I just got back from an appointment with a client that has an interest in selling their home. The client and I were going through a list of things that should be taken care of prior to the house going on the market.
They have several rooms that are very bright, bold and vibrant colors. I recommended that they paint those couple of rooms a light neutral color before the house goes on the market. Then, the house will appeal to a broader range of buyers. And, painting won't be an item that gets put on the laundry list of items that a buyer feels he needs to do to the house.
Often times when rooms need to be painted the buyer automatically wants to take $5000 or more off the price of the property. When in reality a paint job for a couple of rooms may only be $500, or even less if they do it themselves.
After the appointment, I headed back to my home office. When I walked through the front door of my own home, I had to stop for a moment. We are in the process of painting the interior, a room at a time. My 14 year old daughter keeps telling me, "Color, we need more color on the walls!" So, we're starting to add some color, which we've never really had much of before.
In looking at the new colors in our house, I thought, well, obviously we won't be selling anytime soon.
This article is authored by
Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate
Brevard County Real Estate & Investing
I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.
that for you
Sandy, I like color on walls in homes other than mine. I know the color will grow old fast for me which is why I keep to the neutral colors in my own home. Colors do have a different energy and they can cause us to feel differently in a room. I like your colors.
How right you are Sandy! When my wife and I bought our first home we made a rather big fuss over the walls, which were a darker maroon color than the picture above. The ENTIRE downstairs and upstairs hall way was this color.
We asked and received a reduction in price only to spend far too long to sand, prime, and re-paint the entire house. Boy do I wish we didn't have to do all that. I remember being so angry every time I looked at those walls. Hahaha, thank heaven for High Hiding Primer!
To end in a happy note, the experience brought some great laughs and a greater awareness to the necessity of a neutral color base to our house. Great post Sandy!
-Joe
It's a hard call, this issue of colour. I find some places, with strong colour sense, balance our kind of vistas -- ocean/forest. Bland wall colours don't counteract the intensity of green and blue, in our "natural" landscapes.
Neutral is great for selling a home if it is not TOO neutral. A seller can brighten their home with accessories in lieu of paint. The great thing about it is.............. they can take the colors with them when they move.
Painting a home to sell and painting a home to live in are two VERY different things, Sandy. I happen to like the colors you chose. However, if you ever do decide to sell anytime in the future, make sure you heed your own advice and "neutral" it up a bit. :)
I agree Sandy that bold color needs most of the time to be toned down to neutral to sell or otherwise it creates to much of an emotional feeling.
So why does our advice to our clients not pertain to us. You are brave my friend!
Make each day a great day!
Hi Sandy, white walls bug me especially in winter when it's white outside. I like color, but can agree with you that most buyers want to start out with the neutrals...then pick their own splashes of color. I like the colors you have, particularly the tropical orange in the bathroom- that just looks like Florida to me!
Hi Sharon
When we'll selling less color is better.
Good luck and success.
Lou Ludwig
Sandy,
I like color but generally accent colors work best for me or an accent wall.
Ann Hayden in sunny Wildwood, Missouri
Sandy - I LOVE IT!! My bath downstairs is a deep, true orange with black slate floors! My office is sienna, go girl!