Real Estate advice

[Zombie]

I'm selling my condo, and I'm trying not to pay an agent to sell it.
My question is, should I rearrange everything I have strategically, or should I move out, paint and clean and sell it move in ready?
I have a few options for alternate housing untill I sell.
Personally, I'd rather see a house empty, but I'm a freak and known to be stupid, so I figure som additional opinions would help.

 

[benjy]

make it a poll... my personal preference would be to see it empty

 

[78mitsu]

You should show it furnished, the reason is if it's furnished it shows that there isn't a rush to sell, if it's already empty, I lowball -> wouldn't you.

 

[Brett]

I'd rather see the place empty as well. Makes it seem larger than it does with it packed full of furniture as well.

 

[Caleb]

A furnished house will sell, unfurnished will not. Reason being is people are dumb and when they walk into a room that isn't furnished they can't imagine their own stuff there. With it furnished the can visualize their stuff more easily and once they start imagining their own stuff in your space then you are tons more likely to sell. The trick to having it furnished though is to furnish it sparingly. Do not have a ton of crap in there, get rid of any and all clutter and eliminate most of your furniture. Just because you have furniture in there does not mean it can't seem spacious. People pay thousands to have companies come in a setup homes they are flipping just so they look "lived in"...these services wouldn't exist if they did no good. Also, just because you have stuff there doesn't mean you have to live there. When I tried to sell my house the first time I moved everything out and it was on the market for 8 months. I was priced low for the area and my house was quite nice, (ask Herzog ) I got quite a few people through but no real bites. I believe 100% it was because I emptied the house then listed it.

 

[wally]

I would say leave the stuff in it. take out what you can so it does not seem to small. I have always heard that if you have your things in, it will give the buy an idea on how thier things will fit.

 

[Stephen]

Furnished. Gives the prospective buyer an idea of how furniture will fit. And as said before, doesn't denote a need to sell.

 

[DevinB]

Yup, leave it furnished but sparingly. A small entertainment center and TV. A small kitchen table. Small beds and a small, simple nightstand or dresser. Make it look lived in, but use small furniture. People will be able to visualize their stuff, but they'll get the idea that there's a lot of extra space. Over-sized stuff will make it look like there's no room to move around or do different furniture arrangements.

 

[skeptic]

Furnished, and with quality stuff. You want to give the impression of a nice place that potential buyers would want to live in. If you plan to sell or trash your old furniture and buy new stuff for the new place, buy it now. Clean out clutter. Add some nice plants if you have the space. Of course paint and clean everything that needs it. I've bought 4 homes in the last 7 years (don't ask) and looked through well over 100. Another thing, get rid of anything that might be "creepy" to someone. One house in particular I looked through was filled with religious stuff. Nothing against it, but it was way too much. A month or two later our RE took us through it again and it was all cleaned away. The house looked 100% better.

 

[Zombie]

So currently my plan is to move out of the house, and leave it very sparingly furnished. I'll beg/borrow a full size bed, cause my king pretty much occupies the bedroom. I'll only leave what will make the place look nice and homey, and I'll be sure to take my collection of shrunken heads with me.

 

[DevinB]

and I'll be sure to take my collection of shrunken heads with me.

Take your pron too. Don't want to leave that laying around...