Buying A Home
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please critique pictures/home!

So, me and my husband put our home up on the market about 3.5 weeks ago. we've only gotten 1 person to schedule an appointment so far, and there was 1 person at the open house who seemed interested. Can you please critique our pictures.. we need peoples opinions. Also, we're trying to sell a 1 bedroom townhouse.. which is hard in itself. Has anyone sold a 1 bedroom townhouse, and if so, please tell me about your experience.

 http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/535-Summit-House_West-Chester_PA_19382_M44095-40839

 P.S. If you know anyone whos looking for a 1 bedroom townhouse in the Philadelphia suburbs, please refer them to this website.. thanks!

Re: please critique pictures/home!

  • I think the pictures are okay and home is set up nicely.  My concern as a home buyer would be that I can't see the whole exterior of the house in the first picture.  I've turned down listing because I don't know what the outside of the house looks like.

     good luck!

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  • If it were me then I would pay for a professional house photographer.  The pics are ok but they don't make it look special.  The listings with pro photos always look better.  I just think they took the pictures in a weird way that doesn't show the pros of the house.
  • The whole exterior is basically there. Its a condo inbetween 2 other condos. The outside is small. 

    as for professional photographer- I was thinking that. I still keep in contact with my wedding photographer, I was going to ask him if he could do it. He prices are very reasonable.

  • I think that the fence in the first picture makes the place appear hidden and/or tiny. I hate to suggest taking it down but, does it have to be there? eta or at least consider staining it. The grey color just feels old.

    Also I think you should remove the picture that looks through the window at your kitchen and stove. I had to stare at it for a minute, thinking it was a mirror.

    Finally in the description, the very first sentence says "perfect for...downsizers". That's just going to highlight the fact that your place is small. I would try and reword that.

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  • Overall, it is a cute, updated property! 

    I dont think your pictures do much for it.  Here are my thoughts:

    • -I don't like the first line of the description. 
    • -Could you add flowers or something to the area in the second picture?  It seems odd to have a picture of a patch of dirt.
    • -I agree with removing the pic of the kitchen cut through.  Too much white and you have  a few better pics of the kitchen already.
    • -I don't like the pics of the bathroom.  It seems so sterile and white.  Could you either paint the walls a neutral, warm color or add some accents with a touch of color (shower curtain, hand towels, etc)?
    • -I like the balcony pic! 

    Good luck!

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  • Here is my honest opinion and some suggestions (DH and I just sold a SFH at the end of May):

    Exterior/Front area. Makes me feel depressed. It looks sad and dingy. Very grey and blah. I know it is part of a community, but what can you do to make the front say, "Welcome! Come on in!" Can you freshen the paint on the fence? Fix that walkway with new pavers? Line the pavers more neatly with pea rock? For the "yard" get some sod? Plant yellow flowers. Put a flower pot at the entry of the walkway? And, clip those plants growing up between the fence?

    Kitchen: Good and neutral. I like that you have cleared your counter tops. Add a nice potted plant to make it look more lively and homey.

    Master Bed: Nice. Cozy looking. Window looks good with draperies. Suggestion: Remove that random mirror on the floor. Straighten bedding. Also, flip bed to wall where dresser is and put dresser where bed is so you see the bed as you enter the room.

    2nd Bed: Screams bachelor pad. Tone down some of the black. And, the first thing I thought when I saw that art above the wall was, "That looks like a vagina." Sorry. Could you opt for a large floral art piece instead?

    Bath/Lanudry: Nice. Neutral. Clean.

    Balcony: Add yellow flowers. Be sure it's cleaned.

    Hallway/Stairs: Neutral. Can you get a nicer light fixture? Something that has a few lights on it that can be angled in several spots to brighten that area? www.lightingdirect.com

    Living/Dining Spaces: Soften the dining area, making it more homey, by adding a drapery rod in a bronze color above the kitchen cut out window. Do a neutral drapery panel on each side of it. Get a chandelier that will stay with the property. If you cannot hardwire it, buy one that uses a wall plug and can hang over the table. In the living room, put the TV on the opposite wall. Put the sofa where the TV is. Add an armchair, on an angle, with its back to the entry area, facing the TV. Buy an area rug to ground the space and separate it from the Dining space. Your area rug should be under the front legs of the sofa. Also, get a small coffee table or two small side tables next to each other with a few inches open between, to make a coffee table.

    Entryway: Make it more useful. Hang hooks. Target has nice ones. Add drapery rod (bronze) and drapery panels in neutral colors. Get a small area rug that coordinates with the area rug from the Living space. Add a potted plant to liven and soften the space.

    That's about it. I hope this helps. And, ditto PPs. Get a professional photographer who specializes in RE photography. Online pics can make your deal! Good luck.

  • Also, I'm confused.  Is it a 1br or 2br?  The ad says 1br, but I see pictures of 2 different beds.
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  • Ditto a professional photographer! I would also recommend using an inside picture as your "cover" photo. We are also attempting to sell a condo, and switching the order of the photos got a lot more "hits" online which led to many more showings.

    There are several other units for sale in our community, and our covoer photo being of the inside really set it a part from the others.

    Good luck!

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  • I wouldn't lead with the outside of your townhouse.  That isn't a grabbing picture. 

    I would suggest better quality pics- wide angle lens will help get more of the space into the picture thus making it look bigger.  Also, the light glare throws off the whole picture. 

    I would take out the picture of the mirrored reflection of the stove, the pic of the washer/dryer (both just look odd) and I would suggest focusing on the space of the dining room.  The current picture focus more on the actual furniture.

  • Are housing prices high in PA? I'm no expert, but I live in a big, incredibly popular and fast-growing city in the south. My husband and I just bought a 3 BR, 2.5 bath house in an established, family-friendly neighborhood for $150k.And we have hardwoods through the whole house, high ceilings, granite countertops, the whole 9 yards. $124k seems steep to me for a 1 BR townhouse... but again, that might just be a differences in the pricing in two different markets.
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  • I can't stain the front fence, we live in a place where there's association rules (everyones house has to look exactly the same) 

    but definitely good point with the picture with the kitchen.

    i'll talk to my husband about the wording.. thanks again for your critiques! 

  • it's priced right - all other 1br townhouses in the area are going somewhere between 120-130k. We made sure we had comps and priced it fairly. 
  • I would totally remove the outside pic or move it to last. 

    The 2 different beds confused me too.  also the bed is a little messy. 

    Remove  the candles by the flowers on the shelf in the dining room. Put one of them on the bathroom shelf for a pop of color.  You have other fancier candles on the other end it just looked off to me. 

    I would hide more in the kitchen.  IMO the spice rack and the K-Cup stuff could be cleared as well. 

    Change the hand towel in the bathroom to something with a little color.

    I agree with the PP switch the TV and the couch to give a look of more room near the dining table.   An area rug would help define the living room too. 

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  • The first photo of the exterior is not flattering.
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  • Ditto many of the other posters. If you can't do much about the curb appeal, don't lead with that photo. Also, I'm still confused on the bedrooms. Is it a 1 BR with a den that you're using as a second bedroom? I would clear that up because the pics make it look like a 2 BR, but it's being advertised as one.

    I think saying it's great for first-time home buyers is good, but definitely take out the part about downsizing, as others have said. You could just leave it as a great place for a first-time buyer and emphasize that you're getting so much more for about the price of renting a place. What is the condo community like? Maybe play it up to that demographic. If there are lots of young professionals, maybe try to market to people just graduating from college and getting their first job, etc.

    I'd take out the second pic of just the dirt and also the one looking into the kitchen through the opening, like others suggested. Try to bring more color into the bathroom.



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  • about young professionals and college grads.. thats actually illegal to advertise. 
    • you can be fined more than $10,000 for each discriminatory ad, plus damages in court, plus loss of license if you are a professional 

    • avoid phrases which could be interpreted as discriminating by race/color/origin (e.g. 'hispanic area'), religion (e.g. 'christian home'), age / familial status (e.g. 'no kids' or 'ideal for single/couple'), disability, or sexual orientation 

  • Photo 5 looks like a picture of the dining table and doesn't really show the room.

    Photo 7 of the kitchen cutout needs to go.  It is repetitive of other pictures that show the cutout and makes the kitchen look small.  

    We live in a TH with a condo association, and I know that when we go to sell I will be doing a lot to spruce up the landscaping even though they are in charge of it. For instance, our association has recently begun to mulch only once a year, so the mulch looks pretty sad, so I will be laying down new mulch in the beds next to our house. We will consider getting our portion of the house power washed. Could you get the fence power washed to freshen it up?  I would think about what you can do to make walkway look its best and try to figure out a solution to the dirt. 

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  • I think the picture with the green floor is out on the balcony - that is a great selling feature but it's not played up to its potential.
  • picture 1 and 2 have that empty space in the front, I'm guessing is the front door? that space looks awkward and useless space. Maybe put up curtains? it just seems empty. other then that I love the place, if i still lived in that area I'd totally come look at it.  good luck
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