Sellers - first impressions count

david29dpo

Remember, there is no such thing as as interior designer, only people who inflict there taste on others.

baileysbattlebus

We have bought and sold several houses - the last house we bought had patterned wallpaper in all of the bedrooms, patterned carpet in 2 of them, cheap green patterned carpet in hall where the fibres stuck to your heels if they were high. Some badly done DIY, and it needed a new kitchen.

We had viewed quite a number of houses far nicer than this one, we looked around it and when we were in the car on the way home I said to OH "what do you think?" He replied, "it's exactly what we want, isn't it?" Usually it was: "the living area is too small", "kitchen too small", "it's got a shared driveway", "the upstairs is fine but downstairs is too small". I don't think the decor ever crossed our minds. If it's nice and to your taste you're lucky, you can leave your paintbrushes alone for a while.

It ticked all the boxes, location, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, room sizes, garage accessible from the house, garden size, parking for several cars.

The decor and state of the house never came into it.

On the laminate subject - we have an "oak" laminate in our lounge and dining room. One of the things I do like about it is the fact that you can see all of the cr*p, dust, hair, crumbs, fluff etc, where on our carpet you couldn't, I think it's cleaner than carpet and it never looks grubby. And if you damage a bit you can replace it.

Also the poster who says they open all the windows doors before a viewing - we did exactly the same, there's nothing like fresh air.

Birdy12

This is an interesting thread. I think the decor of a house matters less if:

a) you've got the money to change anything you don't like
b) you've got the inclination, and time, to do it.

My mum and dad moved about the same time we did. My mum and dad, as they were retired, were looking for something that needed no more than a lick of paint and maybe a bit doing to the garden (having said that, they did add a conservatory on). We, on the other hand, have a bit of energy, and weren't too fussed if the place need 'doing up'.

As it happens, the place we moved into is 'liveable' but needs everything doing to it (and I didn't realise how dirty it was until the furniture was out). What swung it? Catchment area for a good school and looking beyond the decor to see the size of the rooms, not the decor.

What a person looks for depends a lot on their circumstances. Some people are happy to completely redo, others just want somewhere where they can put their furniture and nothing else.

Having said all this, I am a fan of the 'buttermilk on the walls' thing but that's just personal opinion...;)

SwissLe

I think this is all pretty obvious stuff, most people don't like magnolia as a colour, yet every house mass produced by Taylor, Barratt and other developer has it on the walls. It's a simple colour which is perfectly livable yet warmer than white and looks clean when you first move in. The person can then easily do whatever they feel to make the place their own.

This is perfectly demonstrated by the showhomes you see on the very same developments. A selection of large art or pictures layed out in a creative manner and very temporary items are used to create a feeling of warmth and richness within the property. You very rarely get a house builder painting bright loud colours or performing difficult time-consuming wallpapering in order to shift it's developments. This is becuase they will normally aim to sell the show apartment after.

Netural colours will sell houses. You then need to dress the house to sell it. You can then use it as a selling feature - people love to make the home their own with a little effort. If you have ever attempted to paint over a deep red with a white, you will know it's too much effort - the same with stripping wallpaper and finding the wall coming off too!

As for 'cheap' laminate. I have seen much worse floor coverings. Flea ridden shagpile in peach, industrial vinyl on all floors in factory grey and floral carpets. If it's done well then it's almost impossible to tell from regular hardwood flooring.

Davesnave

Two things sell a house. One is that it has some distinct advantage over comparables. This might be something like a large garden, a good situation, a recent major overhaul, a useful extension, or whatever.

The second thing that sells a house is its price.

If you have a bog-standard house that doesn't stand out from its neighbours in any major respect, then price, not tweaking, will be what gets results.

But then, of course, no one has one of those!

flissh

I'm a fan of magnolia/buttermilk/white chocolate. Even White. The rented apartment we are in at the mo has white walls in every room, and I like it.
The house we are buying has magnolia walls, but so much furniture and stuff crammed in every room it was hard to notice. We liked it because of the location, size and 'feel'.
It did have a whjff of dog about it, but even that couldn't put us off.

retrocircles

lovethymini wrote: »

Interesting topic.

I wonder if I'm the only one who can see past the magnolia, dogs (unless they're on sale along with the house) and piles of laundry and assess what my money is really buying, namely the location, the structure and all the elements of a property that one can't change.

I've purchased four properties to date, and each one has been a tired, unloved shell.

What does put me off, and with the benefit of hindsight, are signs that a property has not been maintained.

It's all very well framing a sample of a snazzy wallpaper (yawn) what I'm looking at on a house viewing are things like small trees growing out of guttering, cracks in walls, creaking staircases, scruffy neighbouring houses, large trees too close to the house, or overhanging the driveway (learnt that one just recently, forever scraping birdpoo off the cars) and general feel about the road.

I could go on but I must get off the soapbox now

Exactly what I was going to respond with.

I bought my house at 21 from a couple in their 80's. You can imagine the differing opinions on decor. This house has been a dream, though if I hadn't seen passed their decor, their furniture and them 'living' in it, this wouldn't be my home!

poppy_f1

as a wannabe ftb im hoping that when i get a house all i have to do it give it a lick of paint so neutral/magnolia walls would be ideal for me
the decor doesnt really matter as long as there is nothing else that needs doing

smell and dirt can be cleaned, maybe im looking at it from a simplistic pov but it will be my first house and will be putting my own stamp on it so regardless of what the seller does to make the house more appealing i would be looking beyond that

AnnaMonkey

flissh wrote: »

I'm a fan of magnolia/buttermilk/white chocolate. Even White. The rented apartment we are in at the mo has white walls in every room, and I like it.

Snap! I like that kind of colourscheme, it means I can add colour etc with my furniture, much more fun that way!

p00hsticks

circuit wrote: »

. Another with a bright red Ikea kitchen caught our eye.

...whereas it would be probably be enough for me to put it in the 'reject' pile without viewing unless it really has something else going for it.....