If the Walls Could Talk . . . But They Are Talking Every Day Your Home is on the Market

If the Walls Could Talk. . . But They Are Talking Every Day Your Home is on the Market!

Your home is on the market.  Every time a prospective buyer walks through a room your walls are talking to them.  What are they saying and are they really the words you want prospective buyers to hear?  And what are the buyers saying to your walls?  We could eavesdrop on a few conversations . . . .

The walls say:

"The owners loved this mauve color when they painted this room years ago.  In fact they still love it because they're not going to change it.  Look how well its coordinated, even with the trim.  They are not going to update because then you're free to pick exactly the colors you want after you move in."

The buyers are saying:

"Look at that paint color.  Nothing we have coordinates with that.  We couldn't live with that, so we would have to paint right away.  That's a lot of work and probably the other rooms need painting, too.  It's going to cost us a lot of money to paint the whole house. Let's just at look at another listing." 

The walls say: 

"We looked great 20 years ago when this wallpaper first went up and borders were so "in".  The owners don't want to remove the wallpaper.  They are hoping they find the right buyer who loves us just the way we are."

The buyers are saying:

"We have no idea how to remove wallpaper.  This is a major project.  It's too much work, and we'll never find the time to do it.  It's going to end up being expensive.  We definitely would like to see other listings."

These paneled walls say: 

"We're sturdy and can take a lot of abuse from children and pets.  We were definitely fashionable in the last century and I'm sure we'll be trendy again some day, if you can just be patient."

The buyers are saying:

"Paneling?  I thought that went out in the last century.  Who wants to live with that today? We certainly hope they updated the rest of the house.  Oh, we should just skip this and move on to look at the next listing.  Hopefully it is more up to date." 

These walls are saying:

"We're embarrassed.  They didn't finish us.  We are only exposed 2 x 4's, with plumbing, and a few dangling wires where the light fixture should be.  The owners gave up, ran out of money or just didn't care enough to finish us". 

What the buyers are saying:

Oh, my gosh.  Do the laundry in here?  If this is the way they left this, how many other incomplete projects will we find in the rest of the house?  We could make a really low offer, but what an inconvenience to finish this after we move in.  Oh, let's just look at another listing."

These walls are saying:

"We're inviting, updated, and well-taken care of.  You would love living here.  No work to do, just move right in." 

What the buyers are saying:

"This is fantastic.  Just what we have been looking for.  It feels like home!  Let's make an offer today."

The first four properties could have benefited from staging; the fifth one did.  A professional stager would have addressed each of these issues with the sellers and made suitable recommendations.  What caused the buyers to lose interest in the first four, were actually simple changes for the owners: 

• The dated mauve wall color and trim could easily be painted over with a warm, inviting color, giving the room a much needed updating. 
  
• Wallpaper can be removed and the underlying walls repainted, making the bathroom appealing to a broader range of buyers.
• Even paneling can be painted to give it a fresh, clean look, so it look less like paneling from the "last century". 
  
• And the laundry room without drywall?  Finishing the drywall and hanging the light fixture in this addition would not have been as expensive as what the buyer will deduct for it remaining undone. 
  

The nominal investment in any of these projects would reap huge returns to the sellers.  It may also be the deciding factor for receiving an offer or being passed over.

Does every wall in your house say, "Buy Me"?  Home staging can turn the buyer's conversation from "looking at another listing" to "looking to make an offer".