To think some little things make a house look expensive?

Fair point, so in our case, the market conditions were reasonably ok, and getting viewings was not difficult, but you will have to believe me that the price it sold for was ridiculous.... there was a bidding war that just exploded. We actually worried quite badly that the banks would not lend the amount, and in fact they did question it - their valuer told us so! - but thankfully the sale proceeded in the end.

It was a generally decent house but not that special, the staging and deep cleaning gave it a bit of a wow factor/ luxury feel. I'm utterly convinced that if I sold it without any effort to spruce it up we would have got AT LEAST 60K less for it. My mind still boggles at what it sold for.

You are presenting an image and it is one that you care and have standards. Sounds weird?! Viewers are more likely to assume that if the house looks cared for it will be the same with the bricks and mortar. Those of you who say it doesn't matter are being naive as to most viewers it will matter very much even if they are not aware of it. Also it might not sell the house as such but would certainly give it an edge compared to similar ones on the market. And further down the line if you have a good sort out/streamline now it will help when you are packing up to move.

We looked at lots of properties before we moved into this one 6 months ago. Here is a list of things I don't want to see:

Crumbs on work surfaces
Sink full of washing up
Holes punched into internal doors
Urine around the toilet, staining the floor
Large crack in the glass of the living room window
Owners clothing on the bedroom floor

Of course all of the above is fixable however I had spent years making my old property as lovely as humanly possible, it was spotless for every viewing and we were regularly complimented on the condition of our home. I wanted to move into a home with owners that had a similar mindset to me, I don't have the energy for a big project at the moment so the house being ready to live in immediately (as well as location, price etc) definitely influenced my decision to buy it. Not because I am an advertisers wet dream but because it suited me to buy something 'done' at this point in life.

then where does it go? seriously? as much as possible was culled brutal etc etc but there was still stuff and I couldn’t afford a storage unit whilst selling so things did have to go in cupboards, I’ve seen a full cupboard whilst viewing but it didn’t put me off coz I know people have lives 🤷🏽‍♀️

I've no idea. It's so odd. There was one thread about selling a house on here and someone was put off by "the crumpled duvets" 🙄

I didn’t buy a house because the owners had a ‘page 3’ calendar in the kitchen ( this was 25 years ago but I’ll never forget it ) They were a married couple with kids too. I just remember thinking ‘ughh, I’d never want to live here’

What kind of brainless turnip does a person have to be that a wedding photo or jazzy coloured wall would put them off buying a house?

Paint exists, and people take photos with them generally. Good heavens.

Obviously it would be silly to make a conscious decision like that, but I think you do get a ‘feeling’ about a place. Assuming it’s going to be your home for a good while and not just something to flip, we buy houses with our hearts as well as our heads. I can imagine how something like clothes hanging everywhere could make a place feel claustrophobic and that might subconsciously affect your overall opinion of the house without even realising it perhaps.

Plus, as PPs have stated, it gives a bad impression of the sellers which could be a bit of a worry.

Most real selling points are fixed and unchangeable (eg location and number of rooms) but there are little details that can make one of two identical houses look more expensive than the other. Door handles, light fittings, rugs for instance can elevate a ‘basic’ room to a more tasteful one, and make it stand out against next door who has left these things as they were. Much depends on the age and style of the house though.

I’ve just put brass art deco handles on the interior doors and have had lots of compliments, but it’s a 1920s house, so they look original. The actual original ones were plain wooden knobs, so the new ones make the house look higher end than it would have been when new. Similarly, plastic light switches and cheap door knobs and knockers can easily be switched out for better ones, and make a difference to the look of the house for relatively little effort.

Rugs, lamps etc can go with you when you move, and don’t overlook rechargeable lamps - you can put them anywhere and if you avoid the very basic ones they look like plug-in versions, so can give the impression that there are more sockets (and therefore placement options) as well as showing off areas of the room better than a harsh overhead light. Try Pooky for decent rechargeable lighting. They even do wall lights/picture lights that don’t need wiring in.

Speaking of lighting, check that all bulbs are the same ‘temperature’. Either all white light or all warm light - never mixed.

Short curtains look cheap, but curtains are expensive and might not fit your new windows, so it might not be worth spending on new ones. If you have short ones and can take them down and manage with blinds it might look better, but you really need to play around with what you’ve got to see what works. Make sure cushions are properly stuffed. Get pads that are a size bigger than the covers so they aren’t droopy. Again they can come with you.

Have fun 😀. Some things will attract some buyers and not others, but balance spending so that most goes on things you can take to the new place when you move.

I’m quite savvy but DH I have noticed is easily put off a house which needs work and has potential. We have missed a fair few had massive
potential. Equally if he likes the owner and there is a nice car in the driveway then he turns his head.

I ignore frippery completely. I dislike all the meme stuff like “this house runs on gin and love”. But decluttering is essential.

Clean. Uncluttered, fresh self-coloured bedding. Nothing on work tops. No laundry

A friend bought a posh flat - upmarket furnishings, big flower arrangements, classical music playing when she went to view. Turned out the music was to disguise the constant noise of the traffic outside.

Neat, clean, fresh smelling, well maintained. No dripping taps, running toilet, sticky floors, clothes laying about. You want it to be obvious that the house was well cared for by the current owner. If it looks a bit neglected and shabby, buyers will assume there are hidden problems. Don't try to cover bad odors with scented candles and air freshener. When I was house shopping, I immediately eliminated 2 houses from consideration based on odors. One reeked of cigarettes, even though it was currently unoccupied and had fresh paint. The other had several strongly scented candles burning, plus plug-in air fresheners, with an undercurrent of sewage. Obviously trying to hide some sort of plumbing issue.

I was going to suggest show homes, too. Did you know the show house always sells, and half the purchasers buy the stuff the developers put in it? This is solid evidence that [a] buyers prefer a home that looks ready-made, while also being unfeasibly clean & tidy, and [b] many can't imagine different furnishings in a space, so they just buy the ones they looked at.

So, basically, made it look sparkling clean and as un-lived-in as possible. Visible accessories should be sparse, new-looking and relevant - bottles in the bathroom, kettle in the kitchen - with just a few pictures & mirrors, all generic in style, and a couple of healthy plants.

Another model would be good hotels: they always look like nobody lives there but you'd be comfortable from the moment you walk in.

Week painted with ash the painting in his condition without dents and chips regardless of whether I like the color scheme)! Good lighting. Some high level, please no hideous paper shade that cost about 99p and should have remained in a l970d comune 😉 Audi some good looking table lamps sound the room, oversized works incredible well. Nice mirrors, again buffet rather than small. Leave the lights on. It looks bigger than it is. It looks fresher and brighter than it is. It limooks far more appealing. Obviously no I'm unnecessary furniture- organised minimalism all over but unit cc stuff ç

That’s meaningless without any context about the area and the market conditions, though. We sold a house in ten days for £150 k more than we’d paid for it three years earlier without doing any significant work, and without ‘staging’, or doing more than giving it a good clean and retouching worn paint, but that was because it was an ‘easy’ house in a sought-after village in a buoyant market. I would only bother ‘staging’ if it’s a difficult house, in an unappealing location, and/or the market is bad.

We got our house significantly under the asking price because it was so messy & unloved. Nobody had offered on it as it needed so much doing.
Fortunately we could see through the mouldy bathroom & broken kitchen floor tiles and went purely on location & square footage.
Bargain

I think your husband's wrong - lots of people might think they're just looking at bricks and mortar, but in reality they are swayed by good decor and hints of the good lives they might lead there (e g. fresh flowers, smell of good coffee, nice bed linen, everywhere clean and tidy, sparkling windows...)

Ahhh the famous mumsnet stunt pineapple, works like a charm, stunt tea towels help as well.

Agreed, if they can’t present the house in a clean and tidy way then I doubt very much they do general maintenance to the property, if they live in a shit hole I doubt they worry about servicing boilers or clearing gutters.

We’ve been viewing properties lately and some smell like no one ever gives it a real clean. That smell, plus bathrooms that look sad with dirty grouting and bad layouts put me off even though I know those things are fixable.

Aside from smell, uncluttered rooms and organised looking storage and healthy plants and a well-cared for garden are all attractive features.

Lot of disingenuous replies here. Most people aren't buying a renovation project, they are buying a home. Of course people are influenced by the marketing of the property and whether it appeals to them as a target customer. They can work out the size, location, facilities by reading the listing but it's the staging and details that close the deal whether you're conscious of these or not.

It's not the baked bread/fragrance/linens themselves, it's the fact that the sellers show that they care about the property. Somebody who's made an effort to present a clean and tidy home in its best light is probably (not always) someone who makes the effort to upgrade the boiler, clean the drains, prevent mould and damp etc.

There are people who are absolutely convinced that advertising and marketing definitely don't work on them in spite of huge evidence and data to the contrary.

Maybe I'm in a minority, but clinically bare and no sign of people comfortably living in a space turns me off it. But then again, maybe I'm not as very few properties on Escape to the Country or Location, Location, Location ever look decluttered to within in an inch ...

For me it's kerb appeal - clean, tidy, well maintained, clean doormat and a few nice pots with seasonal shrubs or flowers. Easy to take with you too.

Not Jo Malone, they always smell a bit of sage, which I don't like.