And the Realtor Said...

We met with the realtor this past Saturday. Armed with a list of questions, I got answers as we walked through the house. There are likely some of you out there who are getting ready to list your house this spring, and I thought you might like to hear what he had to say.

It is one man's opinion - and some of it might be indicative of our area only. He's been a realtor for 18 years, as is his father. He's the top producer in our area, month after month and year after year, which is why we chose him. We also like that he's around 40 - a nice inbetween age for prospective buyers.

He showed up in a suit, was warm, personable, not rushed. We liked him immediately.

So here are the answers to the questions, along with the few things he suggested.

Music - yes, light piano in background, as we had playing while we visited (he noticed)

Candles - no, but nice to use oil burners before a showing. He specifically pointed out that one bedroom, where the oil had been burning, smelled wonderful.

Dogs - go with us (no drop by appts!)

Cat - can stay, loose or kenneled. He told us the disclosure form will show that we have pets, so any prospective buyer will be able to know that ahead of time. For the cat's sake, we will kennel her. We don't want her darting out from under beds while people are walking through our home.

Possibly replacing appliances. He said as long as they are operating, leave them. A prospective buyer will not want to pay for appliances they did not choose, when they may not reflect their personal tastes.

Outside of fridge - empty or photos? Empty as possible, but a photo or two wont hurt.

Family photos in rooms - leave a few. He told us he feels like Americans have gone overboard, after watching too much HGTV, and made their homes blaise, no personality or coziness. He told us to leave what we have out now.

Colors of rooms - we have one bedroom that has hunting dog border, and one that is soft yellow. He thought they were still in the same color palate as the rest of the house, and told us not to paint them. He liked both rooms as they were. He did tell us to take down the guns in the boy's room and put them out of sight - said it might freak out some people.

Closets - as empty as possible. We kept the box our TV came in, and he suggested we move it somewhere else to show the capacity of the closet better.

Home warranty - offer one. Around here it costs $495, and buyers love them. We'll do that.

Wallpaper - a little won't hurt, especially if it's neutral or on the bottom half of a room. Ours is both so he told us to leave it as is.

He suggested we get rid of one piece of furniture in our dining room before the listing to open the room up. He also suggested we tuck a french door behind a piano instead of in front of it to make it feel less congested.

He said it's fine to leave toys out if they are in one area, neatly gathered.

He liked that we had some personality in the house, i.e. the faux fireplace, the stucco wall and the craft room with quotes written all over it. I was not expecting that.

He said the carpet over our hardwood upstairs is in excellent condition, does not need cleaning, but he would note that there is hardwood under it.

He suggested we leave out records to show our AC and heating units have been regularly and recently serviced.

He agreed we should wait to list til the yard is mulched and flowers planted, but to get it on the market as soon as we can. With Pittsburgh's weather that will be mid-April. We often get snow in early April.

That was about it - nothing big to deal with. We pointed out a few things we still want to take care of, touching up trim here or there, that sort of thing. All in all a very encouraging meeting. He measured every single room in the house and will be back later this week to give us comps and a listing price. Hurrah - we're almost ready to go!

I didn't mention yet that we want to take Addison's rose bush and our dog, Lindy's ashes, from the back yard - we'll save that for another day...