Tips for staging house

ironlady2022

Hi

What tips can everyone offer for photography of house to sell and then subsequent viewings? 

KeepOnKnitting

Put all of your clutter away. Then put about 80% of the remaining stuff in the cupboards as well. And get a good photographer or estate agent. Don't take your own photos, you aren't impartial enough.

hazyjo

I find you often see things in photos that you don't usually in real life. So photograph each room/space just for your own eyes, see what looks messy, untidy or in need of repair.

Get rid of/hide anything that's too personalised or cluttered.

hazyjo

Oh and don't forget the garden! Dress that too. Flowers, pots, seating area, etc.

youth_leader

I think kerb appeal is mentioned a lot - shine your door knocker, pots of flowers, cut the grass regularly for drive pasts, clean doormat etc.

For the bathroom definitely toilet seat down, people feel awkward about it. All toiletries in the bathroom out of sight,and scrub everything in there until it sparkles, matching towels, clean bin etc.  

Kitchen should also be scrubbed and clean, hide away recycling etc.

For the bedroom people recommended plain bedding to me, I bought a couple of plain eiderdowns. 

For the lounge remove personal photos etc.

One thing that let me down was having plug in electric radiators on view.   A viewer commented that 'obviously the boiler isn't good enough'.  My house had single glazed sash windows and stripped floorboards with a six foot cellar underneath, we did need the additional heat when it was 0 degrees.

 

Ramouth

The tip above about taking photos and then looking at them is a really good one.  There were several bits of clutter I would have missed (eg dishcloth over tap).  Also clean your windows - lets in more light and makes the most of any views.

Woolsery

hazyjo said:

Oh and don't forget the garden! Dress that too. Flowers, pots, seating area, etc.

Yes, but a couple of chairs and a rickety table perched on badly cut grass in an unkempt corner just don't cut it and are liable to cause mirth, especially if surmounted with a vase of bought flowers, two wine glasses and a bottle of fizz.

Similarly, big name bags scattered around an average-looking house are obvious fails from a staging POV.

Clean, clear and simple, but with some evidence of personal touches to counter sterility is usually best.

Woolsery

Just to add, the agent who sells the most houses around me visited recently and said:

"We don't use wide angle lenses if we can help it. There's nothing to be gained by giving buyers a false impression that's dashed as soon as they see the place. We also don't put up more than about a dozen pictures. You won't save a less desirable house by showing more of it."

UnderOffer

As a buyer I do like to have all the bedrooms photographed and listed, I like to see all sizes. As a seller I asked for all the bedrooms to be shown in listing, EA wasn’t keen and wanted potential viewers to be left “wanting to see more”, I insisted and it didn’t put off viewers or offers, I was probably the only listing with that agent with all 4 bedrooms shown. 

Noneforit999

Lots of good advice above, our EA hired a photographer for ours and we paid £150 for it. The pictures were night and day better than the liked taken by the bigger high street agents. De cluttering is the best advice, just ensure everything is put away as much as you can. If you have kids, stick all their toys etc away. We used our garage to box stuff up and just got it back out once photos were done, same for the actual open house. Clear the kitchen sides except for the main stuff, makes it look like there is lots of worktop space. If they see you are struggling for space, they will think it might be too small. 

As a buyer, I would like to see every room. Annoys me when they leave off rooms from the photos.

TripleH

When tidying away for photos and viewings, tidy away things, don't cram items in cupboards.

You want doors to shut properly (as people will assume the doors are broken if they don't).

People will look in cupboards and if mess will assume you are hiding something.

Actually have a proper declutter before you list the property.

I don't have a problem with family photos on the walls (as it helps portray it as a home) but take excessive ones down and clean off the dust marks from the frames.

Fix any small jobs you have put off (ie if you have a broken window fix it).

A few plants in locations throughout the house is useful but make sure they suit the light available where you put them.