Good or Bad Real Estate Agent Advice?

When I put my first house on the market 20 years ago, my real estate agent urged me to replace our dated kitchen counter, a yellow Formica counter top that screamed tacky 1970s. Whether stubborn or stupid, I did not heed her advice. Ironically, the young bride who bought the house told me later she loved our kitchen the minute she saw it because the yellow counter was identical to the one in the house she grew up in. "It felt like home," she confided.

Whether my real estate agent's advice to replace our dated kitchen counter was right or wrong, I'll never know. The fact is our home sold relatively quickly in a down market, and we did not incur the expense of a new counter.

In another exception to a real estate truism, my brother-in-law, Jay, decided to stay home and watch football one Sunday instead of fleeing the premises during his home's open house. Real estate agents typically shoo away sellers during an open house because they fear homeowners could make potential buyers feel like intruders or could accidentally say something that scares buyers away. As real estate agent Maria Schneider blogged, "Prospective buyers tend to get a little antsy when the owner follows them from room to room . . . . During the open house, go to a movie, the park or shopping."

Did Jay's occupancy of the Barcalounger to watch football that Sunday spook potential buyers? Just the opposite. He got an offer on his house that day. The man who purchased the house told him he could imagine himself in the house relaxing in the family room watching football just as Jay had done.

Should you stage your home?

Popular real estate advice these days is for sellers to stage their home. Just like it sounds, staging a house is akin to turning it into a movie set to make it look like Martha Stewart lives there instead of real people. Homeowners are advised to clear away all the clutter-including family photos-and instead place strategic accents, such as tea sets and Yachting magazines, on coffee tables. In some cases, the family's furniture is swapped out for more elegant decor.

The problem with staging is that instead of the staged home looking warm and welcoming, it can look more like a cold and uninviting House Beautiful museum. Aside from a few Martha wannabes, it is hard for most people to imagine living in a house that is so picture perfect. Obviously, you don't want your house to look like it was just featured on an episode of A&E's "Hoarders," but there is a happy medium between glossy fantasy and health hazard.

Have you ever disregarded your real estate agent's advice? How did it work out for you?

Sources:
personal experience
http://activerain.com/blogsview/2043904/successful-open-house-rules-for-your-north-shore-home