House hunters: What do you look at?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Note I said, “at,” not “for.” We all have certain things we look for in a house; but in looking, what do you see? What matters to you as far as the overall look goes when you’re house-hunting?

We’re currently trying to sell our house. Not so long ago, our house was full of the things we liked to have nearby: bookshelves full of books, pictures on the walls, pieces of furniture, mementoes, knickknacks, and so on. We liked it, and we were kind of surprised when the listing realtor told us, “There is too much here; you have to de-clutter to show how much room you have.” And so we did. Books and bookshelves and some furniture and everything else not absolutely essential for daily life were packed up and put into a U-Store-It locker.

Then, it was time to clean. The house was scrubbed, vacuumed, and dusted. Corners that hadn’t seen daylight in years (due to the “cluttering” shelves and furniture occupying them) were cleaned, and parts of the house that we didn’t often enter were cleaned also. Some painting was done, some small repairs were made.

A good cleaning is never a bad thing, but now, we stay on top of things so we can leave at a moment’s notice if a prospective buyer wants to see the house. The general rule is, “If you pull it out to use it, put it back when you finish.” This applies to coffee cups, computers, clothes, and other things. Incoming mail is taken care of immediately: bills are paid and filed, and magazines are tossed once we’ve read them. We vacuum every day or two, clean cat litter boxes sometimes twice a day, and otherwise make sure that everything looks, smells, and feels clean and uncluttered.

And it’s killing us. Our house no longer feels like it’s ours. It’s a museum; all that is needed are velvet ropes and “Do Not Sit” signs on the chairs. It’s as if our house has had its soul ripped out–it doesn’t feel like our home as much as a place we go to in order to return to those childhood days of visiting Grandma and her “sit still and don’t make a mess” instructions.

So, Doper house hunters (and others who can contribute), since we’re wondering if we can “slack off” a bit, let me ask you: If you were looking for houses, what would you look at? I’m sure you’d want to see a clean house, but what would you not care about if you saw it? A coffee cup on the kitchen counter? A tuft of cat hair on the carpet? A laptop computer left plugged in and placed on a table? A current magazine visible on the table by the armchair? Or would these be dealbreakers for you? If not them, what would?

2

A cup or two in the sink is not a big deal. One house that we looked at had childrens’ underwear in the kitchen sink along with dirty dishes - that quickly ended the tour (that was beyond the food turning to rot on the counter, dirty clothes on the kitchen table, and fly strip hanging above the stove)

Spiderwebs in the main living areas would bother me.
Dirty ceiling lights (bugs inside kind of thing) are out.
Empty toilet paper holder / roll on the floor bugs me, but maybe that’s just me.
Scummy soap on the counter, dirty tub (hairballs), scummy shower curtain all point to cleaning neglect.
Very disorganized cupboards/closets are out also. If I’m looking to purchase your home, I want to be able to see what the storage spaces look like. If I open the hall closet and can’t see beyond the crud, then it’s obvious you haven’t put time in to completely staging your home.
Fake flowers in vases bother me also, unless the seller is elderly. I tolerate more when the seller is elderly. If you can’t spring $5 for a simple bunch of wildflowers, just put the vase away.
Dirty socks on the couch, no. Dirty socks in a hamper, no problem.

I do want the house to look lived in, not faux lived in as a professional stager would do. Leave the remotes on the table, not hidden. Leave a pair of shoes by the door, I don’t care.

3

For us, it didn’t matter much, but that’s not going to help you. We got a good deal on a house that had been sitting on the market for several months when everything in its range was selling, and we think a lot of it was because there was so much stuff in the house. (We closed at the end of February.) The woman we bought our place from had stuff everywhere (though the house was clean), and we weren’t put off by it, but I think some people are. Our realtor seemed to think so, anyway. He was great, and he was constantly telling us to overlook things that weren’t going to be part of the house when we moved in, like people were always passing on houses because they were cluttered. Now, a house that’s dirty to the point of neglect would put me off, but a lived-in look doesn’t bother me. I think extra careful staging is popular because it works, because a lot of people can’t tell that, even though it’s crowded, a living room that can fit two couches, four chairs, and an army of endtables is not a small room.

4

Thanks, folks. Good to know that a bit of a lived-in look is not a dealbreaker. Thanks to your answers, I was able to convince my wife that we didn’t need to vacuum just prior to clearing out for yesterday’s viewings. Though we still did make sure that all the used coffee cups were off the counter and in the dishwasher.

I will admit that both my wife and I agree that dirty dishes and children’s underwear in the sink would be a dealbreaker for us too. But I think we’re OK on the items in MissTake’s list. Let’s hope so, anyway.

Thanks again, folks!

5

I know how tiring it can be to keep up the house appearances, I think it’s worth the effort however. It’s like a first date between buyer and house. I want that WOW factor at first, then I will be more open to accept the inevitable imperfections later. I as buyer want to pretend the previous owners were meticulous about the upkeep of the house. If they are unconcerned about leaving a dish or two in the sink during a house viewing were they lax in changing their furnace filters? caulking their bathtub correctly? hiring a non-licensed electrician?

Seems like a strange connection, but those home selling programs on TLC show I’m not alone in that attitude.

6

It really comes down to the overall impression, and what your market is like. If I was trying to sell my house here in Michigan where the market is terrible, you can bet I would be setting up my house in a perfect condition. People want to fantasize about the fabulous life they would have in this house. Look how clean it is! Look how much space there is! Maybe my life would be this way too! (ok, no one really thinks this to themselves, but it makes an overall impression on people. Think about how packaging and advertising affects us. We buy the red box over the blue one, or whatever, without knowing why.)

If your house looks meticulous, it makes me think “these people really care about this house. I bet they took good care of it.” Now, my husband and I are ones who would rather buy the house full of junk that everyone else overlooks because we know we will get a better deal on it. But you ultimately want as many people as possible to want your house, not just one person someday.

Research shows people form an opinion about your house in less than 10 seconds. After that they are either falling in love with it or just humoring the appointment. People are not looking at things like the roof condition, or the furnace, or the plumbing during those 10 seconds, they are taking a quick glance around the place and seeing how it is presented. Even though everyone knows that things like electrical and energy efficiency and the foundation are things that should be more important, people just like pretty houses and will justify those other things if they just love the feel of a house.

I guess it all comes down to, how set are you on getting top dollar for your house and how quickly. Someone will probably buy your house eventually, no matter how clean it is, but for what price and when?

7

My take on this is somewhat different. I think that you want the place to look as perfect as possible so it stands out in the buyer’s mind. When my wife and I bought three years ago we probably looked at 100 places. The ones that stood out were either really well staged and arranged or the places that were total dumps. Otherwise, is they were generally clean and somewhat lived in, they tend to blur.

In a tough market, why take chances. A tuft of cat hair or worse, that pet smell that some places get would be enough to make me walk in this market.

8

Sorry, Spoons, but if you want your house to sell quickly, it has to be immaculate so no potential buyers are turned off. I think even coffee cups in the sink put too much of “you” in the house, and you want prospective buyers to only be putting “me” in the house.

Jim and I don’t care much about the clean condition of a house, but we are well aware that we don’t look at houses like average people (we’re looking at the bones of the house, and where the load-bearing walls are and stuff like that, but we prefer fixer-uppers, too).

If it makes you feel better at all, we’re going to be going through the same thing next spring, and this half-assed housekeeper is NOT looking forward to it. :slight_smile:

9

I agree with Featherlou. We sold our house in June after nine months on the market and you better believe I kept it spotless. I wanted nothing within my control to negatively affect any potential buyer.

So yes, all those touches that make a place feel comfy to us were removed–all but I think three personal pictures, most books, most movies, I put up only a few very generic Christmas decorations, I wiped granite counters every day so they had zero water spots – well you get the idea.

Yes it was a royal pain in the butt. However our goal was to sell the house. So the temporary pain was worth it.

When we looked here in Boston, clutter and debris did negatively affect my perception of a property only because if the current owner couldn’t be assed to take care of minor things like that, what did he/she leave undone in terms of essential maintenance?

We saw one place that had visible signs of mouse or rat infestation. I wouldn’t have taken that property if it had been free.

10

I need to imagine myself in your house. Which means I’m careful to think “where would shoes go? Where would all my canned goods go? Where can I stick that darn “once every three years” ice cream maker? Where do I stick my magazines?”

If you have shoes, fine, if they are organized in a fashion that makes me go “oh, my shoes will go here. That will work.” If they are scattered or in the way, that reminds me that our household has a ton of shoes! If your magazines are on the table that makes me think “this looks like a great place to read!” that’s a positive. If they are stacked in a corner (or make me question if I want to buy a magazine from a regular reader of Juggs) - that’s bad.

11

We went through house selling and buying last spring. Talking to our purchaing realtor, we are atypical, in that we look at what a house can be, not just what it is.

I’ve heard this from realtor every time we’ve bought or sold. Most people looking at a house aren’t thinking “What can I do with this house?” They are thinking “Do I want the life this house is showing me RIGHT NOW?” They want to think that they can sign the paperwork and step into the living room that they toured. They want it to always smell like vanilla and cinnamon and to always be neat and tidy, even when they know that they don’t bake and they dust once a year. While deciding to buy a house usually isn’t a spur of the moment thing, deciding which house seems to be, for a lot of people.

Even knowing that, I still can’t pull off the amount of work needed to keep my house that way when I’m selling. I too hate the feeling of living in a staged house. I hate worrying about if the pillows on the sofa are straight and if there is anything left in the garbage can. I’m sure this last time around, that if we have been more on top of it, we could have sold the house a bit faster, if we could have stomached spending more time prepping the house.

Anyway, good luck.

12

The problem is - I think a clean staged house vs. a cluttered house gives the potential buyer an impression that the buyer isn’t even aware of.

They see a cluttered house and even though on one level they know that it’s all superficial and that it will leave with the old owner, on another level their impression is “small rooms” or “poorly cared for”

So even though you’d be absolutely correct in that any sentient person realizes that a broken tricycle on a sidewalk means absolutely nothing about the house standing behind it, on another level buyers will make snap judgements about the house if they see something like that.

To take advantage of this - pay particular attention to “curb appeal” - making sure the front is door area is very clean and inviting, as well as the entryway, bathroom, and kitchens. After that - as long as the clothes are picked up and the beds made you’re probably OK.

When I sold my house it really helped to have a friend that I knew would tell me the truth go through it and point out things that jumped out at them.

13

Cat hair signifies cats, which may cause some buyers to fear (however unfairly) that there will be odors or stains of cat pee even after you leave. I would definitely suggest that you be vigilant against any visible cat hair.

In fact, if there are any family members who would be willing to take in your cats during this time, I think it’s to your advantage to do so. No issues of hair, no litter box at all.

14

My kitties are why I vacuumed rugs, wood floors and furniture almost daily. I’m really tired of vacuuming these days :eek:

15

None of those are dealbreakers, but don’t slack off. Even if you try to stay 100% on top of everything, you will always miss something, and/or the buyer will notice something that you never would have noticed.

Yes it’s a pain and it doesn’t feel like your home, but that’s what you have to do to sell it. I recently went through it myself.

16

Price!

I live in Flipsville, Arizona and there are so many bubblicious homes on the market that not much else gets my attention.

17

One thing that drove me crazy, was furniture placed at weird angles. Like a sofa or bed backed up to a corner. I blame all those Interior Design shows. It can look good if done right, but I want to be able to visualize my non angled furniture in the room. Also, at first glance it makes me wonder if their furniture doesn’t fit any other way.

18

Good God. People who freak out about signs that I actually LIVE in the house I’m selling should stick to purchasing new construction and stop inflicting their neuroses on other people. Don’t like the cat hair or a couple of cups in the sink? Fuck off.

Now on the other side, I can see the Idea of wanting to buy a house that looks clean, because there’s always this idea of “what kind of mess are they going to leave behind for me to clean up?” I don’t want to show up on the day I take possession and find the place filled with all the cat hair that was behind every piece of furniture and never cleaned, or (as the first time they attempted to turn my current apartment over to me) the toilet caked in dried urine (I walked out and demanded they CLEAN THE PLACE before I would take possession of it).

Honestly, and this is from a great deal of experience in looking at houses: Condition of the roof and walls, inside and out), age and condition of the furnace, A/C and water heater (if it’s old, you may be replacing it soon). Signs of water damage on ceilings and along floorboards. Condition of the windows, especially along the lower sills, looking especially for mold and water damage. In the bathroom, not only mold (even painted over mold), but the afore mentioned dried urine on the toilet, behind it and on nearby surfaces (really gross).

In the basement, condition of the pipes and any exposed insulation. Cleanliness of the floor drains and signs of flooding or mold. Condition of the walls and paint.

Around doors, windows, basement and bottom of siding: Evidence of insect or rodent penetration, rot or mold.

Bottom line for everywhere: Mold, rot, decay, infestation, damage, water damage.

19

I’m trying to sell a house to and have had similar threads on this and other boards and discussions with realtors and people who’ve successfully sold a house recently. The consensus seems to be

1- move-in condition (forget the Home Channel shows, people don’t want to have walls moved and additions made before they move in)

2- good price

3- good location

and honorable mention

good kitchen.

20

Realtors can be so strange.

I first saw my house at an open house, for which the house had been really cleaned, staged, and the pets (dogs) removed for the duration, except for a couple of toys which were in the flower bed.

The house was being rented, and the renters had a clause saying nobody could come in without 24 hours notice, so once it was under contract, when I wanted to come in and measure stuff I had to give the notice. After the initial open house they didn’t clean up much at all, which was okay. (I don’t know what they did with all their stuff for the open house weekend.)

The only thing that put me off was the annoyance of having to give 24 hours notice whenever I wanted to check something out, although that only happened a couple of times. But it wouldn’t have put me off if their stuff had been around during the open house, because what I look for are:

Signs of spider or other insect infestations
Signs of water leaks
Sagging (roof, floors)
Enough electrical outlets

(I was also quite put off by recent kitchen remodels, because I am a control freak and I long to remodel my own kitchen the way I want it–without granite countertops, thanks so much).

Hey, I just found my househunting notes. Things that put me off were: aforementioned kitchen remodel, fresh white paint, weird smells, gang graffiti on the back fence, fireplug in front yard, scuzzy apartment house across alley, bad view, irregular shaped yard. I admit to being kind of nonplussed about the staged houses. They looked like people had moved halway out. They made me think desperate seller. I guess the realtor would call it motivated rather than desperate.