Best paint color to sell a home? (appraisal, agent, sales)

[pierced]

Btw, my house is 2459 Sq ft 4bd/2.5bth with hardwoods, brand new kitchen with corian countertops, a two tier deck with step into 42 jet hottub, huge master (17x16) with cathedral ceilings. I have it priced for 209,900. It is 7yrs old.

[Gretchen B]

Originally Posted by pierced

Thank you for the comments so far. As soon as the house is empty we will be able to really get good showings I think. One big obstacle we are facing in showing it while occupied is that we have our dining room used as "bird room". We have 6 exotic birds (macaws, eclectus, tiels). I take all but the two macaws out for showings (Have to leave all the cages though) but people are so freaked out by these huge bright birds that they can't see the potential.

Some of the realtors have said that one of the macaws mocks them while they are looking around. (Laughing when they do and saying "Uh huh, Oh! Yeah..MMM HMMMM)

Now that gave me a chuckle.

Yeah, I can see where the birds might be a bit of a drawback during showings. However, if a bird lover happens to come along, you've got a sale!

[Northwoods Voyager]

I see nothing wrong with your walls. I am now in the process of repainting most of the walls in our home and have chosen white for many reasons. It is as neutral as you can get and if someone wants to paint their choice of colours, they can without too much fuss. Some colours may have to painted over 2 -3 times.

Mustard? Oh, please no no no. I recently had to have a young couple repaint their kitchen and dining room from mustard to a very light beige. Their choice of colour. You do want buyers to see the structure of your home, no distracting colours, etc. Good luck...

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by pierced

I live in the South...Greensboro NC to be exact.

Our walls downstairs are white in the hallways, light grey in office/living room, very subtle light blue/green in kitchen (white cabinets/grey countertops). In other words, our walls are very light.

I keep hearing comments about it seeming "cold". BTW, our furniture style is contemporary with black wrought iron, stone, glass and leather. Minimalist for sure.

We are moving out in 2 weeks, so the furniture will no longer be an issue but what about the wall colors? I have been told to paint them a mustardy gold. (NOT MY STYLE!)

Any opinions? Here is a pic of the living room and kitchen

http://www.piercesdesigns.com/images/personal/insideliving.jpg (broken link)

For what it's worth, I'm looking for a house right now, and also selling one. I think it's impossible to anticipate the taste of the buyers. What one person hates, another will like.. it's futile. I think your house looks fine, and any house I look at, I just assume I will want to change the paint anyway.
I am only interested in the bones of the house, and the location, and if the price will allow me to get what I don't like fixed.
Don't sweat it.

[VillageLife]

The colors are very nice! There are many who use beige or coral white

[PghREA]

I would leave the walls the way they are - very light and neutral in color. Mustard yellow, and brick red does not appeal to every one. The buyers will be bringing their own decorating ideas to the home. If they like the deep rich colors, they will paint the walls deep rich colors and if they like pale neutral colors, they will paint the walls pale neutral colors. The important thing is that the walls, floor, ceilings, windows and light fixtures should be in excellent repair and CLEAN. If you are leaving blinds/window treatments, they should also be CLEAN. Bathrooms and the kitchen should be SQUEAKY CLEAN. The laundry room, basement and garage should be CLEAN.
Although it is a "used" home, it will be a "new" home for the buyers and should appear as much like a new home as possible.

Cleanliness sells better than any fad paint color.

[pierced]

I am in Greensboro, NC. I live in what is considered a "desirable" older neighborhood. The house is a 1971 home, but we have updated everything in it. We never intended to move when we bought it in 2007, but after all the kids moved out this year we realized 3500 sq feet is TOO MUCH.

We bought the house as a "fixer". Since 2007:
Replaced both zone heating and air including the vents.
We removed all the walls and put in high end insulation and redrywalled and flat ceilings.
Brand new kitchen in 2008 that is huge.
New laminates in the entire house except bathrooms.
Brand new master bath with walk-in tile shower.
New 30 yr roof
New vinyl siding
7 new high efficiency crank out casement windows across the front of the house
Before I list I am having all the Corian countertops refinished and shined

The house doesn't really comp with the neighborhood because it is 5 bdrm, 3.5 bath and most in the neighborhood are <2800 sq ft with 4 bdr or less.

I am driving myself nuts seeing small imperfections and trying to fix EVERYTHING. Nick in a door frame? Putty/sand/paint. Etc etc.

Should I just step back at this point? People looking at a 1971 house are going to expect some minor flaws right?

We had the house appraised by a bank-level appraiser and the realtor is going to list it for 100.00 below the appraised value to be able to say "Below appraised value!"

Can you tell I am nervous it won't sell?

[Electrician4you]

I wouldn't go too crazy. Let the buyer decide. They may like it as is and you aren't shelling out money. I would completely STOP putting anymore money in repairs or fixes

[chet everett]

In cases such as the OP described I would ABSOLUTELY get a thorough "pre listing home inspection" and be sure to do every last thing that WILL come up from the "GFCI" in kitchen/bath/laundry to the optical sensor on the automatic garage door to non-incadescent lights in the closets.

That will basically force any inspector the buyers hire to say "this home is fully compliant with current codes and better than when it was brand new.

I would probably also spend a weekend changing out electrical outlets and switches, especially if they are that ugly 1970s "putty" or light brown. Just get nice CLEAN white ones and that will freshen the look.

Swapping out ALL the bathroom faucets / shower heads for a nice modern brushed nickel is a very easy update for most any 70s bath, especially those with yellow brass.

I might also head down to the local building products store and get some nice solid wood interior doors if I had ugly flimsly hollow doors that were popular in the 70s.

No one is gonna mistake your home for a brand new one but neither do you want any chance that buyers will emotionally identify your house as "dated" and the little things can go a long way in helped to push those thoughts out of their mind.

[davebarnes]

I would leave at least 5 small, obvious "defects/problems/concerns" for the buyer's home inspector to find.
They have to find something. Make it easy for them.
They find it and you agree to fix it and everyone is happy.