Can't Sell Your Home? Expert Offers Advice

Less Clutter, Neutral Wall Colors Said To Be Key

GREENWOOD, Ind. -- Mike and Diane Mallory were getting desperate.

In the six months that they been trying to sell their Center Grove-area house, they had no offers. In fact, not one potential buyer came to visit the place.

It didn't help that nearly 450 homes in the Center Grove area were on the market, too. And that the housing market was poor for sellers nationwide.

But six months without a showing was a bit much for them to swallow, and it wasn't as if they hadn't tried to generate interest. Their real estate agent posted pictures of their home's interior on a Web site, but no one bit.

"That, I think, to me was the most frustrating thing, because I had no feedback -- (I said,) 'What do I need to do?'" Diane Mallory said.

Mary Abella, a professional home stager, was happy to answer the question.

The Mallorys turned to Abella, of A Little Bit of Red Interior Re-Design, in early February for advice on how to make their 5,000-square-foot home more attractive to seekers. Abella offered them tips that could help many people in a similar circumstance.

When she toured the home with the couple, one of the first things she suggested was to remove most of the personal items -- such as pictures and dolls -- from the walls and furniture.

She suggested the couple decide which personal items should be thrown away, given away or put into storage.

"We're going to work on depersonalizing (the house) so that people can walk in and say, 'Yes, I can see my things here,'" Abella said.

Abella said potential buyers should be allowed to focus on the house, not the people in it. She stressed this point when she visited the dining room.

"What is this room for? This is a dining room, so the table takes first place, and you're going to remove the things that detract from it," Abella said.

The house had a county/Victorian decor with floral patterns painted on walls. That suited the Mallorys, but it could repel some potential buyers, Abella said.

Abella recommended repainting most of the house in a neutral color.

"You're going to want to paint this hallway cream, not white. Not sterile hospital white or anything," she said.

Abella also suggested rearranging the furniture to create more space.

The Mallorys agreed to do everything that Abella suggested, and they gave themselves two weeks to get it right. They hired Planes United Van Lines to move their personal items, and they hired CertaPro to paint the walls. Sherwin Williams provided the paint.