Selling house, what's more appealing to buyers?

Don
Joined
23 Oct 2005
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44,265
Location
North Yorkshire
Hi all,

This sounds like a silly question but I'll see what you guys think.

We're currently selling the house we are living in currently, we have our new house ready to move into (no chain, we don't need to sell this to move to the next). We're basically still in this house as it's fully furnished and we didn't really want to move/sell things whilst it looked in it's best state.

There's no rush but I'm just thinking I'd like to get moved into the new house asap and am thinking of moving things now, do you think potential buyers won't appreciate seeing the house in 'bare' form and will be put off? The plus points it will be ready to be moved into instantly and also usually rooms look bigger with nothing in and also they could imagine how they'd put their own mark on things.

What do you guys think?

The house has been on the market 2 weeks on Monday and has a couple of viewings.
 
Personally, I prefer no furnishings as it allows you to picture what you want to do with it.

On the flip side, it makes it look more like a home than a house if it has furnishing.

Sorry for not being much help :P
 
Agreed. De-clutter but keep the main furniture. It gives people a better idea of what can fit into the space.
 
Agreed. De-clutter but keep the main furniture. It gives people a better idea of what can fit into the space.

Totally agree.

We had a similar situation to you a few years back and a basic furnished house really does help visualise what can/could go where.

Also with it not being lived in day-to-day it's easier to keep things clean, just a dust once a week and the nice bathroom linen out and bedding etc makes a difference but is a nightmare to keep looking nice if used daily!
 
I will be in a very similar position very soon, I've always been under the impression that houses sell much better when furnished, it's amazing how little imagination people have and a completely bare house can turn people off as they can't envisage themselves living there.

HEADRAT
 
We have done quite a few viewings recently and I have to say that the empty houses stood out to me way more than the lived in ones. Allowes you to picture what you want in it, makes the rooms seem much bigger, and also I felt allot more comfortable looking around an empty house than wondering around a house something is living in :)
 
Personally, I prefer no furnishings as it allows you to picture what you want to do with it.

Agreed.

Although, small spaces and rooms look bigger with nothing in it, so it may be a little bit misleading, but that's to you advantage.

However, if I were a buyer the ideal conditions would be to have the bare minimum, i.e. beds, sofas and tables still there, but that is obviously no use to you because you just want to get moved. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
To be honest, the main parts, TV, Setee, Dining table, Fridge are things that we'd be moving/selling so when I say the house would be bare I mean nothing :p

Here are the pictures of it currently: http://forums.overclockespco.uk/showthread.php?t=18519871

It's pretty minimalistic anyway despite having a 2 yr old :p

To be fair your current house is well furnished and modern which will no doubt appeal to potential buyers. As you say despite having a 2yr old its not cluttered with toys etc. About the only thing I think looks out of place is the curved chez longes (sp) in the lounge. It just seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps chuck that into storage cos its already got a substantial sofa so its a good sized room. A couple of the colour schemes are a little loud forny tastes but if buyers can't see past something that can be fixed with a lick of paint then there's something wrong with them.
 
To be honest, the main parts, TV, Setee, Dining table, Fridge are things that we'd be moving/selling so when I say the house would be bare I mean nothing :p

Here are the pictures of it currently: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18519871

It's pretty minimalistic anyway despite having a 2 yr old :p

Just seen your pictures and I'd scratch what I said earlier, you will have no problems selling that bare, if its in a relatively good location and reasonably priced. Its in great condition inside. Maybe put photos on Rightmove with all the furniture in, but then move it out for when viewings start.
 
To be fair your current house is well furnished and modern which will no doubt appeal to potential buyers. As you say despite having a 2yr old its not cluttered with toys etc. About the only thing I think looks out of place is the curved chez longes (sp) in the lounge. It just seems to be in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps chuck that into storage cos its already got a substantial sofa so its a good sized room. A couple of the colour schemes are a little loud forny tastes but if buyers can't see past something that can be fixed with a lick of paint then there's something wrong with them.

I don't think the pics do it justice to be honest. But I see your point.

Just seen your pictures and I'd scratch what I said earlier, you will have no problems selling that bare, if its in a relatively good location and reasonably priced. Its in great condition inside. Maybe put photos on Rightmove with all the furniture in, but then move it out for when viewings start.

Thanks, yeah it's on right move as furnished :)

Thanks for the advice guys.
 
Forgot to mention as well if there's anything that you're wanting to sell before you move into the new place I'm sure you could add that in as an extra if your future buyer would like it included? Just negotiate a price on top of the fee?
 
I will add on further later but let me add this one thought for now: you are selling a lifestyle which doesn't necessarily have to be your own. You want people to walk in and think "yeah I can see myself living here" rather than "I don't like that, I need to change x,y and z".
 
Agreed. De-clutter but keep the main furniture. It gives people a better idea of what can fit into the space.

I agree with the posters saying this.

You're in the ideal situation to do what all the property programmes say need to be done, but most of us can't because we still have to actually live in the house! :rolleyes:

Move all but the bare essentials out. Dress a bedroom as a bedroom, i.e. a bed and maybe some storage. A living room, as a living room, i.e. a TV and a sofa....etc...etc.

Make the place seem spacious by removing most of your belongings and de-personalise, i.e. no pictures of friends/family/pet; but not so empty that people can't imagine what each room does and what (of theirs) will go into it. Most people need help to picture themselves in a property, as most people are idiots. :)
 
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Just had a chance to look at the pictures and it looks pretty clear already. I put everything in the garage that caused clutter. Every time we had a viewing we would have to clear EVERYTHING in to boxes, this includes everything in the kitchen, bathroom etc. Each viewing on average took a couple of hours preparation beforehand but it was well worth doing.

Make sure your pictures are decent, find someone with a DLSR, tripod and wide angle lens. Think about it, when you see a house on rightmove you are immediately drawn in by the pictures. You want to make sure yours stand out above everyone elses. The agents don't know what they are doing, I see some awful examples of pictures. I'd be livid if they marketed my house in such away. Also a floorplan is absolutely required. I'd suggest you use an online estate agent, I can put you in contact with mine who were generally excellent.

Here are some examples of my photos which I took myself, with very little photographic experience. Note that I redone these as the snow dated the image and how we laid the table so people can see themselves sitting at the table eating.





Edit: If you are interested, here are the original images the agent took in comparison.

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii434/MadaCup/DSC05878_zpsbfb6397e.jpg
http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii434/MadaCup/DSC05891_zpsbd7ddbc1.jpg
 
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