Canada's Scarily OVERPRICED HOMES | #Halloween 🎃 | The Unsellables | House to Home

when selling your house it is essential to showcase your property's best features if you want a quick sale now this can be more difficult in older homes that have been buried under the cloak of time my mission is to help homeowners unlock the potential in their homes to ensure that sale this grand victorian semi is one of those unique homes that very rarely comes onto the market in this neighborhood it's three thousand square feet has five bedrooms two bathrooms and parking for five cars it's listed at six hundred ninety nine thousand dollars and has been on the market for five long months homeowner george he's getting anxious he's a photographer he wants to travel the world and he can't understand why the world is not beating down his door to buy this house homeowner george has been living in this house for 30 years he inherited it from his mother i've sort of grown grown up in this house really basically and i have tremendous feelings about selling it george is an artist at heart with a wandering spirit he wants to start a new chapter in his life well i would like to sell this place as quickly as possible so i can explore south america and take photographs for an exhibition in the future george has a real stubborn streak not only does he refuse to have open houses but he actually turned down six offers already which he felt were all too low i have no interest in lowering the price where in a downtown court you get a house that's 27 foot lots with parking for four or five cars he doesn't get why it hasn't sold at the full asking price maybe people don't have the imagination to live in a large victorian house george's house sits in a very multi-cultural neighborhood only blocks from downtown previously a working class area professional families have turned it into an expensive pocket of real estate houses like georgia's selling days for more than seven hundred and fifteen thousand dollars at six hundred and ninety nine thousand dollars on paper it sounds right so what's wrong we have got an amazing location and i cannot wait to peel back the layers find out why this house isn't selling the colours don't give the best first impression to buyers this house stands out like a sore thumb blue and gold is very intense and it might not be everyone's cup of tea wow you have huge hallways original moldings and banster and hardwood floors i love it i do not love the smell of smoke though that really puts potential wires off it's such a shame this could be the most fantastic room beautiful period details you've got the original fireplace hardwood floors but this reception room isn't sumptuous enough for a house in this price range this room really lacks function this should be a really cozy family room sitting room wow fab size dining room from the old into the new it's great that they've got a new kitchen it's nice and bright it's very clean and decluttered [Music] this is the master bedroom and a master class on how not to present a room you've got a stained mattress on the floor the walls are in bad shape i mean look at this this should be a reading nook a tiny little sitting room something useful and attractive this house should be a victorian gem in the heart of the city that people are falling over themselves to buy but the asking price is too high for the state the house is in people expect better room function a higher standard of finishing and more upgrades they need to be wowed instead it smells of smoke and these colors are just driving buyers away and that is why it's unsellable to get george down to south america faster he needs to hear the truth first of all george this is an absolute corker of a house i love it but we start outside did you choose the colors yes i did yeah well actually when i painted it they said it was a very bold color in the neighborhood i bet they did they said they said to go with the person that owned the house right yeah and you're obviously quite a charismatic bit of a character george um but i think the outside needs to be toned down just to touch fair enough the problem is is a lot of potential buyers get very nervous about the idea of painting exteriors they don't have a lot of experience with it so what i'd like to do is paint it a more neutral color yeah fine the interior the nicotine stain neck curtains how many a day do you smoke george far too many well i know what we need to do first of all we need to smoke outside from now on and the smell of smoke is not really a great selling point is it no now george do you use the sitting room really no no i'd like to give that room back its function so it feels like it gets used your bedroom it's not exactly saying buying me at the moment is it no and the thing is you've got that great little side room what do you use that side room for uh we can do the laundry and then i'd like to make it into something a bit more attractive a bit more useful like a reading nook what people are looking for in a master bedroom they're looking for a bit of a retreat fair enough now it's been on the market for five months do you think the price might have affected its saleability you know you have parking you have an enormous lot downtown area i don't think it's overpriced it is slightly overpriced in this condition but that's why we're here but you have to take the plunge and help me turn this house around yeah i will good george's semi has character history good bones and is in a fabulous location but after five months on the market and 88 viewings this classic beauty is no closer to getting a suitor not a buyer in sight now i'm wondering whether the price tag of 699 000 might be part of the problem so i'm gonna go and have a chat with sheila george's real estate agent find out why she thinks this house isn't selling 699 sheila it seems like quite a lot to me is that a bit high or on the money when we took the listing george was quite insistent on a 6.99 okay as a real estate agent you know you've got to get to a stage you know five months 88 viewings yes so is there a point where you are going to say george i believe in your house but at 699 i can't sell it george has said said to me sheila now you won't bully me to reduce the price typical man they hate being bullied i hate it and i said no george i won't okay i think i must be a wussier or whatever i don't like to to be that aggressive with that what is the feedback you've had from viewers um people have complained about the cigarettes um i um did ask him would he remove the shears and he sort of snapped at me and and and i kind of laughed so i had to let that go because he thinks that people should be able to see past that but and if i had a dollar for every time someone said that to me i would be incredibly rich so have you given him this feedback yes he knows i mean i've followed up on on showings and and he knows open houses have you had open houses no public opinion he did not want people crawling through his house so at the moment the marketing is for sale sign and mls now what are you gonna do once we have transformed the inside of the house well we're going to have it re-photographed yep and there will be a new for sales sign go up and you're gonna come back from the open house i am bring some buyers with you it appears george is too stubborn and perhaps his agent a bit too nice so i'm taking george to a comparable house that sold in eight days for an amazing 45 000 over asking george i brought you here this is a comparable house it blends in with the neighborhood well i think it looks very nice you know i like the color and more importantly no one is going to be put off by the exterior anyway come on in now i know what you're thinking well it's a little smaller than my house it is considerably smaller than your house what i like about this room is it is immaculate they've used a really nice color it makes the room feel big and bright and well maintained i agree totally with you on that oh that's good the fact is bright up-to-date cells yeah i can i can well understand that you've got a beautiful bed matching linen it's all about creating an atmosphere idea of the bedroom is a sort of secondary thing but you shouldn't treat it like that when you're selling cause i understand that you understand that now do you want to know how quickly this house sold george oh yes that would be nice eight days oh that's pretty quick isn't it do you want to know how much about asking yes six percent so this should be making you smile do you know why yeah because your house is bigger it's better it's got more character and it's gonna look fantastic well let's hope so i think it will come on then we've got work to do anthony says our general contractor is going to make george's house shine i was telling george earlier how i've kind of fallen in love with this house yeah but it does need some serious tlc to get it up to a standard i think buyers are looking for and we need to start outside the crazy blue and gold we need to paint both brick and wood outside now the next area i think that we really need to pay attention to is the bedroom yeah just not looking at it's best is it george no it isn't no now the walls look a little tatty what we're gonna do with them well i have this fabulous new product right that you actually put on the wall and it's just helps smooth the wall out it's a wallpaper that you put on the wall and you paint over it yes and once the wall is really smooth i'm going to make that a really interesting reading room off the side of your master bedroom yeah that's that sounds fine on the main floor we need a fresh coat of paint everywhere all i see is buckets and buckets of paint and it's gonna be quite a challenge but once we do it it's gonna look absolutely fantastic this is an incredible house so you ready to do some work just yes i am come on then excellent [Music] with this type of house at this price point room presentation is key throwing away outdated articles is a sure way of indicating the house hasn't been left neglected in other areas resting on your laurels just because your house is one of a kind doesn't get a sale revealed surfaces that are clean and decluttered win over today's picky buyer the makeover's barely begun and already george senses a change in the air george's house has been on the market for a whopping five months he refuses to have open houses but there have been a remarkable 88 showing so his south american dream is still on hold we've only got three days before the open house first we're tackling the exterior with a new paint job it's not as intimidating as you might think and can make a huge difference to curb appeal someone told me you needed a drop toss which is exciting cause it means you're painting the hat yes thank you how are we gonna make it pretty um well first thing is that we need to neutralize this blue you mean paint it another color yes when you do an outdoor painting i would say 50 of it would be prep work right so scraping any loose paint cleaning the surface just preparing it so that the paint will adhere to the surface okay george has already power washed all the brick for us go george yeah so we're gonna need one coat two coats if it's a good paint and you prepare the surface properly you can probably get away with one coat not only does the outside need to stand up to the competition but so does the inside in the living room we're highlighting the unique historic features of the home with a fresh coat of sage colored paint and we're achieving a whole new look in the dressing room here old walls aren't so desirable but we have a solution now this magic wallpaper looks like regular wallpaper to me okay but if you look at the actual wall uh-huh right you see how rough the wall is yeah right i've already done some wallpapering and you see how fantabulous it looks it's very smooth yeah if you have a wall that's damaged or in rough shape it's a great way to hide all the deficiencies in the wall for sure i do quite like the embossed wallpaper on one wall like this because it creates a kind of accent wall yeah and the best thing is wallpaper is really in vogue at the moment that's right so this magic wallpaper you put it on and you can paint it any color under the rainbow exactly [Music] we want to upgrade the kitchen a little bit so the best and simplest easiest way is to just upgrade the hardware this is the old hardware they're just knobs so i'm just going to simply remove them and what i want to do is i don't want to drill new two new holes i just want to drill one new hole so this is the hardware that we've chosen for these doors and what i've done is i've made up a jig i've just taken the handle and made the same holes on this piece of wood it's going to be pretty repetitive i've got about 10 of these to do so all this is going to do is just help it go a lot easier and faster and it's just going to make sure that all my handles are lined up the exact same spot on each door i'm going to take my drill now and i'm going to place it into the hole and i'm just going to drill it out nice okay so now i'm gonna put the second screw and i'm gonna use just this hand screwdriver just to tighten it up just like that it's beautiful [Music] finally the wallpaper is ready to be painted ah george they put you to work oh yes they have yeah i've painted the wall the whole house just feels fresher and brighter already it smells less of smoke because we painted it yeah and that's the best thing to do you've got a house that has any lingering smells paint just gets rid of them it's amazing yeah i think this is going to be quite a long job george yes you might need some liquid probably an awful lot of it afterwards [Music] with the work almost complete inside and a little freshening up of the garden outside we'll have george's house looking like the grand victorian it should be make sure you've replaced all the spent bulbs and given the body of the chandelier are wiped down with a wet cloth and then all these prisms refract the light looks really glitzy and glamorous these stick on dragonfly accents are a great way of drawing attention to the focal point in the room which in this case is the bed they're brilliant because they help hide the bumps and imperfections in this wall hanging pictures at wrong height is a really common mistake they should be at eye level now a good rule of thumb when hanging is 60 inches from the floor to the middle of the art and that brings the focal point of the picture to the eye level of most people and you don't have to be craning your neck to see the art with all the changes done will the transformation finally get george a price he thinks his house deserves [Music] i'm in love this place is dressed up and ready for the ball first impressions are lasting impressions the exterior of george's victorian turn the urban professional off however a lick of neighborhood friendly paint has changed all that in the living room the period features were overshadowed by a bland decor and zero wow factor now the fireplace is the focal point the wall color is modern updated fabric covers the old furniture dramatic window treatments let the light in now it's a grand reception room that buys expect from a victorian the parlour suffered from the same lack of care but fresh paint classic wing back chairs that we bought used and slip covered and new blinds have maximized space and created a chic alternative retreat george forgot about female buyers in the master bedroom so we brought in a new bed frame and a headboard we found in the garage we added fresh paint decorative accessories and linens and cleaned the drapes to get rid of the smoky smell the room now has a fresh appeal the victorian dressing room was a wasted opportunity now classic wallpaper covers imperfections new paint is in keeping with the period and furniture adds function for 699 thousand dollars high-end buyers will look for a home office classic high-end touches have now elevated george's semi back to where it should be his beloved victorian has finally achieved the splendour potential buyers look for in a period home know when to lower your asking price in the end your home is only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it if it's unrealistically priced it might end up on the dustbin of listings and stay there if your home is painted an outrageous color on the exterior it's going to put off a lot of buyers generally people want their house to blend into the neighborhood not stick out like a potential eyesore if your house is over 100 years old play up its historical assets but try and give it a modern flair your home should act its age but not be dated because most people don't want to feel like they're living in a museum so will george actually recognize his own home wow yeah i like those oh i see sophie's feminine touch in here a beautiful run sophie and her team did a lovely job i'm so grateful to them but after such a long time on the market will the changes regain by his interest so what do you think of the outside of the house looks very nice that's really nice room it looks great yeah it does you can move into this house without doing anything to it come on in it's a good use of space yeah oh isn't this interesting well this extra audition room makes it very charming it does determine this is the kind of house you consider coming back for a second look yes i would definitely consider coming back and realistic agent sheila is just as impressed i feel like there should be a drum roll okay wow how much easier does the transformation make for you in terms of selling it basically you actually become actually proud of the house yeah like you don't feel that you're talking from a disadvantage yeah because of you know just the way it showed this period piece is now a hit we've taken this house from dreary to dashing it holds its own in the neighborhood and lives up to its past just days after the unsellables team left george received an offer for 92 of the asking price but once again he turned it down however this house definitely has more buyer interest the seller is not quite ready to part with it yet if your house isn't selling the trick is knowing why not and you are probably not the most impartial judge you might think it's perfect but buyers vote with their wallets my job is to bring these two worlds together and turn your unsellable house into an irresistible hit this 1800 square foot home listed at 679 000 it has five bedrooms an eating kitchen and a separate basement apartment it's been on the market for four months and the homeowners the roaches haven't received a single offer now they're a close-knit multi-generational family but they've decided to go their separate ways but they're stuck until they sell this house mike lives with his parents mario and lourdes his sister judy and her two kids sophia and pedro they're a pretty busy bunch within the last four years we've opened a family restaurant and we spent most of our days and times there for eight years they've all been living together but they're now looking for a change so mike's parents asked him to be in charge of the sale my mom and dad have decided they definitely need a smaller home such as a bungalow my sister was certainly moving on with her kids and i'm also getting married i've been with my fiance for eight years and i definitely need the sale of this house to finance my my wedding but mike isn't doing everything he can to get a sale my real estate agent did suggest an open house however i don't like open houses because the only persons that usually come to see the open house is your neighbors even with no open houses mike still thought it would have been snapped up by now to be honest i don't know why she's not selling it should be selling if i don't sell this house i feel like my life's just going to be on hold i definitely need the money larocha's detached house is located on a main street in a fast-growing neighborhood 20 minutes north west of town houses this size sell in 10 days for around half a million dollars listed at 679 000 this house is priced well above the average there have only been eight showings and no offers so why hasn't this family received multiple offers i'm going to go inside and find out the exterior of this house has a distinctly european feel which might not be everyone's cup of tea the white railings the flagstones the profusion of plants the pots everywhere are a bit messy though while this lantern is overkill it is much too big for the size of the house these sofas are far too big for the room it's not a bad side sitting room but look they're huge i mean that one over there is a monster and the electric fire is not even flushed to the wall and why would you cover the windows in really really heavy drapes you want to let the light in [Applause] not really a fan of the doily tablecloth and never ever ever leave the plastic on chairs or sofas there's far too much stuff in a small space the first thing you should do when you're trying to sell your house is declutter because all these personal knickknacks a make the space look smaller and b is very very distracting for the buyer they can't imagine themselves living here ah nice new kitchen i haven't taken the plastic off the dishwasher which is particularly weird because has a red sheen and it totally clashes with the cherry style cabinets again the crocheted tablecloths i'm not a fan they look like giant doilies just get rid of them and look stains like this not good especially in a kitchen the one thing buyers demand clean kitchens well let's just hope the upstairs is a bit better bathroom live wired buyers perceive this house as unsafe when they see unfinished diy like this oh look at those dirty dusty lights and you've got old grouting doesn't exactly say safe and clean does it ah not too bad tidy and clean another good bedroom another good bedroom maybe i won't have very much work to do upstairs which would be nice where's the start with this room the furniture is too big and too dark and having access to an outdoor space is a huge selling feature but i'm gonna see if i can actually get out of this bedroom through the door so show it off don't lock it off why mike wants top dollar for this house it's listed at 679 000 which makes it more expensive than any comparable house in the neighborhood so you think it would beat the pants off the competition but it doesn't the furniture is so big it makes the rooms feel small and it's so cluttered that it's difficult to even get out of the door but hopefully i can get mike to reduce the asking price [Music] mike you said you wanted to sell because you're planning a wedding correct when are you getting married well hopefully the sooner i saw the house this sooner i can start planning my wedding do you have one impatient bride on your hands i try to have that in control so you really really need to sell this house definitely we're gonna have to really seriously consider dropping the asking price i think we initially came up with that figure just to really see if we would get any hits with the house what you're doing by pricing it's so high is you're really reducing the flow of traffic through the house basically the more people who see this house the quicker it's going to get sold which is why i was slightly surprised by the decision not to do open houses at what why was that my initial thought on open houses i never agreed on just because i didn't think it would ever work mainly being only neighbors coming in to see the house versus potential buyers yeah and what were your real estate agents views on that did she want to do an open house she did highly recommend an open house but again she went with my suggestion of not doing because this is a great house it's got lots of bedrooms it's got a lot going for it but you've got a lot of big furniture it can make the room feel smaller so we might have to pair that down a bit one of the most important things to do when you're selling your house is to declutter and i don't think anyone needs two cake stands on the one dining room table empty empty cakes dance no the kitchen's fantastic it's nice and clean um have you ever used your dishwasher no no that's why the plastic's still on yes which did make me laugh now upstairs in the master bedroom i couldn't barely get out onto the porch because there's so much clutter there and that's a selling feature right so you want to make it easy for buyers to be able to see outside okay so mike are you prepared to make the changes necessary to get this house sold if it means telling my house absolutely houses in this hot downtown market usually go in a matter of weeks the rochesters haven't been so lucky the house has been on the market for four months and they haven't got a single offer so i'm gonna go and speak to maria their real estate agent and find out why maria this house has been on the market four months why is it not selling it's overpriced um it's it's definitely a big house it's a great house but uh they have oversized furniture it needs to be decluttered i'm glad you mentioned the price cause 679 i walked into the house and i couldn't see that it could possibly justify that price i mean have you told mike it's overpriced i did and i'm really working hard on them to bring them down because if you say to him mike the longer it sits on the market at this price the more stale the listing becomes definitely maria apart from price what other feedback have you had from buyers the house too small which i don't think it's too small it's a five-bedroom home uh it's too personalized they have all their lifestyle in their house have you told all this to mike i had talked to mike and to the mother as well and that they postponed everything that i tell them yeah they keep on postponing it and never gets done yeah in the photographs on the property listing there is no clutter i mean what happened i removed uh the stuff where i had to take the pictures yes i removed the stuff away yeah and then put it back but i could not put it in boxes myself because in order to take the pictures yeah to show on the computer because that's on the internet that's what people go by the pictures yeah when we're finished what are you going to do to market the house first i'm going to have new pictures i'm aiming for a new price yeah and of course a public open house right on the next weekend fantastic maria thank you so much i'm really excited about you coming back to see it so it's been confirmed mike hasn't been listening to the experts he needs to see what buyers want so i'm showing him a house of the same size in the same area that sold in a week for ten thousand dollars over asking what do you like about this room it's definitely not cluttered look at the light they haven't obscured all the windows with drapes and neck curtains so the light really comes in and i think that is one of the most important things when you're showing a house is to let the light in the furniture is the perfect size for the room it doesn't dominate come through to the kitchen three things about this kitchen clean decluttered and modern now you've got a pretty swanky kitchen but all we've got to do is let the light in and declutter a bit okay well this kitchen shows a lot to like now come and have a look at the master bedroom this is a very nice large room it is it's beautiful now obviously it's much bigger than your master bedroom but what i think it shows is just nice bright walls and limited furniture the problem in that room is one of the best-selling features is the patio but you can't get out to the patio it's like an obstacle course and you need to declutter and just want to make rooms look bigger and brighter now i know this house was successful with potential buyers because it sold for ten thousand dollars over asking price in a week oh wow that's a fast turnaround that is a fast turnaround now what we need to do with your house we need to declutter we need to remove some of the furniture we need to make it brighter and we need to seriously consider reducing the asking price definitely if we do all those things i really believe that your house has a good chance of selling so are you ready to go back absolutely okay brilliant our general contractor anthony says is on scene to make mike's house one step ahead of the competition okay mike now your house has good bones but i think this area here lacks a bit of warmth and it's a visual anchor so what i'd like to do is replace the electric file which let's face it isn't doing a huge amount and maybe put a built-in tv unit which will kind of act as a focal point now is that going to be a bad job anthony we could do that and build a unit there and probably put some lights in it that would be fantastic because this area is slightly dark and i think that's also because of the drapes which we'll we will be removing now talking about the lights yes talking about the lights um we just need to change the light on the front porch right it's a little big for what's there i want you to fix the light but also in the bathroom i want to fix the grouting is that possible do you have to re-tile um no it's pretty straightforward but it can be a bit of a mess if you don't know what you're doing so yeah i would have no idea where to start so upstairs we'll do the grouting that will make the bathroom look a whole lot better downstairs we'll add a wall unit create a focal point oh i'm excited but we've got a lot of work to do so let's not stand around i know i sound like a broken record but it's not true that buyers can see past clutter to get a sale don't put off work that needs to be done before you list your home getting rid of oversized furniture and adding updated colors to walls gives the impression of larger and brighter spaces and what does mike think so far the changes are coming great the room seems a lot lighter and i'm excited to see the outcome the roach's home has been on the market for four months so mike's dream to use the proceeds to get married is stalled they've had only eight showings and no offers we've got just three days before the open house you've taken down the giant lamp yeah noticing castles in england with smaller exterior lights than that it's just complete overkill look how nicer that looks you know what i mean yeah it was very smart give us a shout okay i will ah i've been wanting to do that since i walked in the house what do you think it's very nice it brings a lot of light into the room well that's what i thought when i first walked into the house the three things i thought were it's dark and it's small and that was because the oversized furniture well we've got rid of one the sofas then the drapes you couldn't see through them they were so dark right and then look at this beautiful blue color it just opens the room up and it matches the curtains i know when the house is transformed bright light fantastic five-bedroom house are you gonna have some open houses i'm looking forward to the feedback that i'm gonna receive definitely [Music] with the painting complete and the curtains hung building extra storage space puts value back into the house the unit also makes a great first impression drawing buyers further into the room meanwhile in the bathroom upstairs so what i'm doing is i'm carefully removing any old caulking i've made sure that no one used the actual tub for two days because you need it to be dry for at least 48 hours before you can go ahead and silicone [Applause] so i'll be able to re-caulk it right away what i'm going to do now is with some warm water and my finger i would let this sit for probably 48 hours before you use the tub again the makeover is done so these finishing touches will give similar listings a run for their money day beds are a really great alternative to pull out sofas because they're cheaper they're more comfortable and they give a room a good dual function it could be a sitting room or a bedroom don't forget to decorate porches and decks especially one like this which is at the front of the house a few potted plants some patio furniture will really spruce up the space and packs a big visual punch for very little money old world crocheted and lace tablecloths might be your style but to buyers they can indicate a house that hasn't been renovated in a generation so either don't use one at all and show off the wood or if you are going to use a table covering keep it modern now that the rocher's house is like new will buyers want to pay full price this family home felt dark overcrowded and stuffy but by paring down the furniture and changing the color scheme it feels warm and inviting the minute buyers opened the door they found it hard to see through the family's personal taste we've changed that perception by scaling down the furniture and adding some slip covers and installing new curtains and matching accessories trendy paint and an eye-catching storage unit puts potential back into this house in the dining room there was more of the same clutter after removing the knickknacks repainting exposing the dining room table and adding a modern light fixture we've given buyers a fantastic idea of what they can do if this is their space bathrooms sell homes and buyers weren't prepared to pay full asking price with this one after a good scrub a new shower curtain grout and a new ceiling light buyers are sure to take a second look in the master bedroom large furniture and blocked access to the outside made the room a wasted selling opportunity so it's now a study a new day bed and desk modern wall hangings and a contemporary rug make this room a desired communal space for the modern family the balcony is a huge selling feature but wasn't marketed properly flowers and chic furniture make this space a luxurious outdoor retreat adding much needed value to the home the roaches house has been modernized and is much closer to what buyers expect for the 679 000 price tag decluttering neutralizing letting the light in and changing room function make it easier for a professional family to mentally move in setting your asking price is critical your house is not worth what you think it's worth but what the market will bear go too high and you won't sell your home and lowering the price later on will just lose time and momentum make sure the photographs in your property listing reflect what your house actually looks like there is nothing worse for buyers than seeing one thing before they come and being met with a very different reality also makes buyers wonder what other deceptions you've got hidden on your sleeve open houses sell houses about one in five listings is sold at an open house you might not like them but they are effective this home has gone through a dramatic transformation now what would the family think wow it's beautiful so nice i'm amazed of the whole transformation and i believe that my wedding can start happening as well and start planning for it so mike thinks his wedding is a sure thing but is agent maria certain of the sale hello maria wow what a difference come on through so is this a product you can believe in now and you can sell the product it's sellable as long as the price it's adjustable wow what a difference uh-huh this is a very nice sitting room now that's beautiful again what are your favorite transformations the living room because it's the first thing that i saw yeah and i saw a big difference and you know as a real estate agent how important first impressions are definitely and that's probably why he impressed me so much yeah so if we can get the price down i think we've got a chance i think so too fantastic maria is sold next up potential buyers hi i'm sophie nice to meet you nice meeting you hi have you been to the house before yes yes we have and this looks much different what were your thoughts when you left the house last time too busy too far what we thought is we'd make it into an occasional bedroom study because you do have already four bedrooms in this house right yeah that's very nice yeah more useful oh yeah i love it i can get used to this one here what do you think of the price i think it's still a little high so you think with maybe some movement on the price this could be a house you might put on your shortlist yes it is [Music] this urban detached home has gone from old world to contemporary and now the desire to sell and move on to realize their dreams is well within their grasp just after the unsellables team left the russia family lowered their price to 599 000 their house was sold a few days later at the full asking price they say there's a buyer for every house and that every house has a buyer but location price decor all play a role my job is to highlight the best assets of houses that just can't find a buyer and to turn these unsellables into surefire hits this bungalow is listed at 539 thousand dollars it's 1900 square feet has four bedrooms two bathrooms and a basement apartment it's been on the market for an unbelievable 12 months with two different agents there have been five offers but the owners who are two sisters are holding out for more even though this location on such a busy road might be the reason this sale has stalled esther has been loving her home for 19 years her sister liberdad moved in five years ago they've decided to move into a condo and travel i would like to sell this house really quickly so i can go and visit my mother in mexico i want to have more free time for myself before putting their house up for sale they spent ninety thousand dollars on renovations new windows all over the house we renewed this bathroom we stuck on the house the garden it's beautiful now they listed the house for 579 thousand dollars there were no offers no nothing zero then they took a bit of a gamble they switched agents and dropped the price to 479 000 that price is very low so they decided to raise it again to 539 000 the roller coaster pricing has done nothing for a sale the location hasn't helped either many people don't like the busy street i i would say that is the thing the business trick esther and libertad's house sits on a four-lane thoroughfare but it is on the edge of a very affluent neighborhood about 20 minutes north of downtown high-end shops public transport and playgrounds make this an ideal neighborhood for families and young professionals with healthy paychecks houses on side streets selling a week for 700 000 and up older bungalows are torn down to make way for luxury homes at 539 000 this house seems to be priced right even with all this traffic now i can't fix the road but let's look inside and see if the house is worth the traffic jam really nice big bright sitting room and i can't hear any traffic noise i understand they're trying to block out the traffic which is good marketing ploy but there are more attractive ways of doing it than vertical blinds the furniture is all at shin level shin shin this really beautiful fireplace is obviously the focal point of the room but i'm not seeing it because there's all this clutter and it seems to be mainly owl based you want people to appreciate the room and not your porcelain ah nice sized dining room well positioned between the sitting room and the kitchen and look this is brilliant the owners have hung mirrors on the wall and that's a great way of making smaller room feel bigger but then they've undone all their good work by filling this room there's a parrot cage a ginormous cabinet more owls all this unnecessary clutter makes the room feel smaller two words small and dowdy old appliances old cabinets old countertop old tiles now kitchens and bathrooms are really important when you sell you don't need to spend a huge amount of money on them but if you have a small galley kitchen like this one at least make it sleek and sexy recently renovated bathroom nice and there are two decent sized bedrooms as well as two in the basement i'm gonna go and check out the backyard what a great yard and it feels a kind of a bit dull but it almost feels like they've run out of steam they've got this strange concrete pathway so the table really should be there rather than here we could really do with some color maybe some plants or some flowers because a well landscaped garden does add value to a property and especially with the road out front you want something quite nice and tranquil out back this house is on a major road and is aggressively priced that means if this place is going to sell the inside has to knock your socks off and it doesn't the dining room and sitting room are cluttered and the renovation didn't include the kitchen which is one of the most important rooms of the house it's not surprising that this house is still unsold if esther and liberdad want to get the full asking price they need to listen to my advice tell me a bit about the house it's been on the market for a year and it won't take any less than five three nights no no not all okay but there are some obvious problems and the road is a big problem so do you think the price reflects the location oh for sure it does yeah yeah if you check the prices on the other streets absolutely that much that's what makes the difference so you could say that maybe someone who wouldn't usually be able to afford to live in this neighborhood can live here but what i would say is if you can persuade people to do the viewings during a quieter part of the day like sundays no it's probably not a bad thing no we've never thought about that but thanks for the tip now the living room it's a nice big size living room and i love the fireplace but at the moment i'm kind of distracted by all the owls 99 99. sometimes it's easier for buyers to see a house without so much of your personality in it so maybe i can put the owls to roost for a little bit sure no problem tell me about the bird cage in the dining room the other one is like a hotel for my daughter's birds and we haven't had the heart to tell her okay that has to go if we take it out there'll be more space in there yeah yeah right now when you spent your 90 000 on the renovation did you consider renovating the kitchen we thought that it was better to invest in what we did the kitchen definitely needs attention a lot yeah a lot but then we had no more monies at the moment it's small and a bit old-fashioned and we can't do anything about the size but at least we can make it look sleek and modern that would be which would be good what are your thoughts about the garden it's quite simple selling your house is all about maximizing what you've got and making it look as good as possible so what we need to do is i think modernize inside a bit yes bit more young professionals yes well we're going to get you into a condo we better take the plunge ready ester and liberdad have been trying to sell their house for a whole year now with no luck their new agent ray signed on six weeks ago and he's agreed to reduce the rate of commission the reason why he gets to put his sign on this very busy road which he thinks is good advertising but i need to speak to him to see if it's in his new client's best interest ray explain to me your commission structure a home uh commission rate will be between five and six percent with the buying agent and the listing agent splitting that right in this situation i've worked out an agreement to take a reduced rate just just on the selling side and it must be great for you having your board on this road yes it is it's a neighborhood i would like to grow my business in how do you sell a house like this on a busy road i think to concentrate on the positives you can sit back here it's got a great sized backyard once you're in the house you don't really notice the noise the windows have been updated so any noise has been filtered out this house has been on the market almost a year it's gone from five seven nine to four seven nine to five three nine how many viewings have you had there's been over 60 viewings with real estates going through as well as my own clients now apart from the price what problems do you see the house having the feedback has been the kitchen needs total renovation the home could use an update in decor furniture who's this a target market in this area young professionals who want to live close to uh the shops if the house was on the side streets or the streets behind they would be priced out on the market if this bungalow was located just one or two streets north or south of here the minimum price would fetch upward of 700 000. now how are you going about targeting the young professionals the best marketing strategy anyone can use is getting your home listed on mls for all my clients i use a professional real estate photographer as well as i do a floor plan once we have made the house more modern and sleek so it will appeal to a young professional do you think we've got a good chance of selling the house sales are really taking off yeah and the inventory is cleared in this neighborhood and at that price i think this house will go as well i'm going to show esther and libertad what sells quickly in their neighborhood this house nearby on a quieter side street sold in just 18 days for 97 of the asking price come on in guys what do you notice first in this room oh the chimney the chimney yeah that's the focal point in the room and you see it now i prefer your fireplace but when i walked into your room i didn't see it i was looking at all the owls and the sculptures yeah it's too busy whereas this is quite plain you see it it's a focal point and also look to the ground ladies the wood floors really shine the floors are nice you've got a beautiful floor so we need to show people that selling your house is all about letting people see all the great things your house has to offer anyway come through to the dining room now what is missing in this room that you have in your dining room a ginormous parrot cage and the problem with your dining room at the moment is there's quite a lot going on they've just toned down the clutter they've got a dining room table a side table yeah for the space you don't need much exactly it's very easy to imagine your own furniture in this space because there's not so much going on i think you're going to like the kitchen so follow me oh this is the nice kiss better than ours it's at the moment it's better than yours but look it's exactly the same size it's a small galley kitchen just shows that with a new countertop nice new looking tiles it changes the whole thing i know people like decluttered houses where they can see all the features because this house sold in 18 days for 97 of the asking price yeah yeah so we need to go back and get rid of the owls do you think you can do that the cage and the cage come on we can put the owls in the cage and carry them out the door let's do it to get that much needed sail our general contractor anthony says is here to help esther this house is solidly built well proportioned and you've done some renovations but we can definitely do better okay now first things first i love this fireplace but the marble tiles have seen better days so how would you feel about replacing it with a newer tile yeah that would be okay okay is that gonna be a difficult job no it shouldn't be very difficult at all it'll make it more of a focal point for sure now the kitchen you admitted that's the least smart part of the house in terms of selling it's also the one of the most important rooms in the house so we really need to get that up to gray all right now what i'd like to do is remove the countertop replace it with the newer one and also replace the tiles how about we just paint out the towels that might be a more fun project than actually changing do you like the idea of that stuff of course then in the rest of the house we're going to finish off by decluttering adding new window treatments modern accessories it's going to have a facelift basically and then we can get it sold so you prepared to roll out your sleeves and help us for sure for sure okay come on man okay [Music] when selling your house don't underestimate the discerning buyer in upscale neighborhoods it's crucial that principal rooms are shown to their full potential and how is esther taking the changes so far i'm gonna miss the house but it has to be done it's for for my parents to spend time with them it's for a good reason esther and libertad's house has been languishing on the market for a whole year with 60 viewings and five rejected offers their move to mexico has been postponed we've only got three days before the open house so we're starting in the kitchen anthony what is the secret to tile painting well there's a couple secrets actually the first one is to clean the surface that you're going to work on right which is what i'm doing now okay using like a heavy-duty cleaner degreaser right to just lift whatever grease is on the tiles off so the primer sticks otherwise it would just slide off yes and then take sandpaper yeah like a medium grit okay and just rough rough up the the tiles that will help the primer bond to the tiles there's the primer a special primer the primer is a high bonding primer if you put this on pretty much anything will stick to it and then we're going to use a special paint that is moisture resistant okay because obviously there's always water in the kitchen brilliant an inexpensive way to modernize a kitchen is to give everything a fresh coat of paint once the painting's done the old countertop can be removed and the new one installed meanwhile we're doing something about those low sofas we're propping them up with wooden platforms esther do you know what these are uh i was guessing the basis of the sofa absolutely because your sofa is quite small at the moment did it have legs at one point and you just decided to get rid of them or they did and i threw them out i just liked it that way low and modern 30 years ago they're really nice sofas and they're gonna look fab with their bases that's right [Music] in the living room improving the focal point is key this looks quite complicated what are we doing here remember the nasty looking stone that was yeah i just took it off and built a solid base that's leveled now right so i'm just dry fitting the towels to fit making sure everything lines up this isn't a marble tile what is it it's a porcelain top are you using a special type of glue just the thinset mortar we're just gonna uh set the base first and then we'll do the same at the top set all the tops too and how long is it gonna take to set we should leave it at full data dry so we'll be done for the open house of course okay bring it well i will leave you to it okay excellent [Music] with the transformation almost complete young professionals will love these finishing touches i've got rid of all the vertical blinds and replace them with these drapes they're so much nicer they're cozier they're warmer if you've got beautiful hardwood floors don't cover them up with a huge rock a small rug like this will still help to find the seating area but he's showing off your floors end of season sales are a great place to pick up larger garden furniture cheap prices are guaranteed because the retailers want to get rid of all their summer stock esther and libertad's house finally looks like it's worth 539 000 but will buyers think so this house used to be dowdy and cluttered but now it's all dressed up and ready to go to market the living room had good bones but the clutter hid all the selling features a neutral coat of paint and new curtains give a modern warm feel the newly raised sofas the exposed hardwood and the updated fireplace let buyers take in the great surroundings the dining room was equally busy and dated we painted crisp clean color on the walls added new drapes chic frames on the mirrors and a contemporary light this space radiates a luxurious atmosphere buyers aspire to esther and libertad's dowdy kitchen was not what buyers would expect for the asking price now it is we've painted over the old tiles and completely covered the 1980s cabinets with a brand new countertop and cute finishing touches this kitchen is no longer a turn-off for the high-end buyer unfortunately the backyard wasn't the refuge it should have been we've changed that by planting beautiful fresh flowers and chic pots strategically placed bars and led to the oasis of calm at the end of the yard a perfect haven of tranquility esther and libertad's house was an underachiever at best de-personalizing each room updating the kitchen and maximizing space to appeal to a high-end market makes the price tag easier to swallow pick your asking price carefully then stick to it lowering it and raising it again can make buyers think you're greedy and that is not going to earn you a sale the old adage location location location is correct but don't assume every house in the same neighborhood is of equal value if your house is on the busiest block in the neighborhood then that has to be reflected in the asking price don't overlook outside space putting in a deck or some nice patio furniture effectively add square footage to your living space instant appeal so what will esther and libertad think and i thought i knew how to decorate what a change so fast gonna be more comfortable very nice i love it oh look at this beautiful very good taste it's amazing i'm happy now that i see it so beautifully done i think that it's gonna be sold soon if i can spend six months in mexico would be amazing and will that agent rey see an offer in the works amazing definitely lick what you did with the fireplace it's now the focal point of the room new and improved dining room now it looks like a dining room we took down the vertical blinds i think having drapes feels much more cozy yes to soften the room very much just changing the countertop made it look so much sharper i definitely see a family enjoying themselves back here the bones of the house were great but it just didn't show its potential it's been modernized it's in a great area and at a price i think is very fair the agent is pleased but will potential buyers be just as happy good size yes yeah for the price range yeah this is the most that i've liked yeah is this the sort of setup you're looking for sitting around dining room yes definitely yeah our dining table yeah yes yeah oh this is nice it is nice isn't it yes it's beautiful is this a property you could think about for coming back for a second viewing yes definitely and what do you think of the price yeah we would make an offer yeah yeah lesson learned you may not be able to change the location of our house but we've highlighted its best assets and i think soon it's going to be stopping traffic after the unsellables team left esther and libertad got an offer just under the asking price they're holding out for a little bit more [Music]

Channel: House to Home

Views: 99,837

Keywords: Canada real estate, House to Home, basement apartment, damaged house restoration, extravagant house fails, fearless home renovation, festive housing tours, home decor trends, home interior guides, home selling challenges, housing makeover solutions, housing market watch, interior design inspiration, investment property schemes, overpriced properties, popular neighborhood, property market trends, property selling techniques, property value assessment, seasonal renovations

Id: EDQ9-1-R1cg

Length: 63min 35sec (3815 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 30 2022