Hypno Toad

We're putting our house on the market in a few days. Over the last couple months we've spend buckets of money getting the house ready to sell (staging). Our realtor brought in a 'stager' to help, it was kinda helpful, but also comical. She got to the trainer room, since we're empty-nesters, we converted a bedroom in to a trainer room... her comment "that's just odd ... " I've since moved my trainer 3 times to find a place that isn't "odd" - now it's next to the furnace in the basement. And after sending 5 to storage and donating 2, we still have 10 bikes stored around the house. I guess there's no hiding that we're into biking.

I'd love to hear other's stories about getting your house on the market as a 'cyclist' - make it loud & proud, hide all evidence of bikes, other ...

For reference, here's that 'odd' trainer room (now empty):

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VRC

Since you are definitely moving, put as much stuff into storage as you can. I actually think one trainer in a guest room is not a big deal. You just want enough stuff so it looks like a house but a really spacious and clean house. If you live in a "hot market" this should be over really quick!
If you have an amazing bike garage that could be a selling point to other cyclists!

SkyDog75

I recently moved, but we bought the new house before putting the old one on the market, so the bikes came with me.

...but I've looked at houses where the owners had various hobbies a stager might consider "odd". And I noticed some agents and stagers have very particular preferences and strong opinions, and were more certain of those opinions than they should've been. As a potential buyer, so long as your bikes and training space are clean and uncluttered, I wouldn't consider it a negative. (Just my opinion, though, and I can't speak for everyone else...)

My new place has a nice, big garage with its own attic. The previous owner didn't have any bikes in there, but I certainly envisioned it.

Koyote

Put 'em all in the garage, hangly neatly from hooks.

Put other extraneous stuff into storage, leaving the house as neat as possible. Too much furniture gives the impression of less space.

And get rid of personal items, such as photos and knick knacks. But the stager told you all of this, I'm sure.

Your biggest interest comes right after the house hits the market...Botch that, and you'll be on the market for a (potentially) longer period of time.

HobieKen 

I need to look into this staging myself. No way would i consider your bikes as odd, I would lean more towards insperation. I love my toys and am proud to display them, bikes, various kayaks, etc I fon’t feel the need to hide them, people don’t have enough sense to realize they’re not staying?

jlaw

I suggest that you rent a storage unit and move as much of your 'stuff' (kitchen, hobbies, knick-knacks, un-needed furniture, garage clutter, basement clutter, photographs, mementos, etc.) into the storage unit.

A properly-staged house without a bunch of the owner's personal property hanging around will likely sell faster and for more money than the opposite. Potential buyers want to imagine their new lives in your house - not your old life.

...just a suggestion - Good Luck!!

Hypno Toad

This house is so clean and uncluttered, it's kinda hard to live in. I suspect we'll sell quickly, it's a hot market and not a lot of inventory like our place. I'm making a good number of compromises for this sale, but biking keep me (kinda) sane and I'm not going to compromise on that. All bikes have a nice neat home: 1 on the trainer and 3 hanging in the unfinished basement, 3 hanging in the garage and 3 on the floor on kick-stands. I've kept only functional bikes that'll we'll be using.

For Lisa's part, she needed to move her pride-and-joy Bianchi from her office to the basement... she likes keeping it in her office as inspiration.

spinnaker

I wouldn't worry about it. As long as you pickup after yourself and it is clean (as it appears to be) I would not worry about it. It is your lofe not someone else'. For all your "stager" knows, your exercise room will give people ideas on how to use the room.

But it is a lot easier to move first if you have that option like I did.

spinnaker

Wait! Is that a pile of dog poop next to the door? You might want to clean that up.

WizardOfBoz

We once toured a house while looking to buy. The house was filled - every nook, cranny, and linen closet shelf, with dolls. Cloth dolls. It was absolutely eerie. So one person's "in bicycles" is another's "crazy obsessed person". I might limit my in-house storage to two bikes while selling: one for riding, and one in the trainer. Or maybe just one bike.

spinnaker

Was it this place?

Hypno Toad

That's the metal flying pig door stop ... we packed packed the pig and I fixed the door.

Hypno Toad

Lisa was looking at comp houses in our area, too funny that this pic was in that house's online slide show

Hypno Toad

OH - I'll share the details and pics of the place when it's officially on the market next week... if anybody's interested.

Ghazmh

will you be able to get by with 1 or 2 bikes while the rest are in storage?

ttusomeone

I wouldn't worry about it. As long as it's neat/tidy/organized, most people won't care.

The only thing to worry about if you keep them in the spare bedroom is people not being able to picture what the room would look like with a bed in there (specifically how much room was still there after the bed). Unless you have a bed to put in it though, then I don't see an issue with keeping the bikes there.

Hypno Toad

Yes and no... but that PODS has sailed (or left the driveway). I have a couple bikes that need LBS attention that I plan to drop off when we start showing, so that'll get a couple more out for a week or two.

It's shoulder season in Minneapolis, which means I'm gonna need a fatbike today; then tomorrow I'll be on the road bike; the next day you'll need full fended bike; the next day you go on a gravel grinder.

I'm not too worried, some of the garage storage is hidden from casual view. The typical house shopper won't see a number of the bikes.

wheelsmcgee

I love the idea of this thread, as my wife has indicated we’d have a similar dilemma if/when we sell our current house.

My thought, having seen a lot of your pics, hypnotoad:
- hide the drop bar pugsley...among non cyclists fatbikes are weird. Among cyclists, 90% think a drop bar fat bike is weird, and the other 10% will think it’s so awesome they will steel it.
- biggest risk is being considered a hippy liberal biker...hedge your bets with an Escalade in the driveway.

But seriously...

I don’t think it turns off anyone. A lot of people have hobbies and decorating tastes that are different than mine. Seeing a taste of reality in a house just emphasizes it has been lived in and enjoyed by someone else, and isn’t just a “flip” that someone spit-polished to sell fast.

TrojanHorse

My wife and I are half-assedly shopping for a new house in a VERY expensive part of town and many of them have some sort of room converted to a tiny in-home gym or trainer room. I don't see it as a negative at all. Obviously. People do some extraordinarily bizarre things to their house though.

Well staged house > > > empty house > > > cluttered, lived in home. GLWS.

Litespud

You need to empty out the house as much as possible, and that includes removing your own personal "stamp". The goal of staging is to present a "blank slate", onto which the prospective buyer can imagine their own stuff. If everywhere they look is someone else obviously personal stuff, it's hard for them to picture their own stuff there, and it becomes corresponding difficult for them to engage with the property, which is the first stage in wanting the property.

Gresp15C

Lots of people set up a personal training room. That's not unusual any more, especially in areas that are not pedestrian or outdoors-friendly.

On an amusing note, when we bought our first house, both my spouse and I noticed that there wasn't a single book in the entire house. Now that was creepy.

Retro Grouch 

It matters.

It's important to give the illusion that your house has enough storage space to hold your "stuff". Everybody knows it's a lie but think of it like wearing rented clothes when you get married.

ttusomeone

I was speaking specifically to his bikes setup on trainers, which to me as a potential home buyer clearly speaks to that being a "workout room". I should have clarified, as I can see your point about storing spare bikes in a room versus the garage (although I've sold a house before doing that very thing).

Retro Grouch 

I hear what you are saying and it's true that you only have to find one buyer. Selling a house, however, you'd like to appeal to the widest possible audience.

Personally, I'm planning on not ever having to do that again. My plan is to leave all my "stuff" right where it is and let the kids figure out what to do with it.

Hypno Toad

The finished spaces in the house are devoid of bike stuff, except for a couple wall art items (nicely framed prints/photos) in my office.

For the armchair realtor/stager, this is the unfinished basement (we haven't tidied up in a couple days - ie the snack stack goes in a storage tub)

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My biggest issue in the unfinished basement isn't bikes, it's the patio couch and table. I planned to have them outside already, but we're having 3rd winter in Minneapolis... the deck is covered in snow. I'm likely going to shovel the snow off the deck just so I can get this bulky stuff out before showing the house.