Comments on: Selling Your Home & HGTV: Tuesday Tip

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:18:06 +0000

I do watch HGTV but hardly follow or listen to them, I have my on instincts that help me go for what is right! thanks for this post.

By: Amy Keane

Amy Keane — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:30:53 +0000

Karen, I SO enjoy your blog…always informative, and entertaining.

Kudos for speaking out against Housing Porn…it gives folks the false notion that real estate is akin playing the lottery. A home is a place to live, unless you’re a serious long term investor. It is not supposed to be your retirement fund or a cash machine, though all of these sorts programs would lead you to believe otherwise.

The hostess of My House is Worth What? (which we loving refer to My House is Worth SQUAT?!? in my home), Kendra Todd, is credited with saying quite openly ‘There is no housing bubble…bubbles are for BATHTUBS’. YIKES!

Granite…I never got it. To me, it’s just something else I can smash my head on when I trip. Danger!

There’s a home on the market on RT 590 near Lakeville…a slightly oversizd cape cod on half an acre…sharing a driveway with a teeny tiny ranch home that would sell in the 100K range…and their asking price is 675K. No, there is no lakeview. It doesn’t come with lifetime box seats at Yankee Stadium. I just can’t help but wonder how much THEY overupgraded…or what the agent and/or appraiser was smoking when they were checking facts.

Thanks again for all your posts, Karen. You’ve made many a lunchbreak reading session very amusing.

By: Ashley Drake Gephart

Ashley Drake Gephart — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:44:18 +0000

Karen – I watched one episode from my town. The comments about what was adding value was just ridiculous for our area. Some of the advice those shows on HGTV give are just off the mark. Speaking with an agent who is trying to help you sell your home and not one who is trying to sell a show is the best advice.

By: Karen Moorhead

Karen Moorhead — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:43:06 +0000

Our market is one in which there is no added value for a finished basement (even top notch) it just will be the difference between a home that sells and the one next door which sits and sits without offers.

Crown molding sounds like a simple fix but I would have to agree it doesn’t change major impression/offer from potential buyers.

By: Karen Rice

Karen Rice — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:39:01 +0000

Lisa, thanks for the comments. I was also going to rant about Donna & Shannon Freemans “Secrets that Sell” show and decided it was too long-winded, and I’ll save that for another blog!

If only selling real estate were as simple (and profitable!) as it is on HGTV. I love Designed To Sell – but you and I both know that adding crown molding, switching out some drapes, and painting the front steps will increase curb appeal, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to sell at the next open house for $10,000 above asking (with multiple offers no less…)

By: Lisa Heindel

Lisa Heindel — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:38:10 +0000

I don’t know why I continue to be amazed that people will customize homes to fit their own wants/needs and then expect that a buyer will repay them for the time and every penny spent doing it. These TV shows gives sellers an unrealistic expectation of what can be accomplished through cleaning and updating. Sometimes that’s what it takes just to get a house to the same level as the competition and be seen as a comparable.