You like purple? Well...good for you!

I guess it just can't be said enough times.  If you're going to put  your house on the market.......fix and clean it up!!  And yes, that means painting.

I realize that the market is slow to recover so houses are still not selling as quickly as they once did.  Certainly they're still not selling for the over inflated prices they once did.  However, if you want your house to sell at all, you are going to have to paint, clean and declutter.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Why would anyone buy your house when they can go around the block and buy a similarly designed house for just a few thousand more that is turn key??  The answer is - they won't.

Little girls love purple and pink.  Grown girls love red.  Lots of men (and women) love hunter green.  Prospective buyers don't love any of them.  When a homebuyer looks at your house, they are not only mentally measuring the size of the rooms and closets, they are also mentally drafting a list of items that must be done before they can move one piece of their furniture into the house.  It's not so bad when they see white walls or beige walls because those are easy to paint over.  But when they see red, purple, pink and hunter green??  They are thinking of how many gallons of primer it will take before they can even begin to paint.  Any color with a red base or a green base is incredibly time consuming to cover.

Below are a few examples of a house for sale that will stay for sale for a long time.

The dreaded purple.......

Not to be outdone by the purple, this house also has an entirely red room....

And here's the kitchen.  Outdated appliances, laminate counter tops, wall paper instead of back splash, hanging fluorescent lighting, inadequate counter space which they emphasis by keeping it cluttered, old kitchen cabinets that are not only old, but blandly painted with old hardware AND a very liberal amount of pure grime thrown in for good measure.  See the doors above the stove?  Ewwww.

The house pictured above looks nice from the curb.  It's in a decent neighborhood and is actually listed at a decent price - if it were clean, decluttered and painted.

Remember folks - before you ever list your house do these three things:  Clean, Declutter, Paint.  You won't regret it and you will sell your house in record time for the highest price the market will bear.

Promise.