Oh crap our house is going on the market! What advice do you wish you'd known?

[NeedMoreBoxes]

After a few chats at the start of the year we decide to visit an agent and enquire about potentially moving. Yesterday we had a very pleasantly shocking valuation meeting and so we've decided to take the plunge but it's all happening super quickly and what was only an idea a few weeks ago is now a reality and it's quite daunting.

So we have a photographer coming next week and we have this weekend to make a dent on sorting and clearing out our accumulated crap memories. Which will be fun with a toddler in the mix.

However I've never sold a house before and I have no idea what the fuckity fuck I'm doing which means I know there is lots of stuff I won't think to do. Therefore I thought I'd ask those who have recently sold.

So what are your best tips for photos, sorting, organising and selling. It a felt very exciting yesterday and now it just feels incredibly overwhelming.

I generally think that you are selling a lifestyle. Especially in a ‘starter’ home. You will likely be appealing to couples who are thinking about starting a family, so you want to neutralise any sense of having children being chaotic and messy (get rid of the bulk of the toys for viewings). You also want to hide any suggestion that you’re low on storage space so things like buggy, hoover, ironing board, need to be removed from the house if they don’t have neat and tidy storage places.

Then it’s things that are aspirational, bowls of fruit (stunt pineapple), fresh flowers. Anything that gets people into the mindset of ‘oh if we buy this house we will absolutely be the kind of people who have flowers all the time’.

Good luck!

You could always pop your own photos up on here on Sunday night and let others help, you can ask for the photos to be removed from the thread after a couple of days, so you remain anonymous

Others here will see things you miss

If you can (tricky with a toddler in tow I realise), try and be there with the photographer and prep each room as they go around the house - so for example, before they photograph a bedroom, take anything off the back of the door, make sure anything you’ve shoved under the bed isn’t visible, straighten the bed linen etc. Then when they go into the next room, you can chuck all the stuff back in the room they’ve just done.
Also move bins from the front of the house when they photograph that.

Well done OP, there was a house near me, on the market for about a zillion billion £'s and they kept their empty manky rotary line up with the pegs on
It made me grind my teeth
No way would I spend my imaginary money on a house that the owners couldn't see how wrong that was. I still give the house a dirty look when I drive past

I sold my house last year: I decluttered massively - threw loads of things out. Painted most rooms so they were fresh and new looking. I spent a bit of money putting new doors and worktops int he kitchen because my kitchen was really tired - looked like a brand new kitchen and boosted the value by about £20k!

I also got the drive power washed etc.

My market was first time buyers and basically I made the place look like a new build: took any photos down and anything hung really personal.

Had twenty bidders!

We sold at the end of last year (now in rented whilst we find somewhere to buy):

• be prepared for things to move fast. Ours took about 5 weeks to sell, then only a month to get to completion so know which solicitor you plan to use. You can get the solicitor ID checks done now so you're ready to go as soon as you get offer accepted.
• get all your paperwork together - all the stuff for the house sale (FENSA certificates, any planning permission type stuff). We shoved anything like that into a box file, then a big plastic wallet for instructions and guarantees for things like the boiler and oven that would go with the house.
• declutter. We hired a storage unit to get lots of our books out of the way. We didn't want to get rid of them, but thought they made the house look very stuffed! We then freshened up scuffed paintwork, where stairgates had been etc.

Have recently sold. Definitely invest in renting a storage unit and chuck heaps of stuff in there. You can go through it later after you have sold. CLean the carpets and windows and walls. Empty the kitchen benchtops ( and the magnets and photos on the fridge). One or 2 lovely bowls of flowers only. Make sure the bathroom smells nice! ( after you scrub it with a bucket of bleach). Make the beds for the photos and the viewings. If you have a study put a bed in it or at least a daybed . Get a gardener in if you can - it's amazing what they can do in a day as they have all the tools and buy a couple of pretty pots and plants for the front doorway with a new mat in front of the door. Paint the front door if necessary. Open the curtains/blinds. Make sure the house isn't too hot or cold.

Decluttering:
Sold stuff on FB Marketplace
Olio app for passing on stuff for free
I tried to take two bags to charity shop every time I went into town.

Best of luck. I wish I had paid a cleaner to come and clean up a bit however it was okay after all. Read property descriptions and make notes. Beds should be made and windows left open. Rooms need to be tidy and free of clutter.

Music can be on yet only softly. Find a good solicitor and estate agent too, look online etc. Sell unwanted items online on Facebook Marketplace. Research local moving companies as well. Pick one you like.

Keep all the important paperwork in a folder in one spot for ease of reference. Interview estate agents and so on. Declutter rooms on top of that it makes things easier overall. Smile. Breathe in and out in addition. Pray.

Be honest. Avoid exaggeration and lies.

Yes. Definitely declutter.

Get rid of all personal items, photos etc.

Touch up all paint

Put all clutter in boxes

Clean everything til it's sparkling

Front door - clean and/or paint

Garden - tidy up - especially the front. Add some new pots or gravel.

Don't be afraid to spend some money on it - you will earn it back in the sale price

Try to get into the mindset that it's not your home anymore - this is the hardest thing but will make all the above easier to deal with

Push your agent for honest feedback. We decided to come off the market in the end and it was only that he gave us some (probably very obvious) feedback.

We’ve done a lot of work to the house since (new kitchen, hard wood flooring, decorating) and now it’s done I can look back and see more objectively how off putting some things might have been.

@ivykaty44

Magic bathroom away with bleach Then use ]]

That stuff is amazing! Takes no time at all and makes such a huge difference!

I’d spend the time before photos just getting everything looking tidy and clean. You don’t need to declutter yet as such, just make sure you hide everything for the photos! We put everything in the kitchen into boxes and hid them under the stairs, moved excess furniture from room to room, took down all personal photos, hid the dog!!!
Surprisingly, we had viewings the day the listing went online, and had offers that same day, despite the clutter that crept back.
Then we got a huge skip and chucked everything out - we were downsizing so had to be brutal!

I would say, as it’s winter, your garden may look rough - perhaps get some bulbs in pots, tidy up the lawn and borders, make it look inviting. Even though it’s freezing, get the cushions out in the garden furniture and stage it - that’s if you even have a garden, and garden furniture 🤣

Exciting op!! We're putting our house up too, had the photos and home report done in the last few days and already have 5 people interested from thd early taster sneak peeks the estate agents have put out!

A PP asked why not wait till the spring, but the market is crazy right now so I don't think it matters. And, if you are buying another house then you get stung at buying no matter when you sell. Ie sell at high market then you get a good price, but also have to pay out at top ££ for another house.

We've just had an offer accepted as we found someplace and our estate agent isn't worried about ours selling.

Last week we went £21k over the asking on a different property and were only the 5th offer in the queue, that was a wake up call!

Actually it was 26k over asking, 21k over the home report value! So difficult to get a mortgage potentially

I wish we’d never fucking bothered.

My advice would be don’t do it.

The idea is to make your house look as spacious, clean and impersonal as possible ( but also aspirational).
Empty kitchen bench except a bowl of lemons or green apples, no family photos, a set of new white towels in the bathroom ( for display don't use until you sell), reduce the number of cushions on the sofa.
Hire storage or ask a family member if you can store excess stuff with them.
I read once a prospective buyer will often forgive a dated bathroom or kitchen if it's immaculately clean, same with the entire house really.

@NeedMoreBoxes

I hate seeing empty washing lines with pegs on too, it looks bleugh

Ah fuck... Scurries off down the garden promptly to remove the pegs.

No one will notice

Get looking...it's a frantic market right now.

I assure you no one will notice. The house will sell regardless.

I would take some photos before you start. The sort of pics the agent will take. I found that really showed me stuff I didn't think about day to day and made it obvious what needed doing immediately. It will also cheer you up as you'll feel you made progress!

Oh and make sure the square footage info is marked for all rooms and ideally a total for each level.

@RidingMyBike

We sold at the end of last year (now in rented whilst we find somewhere to buy):

• be prepared for things to move fast. Ours took about 5 weeks to sell, then only a month to get to completion so know which solicitor you plan to use. You can get the solicitor ID checks done now so you're ready to go as soon as you get offer accepted.
• get all your paperwork together - all the stuff for the house sale (FENSA certificates, any planning permission type stuff). We shoved anything like that into a box file, then a big plastic wallet for instructions and guarantees for things like the boiler and oven that would go with the house.
• declutter. We hired a storage unit to get lots of our books out of the way. We didn't want to get rid of them, but thought they made the house look very stuffed! We then freshened up scuffed paintwork, where stairgates had been etc.

And all of this.

Empty your boot!

Have a spare washing basket handy - collect last min crap and drop in the car - could be washing you haven’t sorted - kids projects - pram - Makes a quick get away for last min viewings

I'm decluttering, painting, planting primulas and daffs in the garden etc, so my question is how do you choose an estate agent and solicitor/conveyancer? Do you have any say in the frankly awful pictures some of them post? As in so many have a close up of a lid up loo and no picture of the actual bathroom. What's that about? Surely the actual loo is a given? Or close ups of random bits of furniture with no idea if it's in the hall or on the landing?
I am dreading the actual selling bit and dealing with that part of it. Solicitors and estate agents seem to make it all more stressful.