Would you ‘stage’?

[Unfinished]

We’ve been to see a few houses, and noticed the classic fresh cookies on the side, or a bottle of fizz and a fresh bouquet in the photos etc.

We’re having our photos taken for our house next week and viewings a week or two later
Have you ever/ would you ever stage

Or have you seen anything on a viewing/on photos that you thought was a good idea?

Funnily enough I was talking about this yesterday. When we viewed our previous house, they had put some coffee beans in the oven to roast. Cliche or what!

And no, I wouldn't, apart from maybe some fresh flowers

I would not stage as such but I may remove things that other people may find odd or off putting ( My Ddogs ashes on the mantel piece , portable gas fire etc )
I know someone that went to view a house a few years ago and there was a full frontal nude painting about 3x 3 foot of the home owner !

I moved a flowering plant on the advice of the photographer. My estate agent was surprised I didn't have shite on the bed, just the duvet and pillows we used. It was a 2 up 2 down with 4 people living there, if course we didn't have extra cushions and runners on the bed!

I just made sure that the beds were properly made, everything was tidy and clutter was put away. My house was never going to be a lifestyle choice so no point presenting it as such! I hate seeing photos where the place looks like a state but there are many reasons why that might be the case and it wouldn't put me off viewing somewhere if it otherwise ticked my boxes - I'm looking for a doer-upper.

Yes I staged... I hid the mess away. You can fit a whole basket of washing under a duvet, and the ironing board fits so perfectly under the sofa, it's lived their ever since.

Go round, take photos yourself, and then look critically at them - does it look like you have no storage, does the bed look messy, is the bathroom sparkly and full of random bottles, does there look like there is too much furniture in the sitting room - that sort of thing.
This is a time for ironing the duvet cover, stuffing everything in cupboards/ the car/a storage unit, and polishing mirrors/windows! Think about the house being inviting and a lifestyle people want to have

I photograph properties for sale. Don't worry too much about staging and don't follow the photographer about fluffing cushions etc as it just makes everything take 3x longer. Decluttering is the single most important thing you can do: no evidence of kids or pets, no extraneous 'stuff' clean and clear surfaces and a tidy garden.

A vase of fresh flowers is nice but the above is more important.

I think it depends on your house and target market a bit, personally I find the whole staging thing a bit silly as when I'm looking to buy I couldn't care less whether there are lovely expensive soft furnishings scattered about or posh scented candles burning as those things are obviously not included in the purchase price - I try to look past decor and furnishings both good and bad, to the potential, the space/light available as those are the fundamentals of the house which can't be changed, in fact the worse it superficially looks the better (so long as structurally sound) IMO, as you stand a better chance of getting a bargain that way, but then again I tend to buy fixer-uppers so not the kind of house that would ever be 'staged' for market anyway. It's a totally different thing if your house has been 'renovated' up to the nines and/or you are charging absolute top dollar in your local marketplace, then you really need to sell it hard and it will more likely appeal to people who want to walk in and immediately see themselves living there, ideally living an idealized version of their lives and for it to really appeal to them on a sort of sub-conscious/emotional level. I do think there are a lot of buyers out there that struggle to visualise themselves in an empty or unloved looking property and/or want to be 'sold a lifestyle' (urgh!), and I do think particularly in Covid times really good pictures are what gets people through the door.

I still think it would be silly to put out a bottle of fizz and a huge bouquet of posh flowers or similar if it's a home for a family with young children, but things like the odd very tasteful child's toy on display (absolutely not loads of plastic tat), a full fruit bowl, nice colourful plants/flowers and whatever your nicest cushions/blankets/rugs etc are, will show it off to its full potential -know your market and appeal to that is key!

As a vendor I think your priorities for spending time/money should be as follows:

1. Hire a good estate agent, one whose marketing materials are really top notch and follow their advice.

1. Clean, tidy and declutter as much as possible, even if this means temporarily putting items in storage or hiding them in your garage or car boot. Even people like me who pride themselves on seeing potential can struggle to see how spacious your rooms are if they are hidden behind loads of clutter, and it can give the impression the house lacks storage if there's 'stuff' out on every available surface. It doesn't have to be totally empty and depersonalised, a few personal items like photos, books, plants etc help to sell a place, but definitely keep it restrained.

1. Finish any minor DIY jobs such as dripping taps, loose hinges, walls needing painting/washing to get rid of marks, garden fence needing repair or creosoting. Again these are minor issues which shouldn't logically put off a buyer but people that are nervous/not handy can (a) grossly overestimate the costs/time involved to fix and (b) think that because these things have been neglected, the house is more likely to have serious problems like damp or roof issues - some people I know wouldn't even view never mind buy a house priced £10k lower than an exact same one, structurally fine but with £1k's worth of small jobs needing doing, or £20k lower than market value but with tired decor needing £10k to smarten up, they just don't want the hassle, which is their prerogative - so you don't want to be putting that sector of the market off.

1. Stage the property appropriately for the price point in the market and target market, I can't overestimate how much simple things like it being clean, tidy and smelling nice are - a lot of people don't like heavy artificial scents (zoflora and the like) and again would worry it's hiding something sinister, so subtle, homey scents are best, either reed diffuser type things or do something like brew a big pot of coffee or put a loaf of bread to warm in the oven before viewers come in. Make sure children/pets are kept out of the way of any viewers although adults can lurk discreetly to answer any questions the buyers may have.... good luck!