It's been my experience that most homebuyers in Crofton, Bowie, and other nearby communities are not interested in living with someone else's choice of wallpaper. They look at it and think, "Oh no... I'll have to take that down after settlement before we even move in... too much work!"
So take heed, and see what D.C. REALTOR Patricia Kennedy says about this topic:
When my parents bought their move-up house, my mother carefully chose lovely wallpaper that my father expertly hung on walls throughout the house. Then, a few decades later when it was time to downsize, the mean Realtor daughter (um, moi!) made them strip the stuff off. All of it!
And now, years later, Mother still brings it up once in a while, perhaps to demonstrate my lack of tack and sensitivity.
OK, Mom! Chill! It got you a bunch more money for the old house!
Wallpaper is highly personal. Your love for the pattern in your dining room, the one with the carnivorous flowers, may not be shared with another person on the planet.
And even if it a decorator's dream, it's likely to be completely passe in a few years.
Yesterday, I saw many homes, some of them very expensive, that had been wallpapered to death.
Some of it was my taste, but I wouldn't put my house on the market with it on the walls. A lot of it could have served on the set of "That 70's Show". And some of it had started to peel off.
Ick!
So if you are planning to put your home on the market, and if your agent brings up your wallpaper with a strong suggestion that it come down, just do it!
As people come through a house with wallpaper, they make some assumptions about how much it will cost to take it down and prep the walls for painting. And their estimate is probably a whole lot more than it will cost you to have it done ahead of time.
But! But! We are in Washington, DC - a world capitol that attracts people with discriminating tastes, you say. You're right, and they will discriminate against your house and go for the one that's been painted with Benjamin Moore's classic beige!
And if you think they'll be able to look beyond your choice, they won't!
If you are planning a move to or from the Washington, DC metro area, call me. I can help!
Copyright 2006-12. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this post is deemed reliable on the date of publication, but it is not guaranteed and it is subject to change without notice.
__________________________________
Margaret Woda, REALTOR and Associate Broker
Direct: (301)346-2923 or click on EMAIL
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Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., 2191 Defense Hwy., Crofton, MD 21114 (410) 721-1500
I have someone who loves removing wallpapers and I keep her pretty busy.
Margaret
Hey, Margaret! Thank you so much for the reblog! Have you recovered yet?
Sit in any wallpaper store and watch as homeowners sift through different wallpapers, book after book after book, until they find the perfect paper for their home and you will quickly realize how subjective wallpaper can be.
When someone looks at 100's of wallpaper before they find the one that they like, it only goes to reason that any buyer of a home will probably not like the paper choices in the home. Chances are probably 1 in 500 a new buyer will like it, so take it down!
Margaret, it is sometimes very difficult to get the owner to realize that they need to do something with the wall paper. I had a house some time back that was owned by someone that had a paint and wallpaper business. Their walls had that velour type paper that was somewhat popular back in the 60's. There was lime green, blue and scarlet red. Fortunately my people saw through the paper and saw the potential in the house.
Wallpaper and custom paint colors to match that perfect shade of rose go hand-in-hand! My mom will be upset with me when she gets ready to put her home on the market as well. She worked hard getting those light beige splatters just right. LOL
So true. I've just stripped wallpaper in my own home to prepare it for the spring market. There's no way I'd put the sign out front before doing so. I mean, the object is to sell, right?
Whoops, I meant to disable comments so readers could go straight to Pat's original post to comment. I'm going to do that now. Thanks for reading this!
P.S. Instead of commenting her on the comments that have occurred so far, I'll reciprocate by commenting on one of your posts.