? How long ago did he lose his wife? If there's no rush to sell, wait until he is ready to offer your help. In the meantime, you can look up estate sales in your area. Estate sales companies sometimes handle big moving sales, too.

Looks better than most homes so you're ahead of the curve. Yes go though and less is more as to objects. Delete half of them. No table cloth. The rule of thumb here in the red hot SF Bay area real estate market is to paint the rooms neutral to not have a color as a barrier to a buyer ruling out the home. The dark red needs to be a soft white. The living room looks good as to the color.

My FIL is a dear man who has Parkinson’s and knows that he may need to sell the home soon. He’s the one asking for our help. An elderly woman up the street passed recently and he’s watched the sales price on her house tumble down, due to the fact that it’s so outdated, no one will take it on. He wants to maximize the profit he stands to make on the house, so he’s good with painting, flooring, paring down, etc. we just need to be very sensible about what we do, so we don’t spend money that we won’t get back.

The blinds on the windows are fine -- just make sure that they are clean.

If you are looking at updating for sale, it sounds like your FIL has already made that decision - but then you say "just in case he decides". (edited to add, just saw your last post. That certainly makes it easier)

Have you decided with him what is ready to be let go, and if there are any special items that he wants to keep for sentimental reasons? (For example, my mother always wanted to keep a certain bottle of whiskey, although she didn't drink, as a memento of someone dear to her). That would be the first step.

You can present it to him as paring down to help with the home maintenance -- but don't refer to her possessions as "clutter" please! Try presenting it as letting someone else love and enjoy the items (like the crystal and other excess items).

See if he is willing to allow family members to come and choose items to remember her by -- include nieces and nephews if there are any that were close.

You can have a sale, and the company will work with you on making sure that only things that you want sold are, and things you are keeping are moved to safety or off limits. . It is not as easy as liquidating an entire vacated house, but definitely can be done. The same companies often have contacts that will buy collectables or vintage items outside of a sale in the home, as well.

Unless your FIL plays it, offer the piano to relatives, especially any with smaller children. If no takers, contact stores that sell old pianos (few and far between now sadly) or post on craigslist. Depending on age and condition, you will probably have to resign yourself to giving it away. Other than that I wouldn't concentrate on removing furniture yet unless there are pieces he just doesn't anticipate wanting or needing.

Please clarify: Are you asking for inspirational photos?

If the kitchen appliances...as well as major systems...are original to the home, you’ll probably need to update them. Take care of the big stuff first. Cosmetic changes are something a buyer can take care of easily. My older home sold quickly because we took the year before listing to update the kitchen appliances, declutter and clean, replace carpet and paint where needed. The roof was recently replaced and the exterior was in great condition. If the budget won’t allow the expense, then you’ll need to adjust the asking price to reflect that. People can get very emotional about the family home and think it’s worth more than it is. I’d imagine the home down the street was just way over priced for the condition.

Rules for selling a house: 1) must be clean. 2) must be decluttered and void of any personal items. 3) paint must be light and neutral. 4) must be staged. 5) nothing obviously broken/not working/damaged. Then you have to decide if you want a quick sale more as is, or if you want to spend some money to try and get more back. For a quick sale, only spend money on things with a direct return on investment (example, you have to paint, but you shouldn't put up any other window treatments). If you want to keep the house longer and spend some time and money fixing it up, then come up with a plan and a budget of what you should do. Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, so if you decide to upgrade, spend your money there.

Let family members take what they want of the knick knacks and the furniture, only keeping what you need for staging. Store or sell everything else. I would have the entire interior of the house painted a light neutral color. If you don't do the whole house, then at least do those dark red rooms and any other random colored rooms. Make a list of anything that needs to be repaired and get it fixed. Bring in a house cleaner to clean the interior, and have the exterior landscape refreshed. If decorating isn't your thing, hire a stager. Work with your realtor on what they think needs to be fixed or done before listing.

What is the timeline for actually selling the house?

When my mother died, my father stayed on in their home for a few years before moving to an assisted living facility. Their home was also filled to the gills with tchotchkes. As long as he was living there, I didn't do anything in terms of changing it. He had been completely uninvolved with decorating as all he needed was a comfortable chair, his computer and a television :-) but he thought my mother's decor was the cat's pajamas so there was no reason to change anything.

When the move was necessary, I went through the place methodically in terms of making sure there wasn't something that was of great value - either emotionally or financially. My father literally had no interest in any of the tchotchkes when he moved. I had the luxury of being able to do this leisurely as I lived relatively close by so I could go down for a day and do what I needed in terms of going through stuff and throwing out the obvious crap over the course of a few months. It was also a period when theoretically my father was "testing" assisted living although realistically he was not going to move back as it made no sense. Even though he was only about 40 miles away, moving into an assisted living facility a few miles from my home was what was necessary.

I kept some items and had everything else sold by a company that does estate sales. Whatever didn't sell, they donated and they handled everything. The estate sale was done after the condo had been sold but a few days before escrow closed.

I realize my experience may not be the norm but I didn't do a thing in terms of putting the place on the market. I hired a company to do a thorough cleaning but I didn't declutter or get rid of any of the personalized stuff. Whoever was moving in was going to do whatever they were going to do to bring it up to their taste and it wasn't worth it for me to invest any money, time or emotional energy in order to wring the highest possible price for the condo.

I'm so sorry for your family's loss. I would gather all the nick-nacks and after saving a few things for your father-in-law, invite family over to choose a few items for themselves. Then donate everything else to a charity. Paint the walls a warm white, remove the table clothes, and you are done. White walls together with all the warm wood furniture and floors will feel both fresh and cozy to prospective buyers, even if the furniture is not their style.

I recommend not storing things in the basement. I've been in all situations this year - both the deceased parent, unloading their house as the other parent has moved, trying to purchase a home for me and spouse. I can tell you I've walked away from homes that were too dirty and/or cluttered because there were too many unknowns. Our real estate agent for current house did a walkthrough and said it looked great just keep everything clean and in working order.

So much depends on timing and FIL's personal resources.

If you can be reasonably sure that he will only be living here for a few more years (say 5 or less) my advice would be to make sure the big ticket items are up to date: roof, HVAC, electrical, plumbing. Those are things that buyers don't want to deal with and will bring the house price down if left in a decaying state. Even if the length of FIL's stay here is less than the years remaining in the life of these systems it might make sense to update early, now. A buyer is going to like seeing that the roof is only three years old. A buyer might not like to see that the roof will need to be replaced in three years. Having these systems up to date shows that the whole house has been well-maintained. And doing it now means that he will get some use out of them before he leaves. If he is anything like the elderly gentlemen of my acquaintance spending the money to replace a furnace that still has three years left will be a hard sell! If he can get his money's worth out of the new furnace, it might make that concept easier to understand. YMMV lol.

Once any big ticket items are taken care of, leave everything unless he leads the way in de-cluttering. It sounds like you have some leisure to go room-by-room and sort into Keep, Sell, Donate, and Trash. Start with the basement, attic, garage, shed, etc. You don't even need to do the Sell now which is where his finances come in. Unless he will need the money for a move into assisted living, you can take care of selling the house and contents after he moves. Store these valuables in clearly marked "SELL" boxes in the basement.

Then when he does move out, you will be well-positioned to hold an "estate" sale with the contents of the house. It doesn't matter that he's still alive, the label is just a cue that the personal effects of a family's lifetime are being sold.

Once all the contents are gone, paint all the walls in the neutral du jour and price appropriately. I wouldn't do a thing to the kitchen which looks inoffensive (wood cabs are coming back!). Kitchens don't see a huge ROI anyway so if he doesn't need to sell quickly for the money to move, it's better to price accordingly.

If fast cash is the goal, an updated kitchen might accomplish it; consult a local realtor. If max profits are the goal, don't get into kitchen or bathroom updates.

Everyone else has stated the obvious about removing all the personal items, but I would say for a very small amount of money I would paint the pink walls a neutral color, that will increase the desirability 10 fold. Lots of home buyers would be turned off by the color and move on to another home.

I disagree that there are set "rules" for selling houses. It very much depends on the location and market, and market forces can change on a dime. What's true today may not be true in a year or two.

I suggest you ask a good, local realtor to meet with you and your father. Let that person guide the conversation about what, if anything, needs to happen when/if the house is listed for sale. The realtor can discuss market trends, selling costs, pros and cons of the house from a buyer perspective, etc. Bringing in a third party will provide your father with valuable information and give you some cover for any changes that a need to be made.

Good luck. I, and many others here, have been through this and it's not easy.

I agree with not moving things into the basement. Instead, bring them up and have your FIL sort them into donate, trash and recycle categories. An empty, well lit basement is a good thing. If you must keep things in the basement, label the boxes so you won't have to open them ever again before they go to recycling, donatation or relatives (write their names on the boxes).

My other two cents is to consult with an attorney that deals in elder law. He/she will be able to give you advice on the pros and cons of selling the home if/when your FIL moves to a nursing home. (i.e. you want to protect his assets.)

It is highly recommended that you not take a major step until your FIL has had a year to mourn your MIL's death. That doesn't mean you can't begin the process, but don't jump the gun on getting rid of things unless he indicates a serious desire to move on down the road or health issues force things. I actually held a "living estate sale" when we downsized my mom. I simply closed off the large living room and moved all the sale items there, appropriately tagged with the prices I wanted. There was no haggling and I didn't pay anyone to do this for me. It may be more convenient to hire it done, but make sure you've rescued any items you or the family want. You don't want to have second thoughts as someone is loading an item into their vehicle. However you pare it down, being ready for the market entails these steps:

SIMPLIFY - remove the stuff; remove yourself (or themselves)

SANITIZE - remove the years of dirt and grime

STYLE - repair, replace, repaint or upgrade

STAGE - fluff & furnish to bring it to life

SELL - have professional photos made to sell the visuals

Painting throughout in the same color as the living room is essential. New appliances are EXPENSIVE - unless something is broken to the point of being non-functional, let the new owners get what they prefer (offer an allowance if that's what it takes to sell it.) The bones of the house look good, so consult with a few realtors to see what local prospects are expecting, and go to a few open houses of similar homes to see who the competition will be. That will help firm up your decisions about the sale and what is a "must do" to compete in your market. Remember, if you're in a good school district, lots of families shop in the summer to be moved in for the school year, so you have a bit of time to get prepared. How about the exterior and landscaping? Those are the first impressions, as is the foyer, so let's see those.