Hi all,My wife and I are staging our home right now in preparation for puttingit on the market. We're conscientious folk who are going to leave thehouse in better shape than when we bought it with a number ofimprovements and repairs we've made. We've been watching the usualshows on HGTV/TLC etc that show people preparing their homes for saleand we *think* we've got everything covered, but you can't be too safe. Here's my question for those of you who have gone to an open housewith the intention of buying a home: What did you check for in terms ofcleanliness ? What did you check for in terms of features ? We'regoing to hire in a lady we know to dust the tops of picture frames,clean window sills, etc... but it's sort of like packing for vacation...you don't want to remember that you forgot your swimsuit when you'rehalfway across the ocean. So folks, what did you check for and whatimpressed you ?ThanksOtter

I like the shows on TV that you mentioned. I think they have a lot of goodadvice. The first thing that I notice is how a place smells. Smell is sucha primitive and powerful sense. It can instantly bring up vivid memories anevoke strong reactions. It is hard to know how your place smells becauseyou have gotten use to the smell. Maybe you should have someone you trustwalk through the house and give their opinion.After smell, I think that you need to brighten the spaces by opening windowtreatments. Along those lines, one of the things I notice is ceilings. Itseems that many people paint walls, but don't bother with the ceiling. Iwould make sure the ceilings are bright white and free of cobwebs.I also tend to notice corners. I see cobwebs on walls and accumulations ofdirt on floors. Sometimes you need to take a small brush to corners. Also,carpeting can get very dirty along walls. Using a stiff broom to cleancarpeting along baseboards can result in a big improvment.Clutter is...

What did you check out in someone else's house.

Feb 23, 2005 24 Replies

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NewsOtter 21 years ago

And herein lies the tale... Diane bought the house about 10 years ago as her place of residence. Around 5 years ago, we both decided to quit smoking and we met online in a suppport-group dedicated to helping people quit. We fell in love, I emigrated from Canada to California, we got married, and now we're just looking for a place with trees and green because I was homesick for them. So, we're moving to the Sierra foothills. Isn't that wonderful ?

Eddie

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Vox Humana 21 years ago

Yes. All of it, including that you stopped smoking. I am an avid gardener and I can't imagine living somewhere without trees. I spent so many years living in city apartments where there was no place to garden and pets weren't allowed. Moving into a house and getting pets was a life changing decision.

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TammyM 21 years ago

NewsOtter wrote: : Vox Humana wrote: :> :> Good luck on your sale. Did you buy the house with the intention of fixing :> it up for later sale, or did it just work out that way?

: And herein lies the tale... Diane bought the house about 10 years ago : as her place of residence. Around 5 years ago, we both decided to quit : smoking and we met online in a suppport-group dedicated to helping : people quit. We fell in love, I emigrated from Canada to California, we : got married, and now we're just looking for a place with trees and green : because I was homesick for them. So, we're moving to the Sierra : foothills. Isn't that wonderful ?

: Eddie

You need to tell them from **where** in Canada you moved, and to **where** in California you moved for them to appreciate the whole story :-) I was born in the town you're living in now, and I love it, but a lotta folks would fully realize what a keeper is Diane if they knew the REST of the story....

By the way, if you want a nose to determine the odor-worthiness of your place, you can always use mine. I offered to come up there a week or so ago, but didn't hear back from Her Ladyship

I'd buy your house in a heartbeat if it were a little closer to work -- but I really like my bike commute :-)

Tammy, who knows Eds and Diane from the aforementioned smoking cessation newsgroup

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DianeM 21 years ago

I didn't get the reply. You are *always* welcome. Check your e-mail in about 5 minutes. Or sooner. :-)

Diane

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Phyllis Stone 21 years ago

I agree that smell is a big thing, we bought our house in spite of a bad dog smell, but I remember one thing was seeing a floor fan in a den ( we live in a hot climate) which made me think the ac wasn't up to par. Another was a homeowner had a sewing pattern laid out on her bed. At that time I sewed too and this made me think there was not enough room to have a good place to sew. So I guess it would be making the home look accommodating for day to day living.

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