Painting Your House to Sell It Quickly - Painting Tips and Tactics
Do you need to paint your house in order to sell it quickly? In most cases, yes. If you have recently painted the home, and you chose neutral and soothing colors, you might be able to skip this part of the preparation stage. But in most cases, painting is a smart investment prior to listing a home for sale.
There are several reasons for painting a house before selling it:
Back in 2002, my wife and I were shopping for our first home in Maryland. We pulled up to one house that was very nice ... from the curb. It was a new colonial-style home with nice architectural touches and tidy landscaping. It was a bit far out from where we worked, but we were flexible. So we went into the house with an open mind.
And everything went downhill from there.
The first room we entered was the living room. The paint color could best be described as dark pink, and it had a flowery wallpaper border around the entire room. Way too taste-specific. So right away, I was thinking about how much work I would have to do to tone down the gaudy color palette in the space.
It only got worse as we moved through the rest of the house. Apparently, the lady of the house ran a daycare from her home. She used the finished basement for this, and it was painted in true daycare fashion -- one wall was bright red, one was bright blue, the door was green with a yellow frame. You get the idea. It was over the top, gaudy, and the exact opposite of how you should paint your house when selling it.
We went into this house with an open mind, and it could very well have been the one. But the paint scheme blew it for us. I had estimated that I would have to spend 30 hours of labor -- and hundreds of dollar in painting supplies -- just to make the house presentable. No thanks!
So we left and did not look back. And judging by how long the house had been on the market, I would venture an easy guess that many other would-be buyers did the exact same thing. The homeowners were either very lazy, in a state of denial, or both. The paint colors were killing their chances of selling the house, but they weren't doing anything about it.
That was my own story of bad paint colors when selling a house. Earlier today, I saw this very same thing on an episode of The Unsellables, a home selling show on HGTV. You've probably seen this show, or a similar one. They will focus on sellers who are having trouble selling their house for some reason, and they'll bring a real estate agent through to point out the potential problems. In this episode, both the host and the visiting agent could not get past the bold color schemes. Bright orange bedrooms. Bright red living room. That sort of thing.
One of the homeowners said it herself during the episode. She said, "This is just our style ... it's how we like our house." Exactly! It's how they wanted the home to look when they were living in it, but most buyers would be repulsed by the colors. You have to put your own style aside when you are trying to sell your house.
The last thing you want to do is paint the home with a taste-specific color scheme that says, "This is our home with our unique style." After all, you are trying to appeal to the masses, as much as possible. Ever wonder why most car dealers show silver cars in their commercials? Because that color appeals to the largest audience. They rarely show bold red or green models in their TV commercials and brochures, because those colors are too taste-specific. You should use this same strategy when painting your house -- if you're serious about selling it quickly.
Which Colors Will Help You Sell the Home?
Choose soft and warm colors and avoid bold ones. A soft yellow, beige or olive color is generally a safe bet for most rooms. If you're not sure where to start, ask for advice from the paint person at your local Home Depot or Lowe's, or at a local paint store. Tell them you are selling your house and ask for their advice. They will probably be happy to give you room-by-room tips for choosing paint colors.
There are several reasons for painting a house before selling it:
- To neutralize the color scheme throughout the house
- To freshen up the appearance of the house
- A combination of these two things
Selling a House With a Bad Paint Job
Back in 2002, my wife and I were shopping for our first home in Maryland. We pulled up to one house that was very nice ... from the curb. It was a new colonial-style home with nice architectural touches and tidy landscaping. It was a bit far out from where we worked, but we were flexible. So we went into the house with an open mind.
And everything went downhill from there.
The first room we entered was the living room. The paint color could best be described as dark pink, and it had a flowery wallpaper border around the entire room. Way too taste-specific. So right away, I was thinking about how much work I would have to do to tone down the gaudy color palette in the space.
It only got worse as we moved through the rest of the house. Apparently, the lady of the house ran a daycare from her home. She used the finished basement for this, and it was painted in true daycare fashion -- one wall was bright red, one was bright blue, the door was green with a yellow frame. You get the idea. It was over the top, gaudy, and the exact opposite of how you should paint your house when selling it.
We went into this house with an open mind, and it could very well have been the one. But the paint scheme blew it for us. I had estimated that I would have to spend 30 hours of labor -- and hundreds of dollar in painting supplies -- just to make the house presentable. No thanks!
So we left and did not look back. And judging by how long the house had been on the market, I would venture an easy guess that many other would-be buyers did the exact same thing. The homeowners were either very lazy, in a state of denial, or both. The paint colors were killing their chances of selling the house, but they weren't doing anything about it.
Bold Colors Can Kill the Sale
That was my own story of bad paint colors when selling a house. Earlier today, I saw this very same thing on an episode of The Unsellables, a home selling show on HGTV. You've probably seen this show, or a similar one. They will focus on sellers who are having trouble selling their house for some reason, and they'll bring a real estate agent through to point out the potential problems. In this episode, both the host and the visiting agent could not get past the bold color schemes. Bright orange bedrooms. Bright red living room. That sort of thing.
One of the homeowners said it herself during the episode. She said, "This is just our style ... it's how we like our house." Exactly! It's how they wanted the home to look when they were living in it, but most buyers would be repulsed by the colors. You have to put your own style aside when you are trying to sell your house.
The last thing you want to do is paint the home with a taste-specific color scheme that says, "This is our home with our unique style." After all, you are trying to appeal to the masses, as much as possible. Ever wonder why most car dealers show silver cars in their commercials? Because that color appeals to the largest audience. They rarely show bold red or green models in their TV commercials and brochures, because those colors are too taste-specific. You should use this same strategy when painting your house -- if you're serious about selling it quickly.
Which Colors Will Help You Sell the Home?
Choose soft and warm colors and avoid bold ones. A soft yellow, beige or olive color is generally a safe bet for most rooms. If you're not sure where to start, ask for advice from the paint person at your local Home Depot or Lowe's, or at a local paint store. Tell them you are selling your house and ask for their advice. They will probably be happy to give you room-by-room tips for choosing paint colors.
Labels: preparation
posted by Brandon at
10:18 AM
