Wow, a lot of innovative thinking in this one. <sarcasm>

25 years of dealing with lazy people that just want the listing
They have storage units for you to rent
If flys are the problem
These people are not going to buy anyway
That is Utah 101
This is truth, Not (sarcasm)
To sell a house, you need a realtor that will come and set on it
Not leave ever to be seen again

The house on the right has to many steps to the front door
You wonder what kind of a mind designred this trash
People want cheap foremost
Not curb appeal.
This looks like a Utah House
Ugly

Article title should read: "Gimmicks to Help you Sell Your Overpriced, Dilapidated, Ghetto-Pad."

The truth is that people do want cheap, however, they do not want "fix it up" cheap. Not to mention that due to the housing slump, there are many cheap homes out there. Home staging will definitely set your home apart from the rest. Since getting the home sold is the goal, following the advice in this column will help you reach that goal. I've written a book on the subject after talking with realtors and stagers. It really does work.

i can pick flies out of lights to get a better price. anyone thinking a bowl of apples is going to justify an outlandish price is sippin the utah kool aid and eatin the brownies. price is the biggest factor in selling right now, and prices are WAY too high. i have lived in my neighborhood for 10 months, and 1 of the 3 homes that was listed when i moved in just went under contract. they FINALLY lowered their price enough to sell it. the others are holding out, and will not sell until price drops like a rock. homes are NOT selling in 3-6 months, let alone 2. more like a year around here. realtors pulling and relisting to get a fresh count is not actual days on market. things will not sell better until prices are in line with incomes and reality. i hope they fall hard and fast. lets get back to a normal life where we dont have to spend every cent we make to buy a small old house in a bad location to say we have a house. i dont even know the jonses, certainly dont need to keep up with them

This article is like an ad for realtors.

We listed a house in the south end of Utah County last Tuesday and received an offer last night. We did just about everything this article said AS WELL AS PRICED IT ACCORDING TO WHAT THE MARKET IS GIVING. It was tough accepting we would have to lower the price to sell, but nothing sticks out like a favorably priced house.

Funny how they say to plant bright flowers, and there ain't nothin' but lawn in that picture. There's a flower bed that's empty, though.

I'm doing all these things and my house still isn't selling.

We are just moving from out of state and just found a house after looking at way too many. Sellers are not preparing their homes. We saw one where their were papers surrounding the toliet, others were very dirty with clothes on the floors, wholes in the walls, etc. Last thing we wanted was to have to pay to bring the house up to living conditions.

Another hint - if you aren't getting showing = priced too high. If you are getting showing and no offer = price to high and needs upgrades.

Your house is priced too high.

To make your house stand out in a sluggish market you need to price it correctly. Buyers have lots to choose from.

As someone who has recently went through selling two homes, the article is right on the money.

Builder bought my Neighbors old 1000 square foot home with .55 acres 1 year ago for 180,000. Now he has put it up for sale at 250,000. I don't understand how anyone can think that when prices are going down they should make a 25% profit.

But I bought it for 180,000. I can't take a loss.
I thought I couldn't lose. Now I am stuck with a 1300 payment. I am not going to take a loss. Someone must be stupid enough out there to bail me out. Please.

Reading the comment board on real estate articles always make me laugh...lots of bitter people.

We repainted our house, put up current light fixtures, and priced competitively and we sold our house in a week.

When we met the buyers they told us it was the paint job that sealed the deal for them.

This article is absolutley correct--except that along with all of this, your house must be priced right as well. My husband and I have looked at tons of houses and only a few of them weren't dirt and clutter nightmares! I told my husband we needed to contact Designed to Sell and tell them to send an emergency task force to Utah. If you can't even have the house decently clean, you aren't convincing me to buy it. Most houses we looked at were dirtier for the showing than mine is on one of its worst days (and I have four kids and do not have an immaculate house.) We sold our house in an extremely tough market--we fixed it up and cleaned it so it looked like a model--and it still took 10 months to sell. I had to work hard to sell my house--I don't want to turn around and buy yours and have to do all the fixing up and cleaning that you were too lazy to do. And you need to realize that everything is still over-priced. The market is demanding that prices drop, unfortunately. You're going to have to drop to sell.

Pam knows what she's talking about. She helped us sell a home and buy a home, all in one day. There are not many out there like her.

Sounds like houses that are dirty and need a paint job are selling for a lot less.
Good. Now I know how to get a good deal on a house. If I were buying in Utah, I'd wait a year or two...I'm convinced prices will continue to drop. Elsewhere in the country, however, they may already be at the bottom.

I agree with Ha ha at 12:58. People are so bitter and cynical about the housing market.

Well hopefully when we get a new *cough* smarter president, he/she can pass a bailout law like is trying to be passed now, so these people that bought overpriced homes they wanted to turn around and sell for a 10-20% profit can be subsidized with tax dollars rather than banks getting hit with more foreclosures.

Oh and it'll be great when health care is free and available to all, and rainbows and magical ponies become the new transportation to eliminate rising gas prices. Then terrorists will spend time making crafts while watching Martha Steward tivo recordings because we'll stop fighting them in the middle east, then they'll realize what nice people we are.

Afterward we'll all have a big garden party with lots of ice cream, talk about how good the times are, and wonder why we were so stupid in the past.