Selling My House...., I Think

I'm in the market to buy a house in your area. From what I've seen so far, your house sounds no different than every other house as far as not being updated and seeming a little cramped. However, 1600 sqft is huge compared to some of the other houses I've looked at, so thats a plus right there. I'll tell you though, when I look at one, an outdated kitchen really is a turn-off. A lot of the houses have very outdated colors in the kitchen and the appliances are older than me! None of that other stuff really bothers me, but some people have no vision and need to see the house without alot of the clutter and toys.

Ideas for making your house look nice without actually removing all your stuff or spending a load of money:
-Painting is a good idea, its a quick fix and its fairly cheap. It makes the walls look fresher and brighter.
-Make all beds in the morning.
-Keep no dirty dishes in the sink!
-Keep the clutter to a minimum.
-Pack up the toys that are rarely, if ever, used.
-Pack up extra stuff in the kitchen, especially stuff you don't really use (i.e. extra dishes, cookbooks, extra pots/pans)
-If you have a lot of furniture in one room, just move out one piece and put it in storage, it can make a huge difference.
-You don't have to move the table out of the breakfast nook, but if its an expandable table and you have the extra leaf in it, take it out for now. If not, don't worry about it.
-If you have big dogs, it might be a good idea to remove them just when you know people will be looking at your house in case they have small kids who are afraid.
-If you have really old appliances in the kitchen, look into the scratch and dent section at Home Depot or Lowe's or any other store that sells appliances. Sometimes you can get brand new stuff very cheap because it has a small dent or scratch on the back that you wouldn't even see once it is in place.
-If you invest just a little, you could get a lot more for your house.

My aunt just sold her house in two days (in San Antonio). The house is over 10 years old, as are the appliances. She has bunk beds in one of my cousins rooms and both of my cousins have LOTS of toys. My aunt did not move anything out of her house. All she did was the stuff I listed above and it sold. Don't be discouraged.

If you want a new realtor, Jenny Capritta was recommended to me. She lives in Lakewood and has for years so she knows the area and pretty much deals only with real estate in that area.

Good luck selling your house!

Hey, D.. Ever seen "Sell This House" on A&E. It's usually televised on Saturdays around 3:30 or 4:30 pm. They do something called "staging" to help homes sell better. Not all real estate agents do this well, but I got a lot of ideas from this show.

I used to live in the area too. I had an agent that I wasn't happy with. After interviewing 2 other agents, I went with Jenny Capritta. She is an awesome agent! She lives in the area, knows it well and is well known herself. Our house had been on the market 4 months when she came into the picture. Our house sold 2 weeks after she became our agent. For top dollar, no less. She is very, very good. She will tell you what to do, what not to worry about, etc. 2 of my friends that live in the area are also using her and are very happy with her services. Her is her website, check it out: http://jennycapritta.com/

D.,

Although I think if you took your friend's advice, you'd probably receive higher offers, I don't think that's your only option. I live in the same zip code and there is a dominant realtor in our neighborhood that sells tons of homes. I know many of them are original owner homes that have never been updated and they are bought by families, not construction companies. I think you can still get a fair market price for your home as many people who buy in our area, do so with the intention of updating the home themselves. I would suggest you give Ronda Hardt with Ebby Halliday a call. As I said, she lists the majority of homes in my neighborhood and I don't know of any that have been bought by investors. Good luck!!