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.

We resealed round the bath and shower cubicle so that was brand new and no sign of mould at all!

When house hunting I was surprised at the number of houses where photos showed piles of dirty laundry, cluttered working surfaces, grimy bathrooms and downright filthy carpets. I can only assume some sellers really cba to make an effort.
Needless to say we didn’t view any of those 🤢

@gingerhills

HG, Dettol, Mr Muscle and Astonish all do great mould sprays which are much better than normal bleach.

Some won't come off in which case when someone is planning on selling their house they should re-seal as a pp has suggested. I wouldn't buy a house with a mouldy bathroom unless I planned on ripping it out soon after I moved in.

I've always wondered how you play it with your Estate Agent. You both agree to put it on at a certain price, say £500k. But do you tell the EA that you'd be willing to accept £490k?
Or do you keep all that info to yourself, as you don't trust the EA not to hint to potential buyers that you'll accept £490k to get a quick sale through their books?

@YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp

When house hunting I was surprised at the number of houses where photos showed piles of dirty laundry, cluttered working surfaces, grimy bathrooms and downright filthy carpets. I can only assume some sellers really cba to make an effort. Needless to say we didn’t view any of those 🤢

Yes, I’m a rightmove addict and I’m constantly amazed at how people present their houses for sale. Unmade beds, dirty laundry on display, clutter under the beds. Washing up on the side of the sink. Gardens that look like they haven’t been touched in years.

Take some photos of each room yourself now and look at them objectively...........

Remember that a lot of potential buyers will do a drive-by before making an appointment to view so take an objective look at the outside of your property. Make sure the front looks clean, tidy, uncluttered etc.

Always ask the agent for suggestions. After years of living somewhere there might be things that stick out immediately to them that you don't notice anymore. My DH was really lucky to have a lovely estate agent when he was selling his flat. It was a new build and although he had some artwork on the walls he hadn't really decorated. She gave some really simple suggestions to make it look a bit more loved. So he bought some sofa cushions and a small rug that had a colour that complemented a poster on the wall. He put some some herbs on the kitchen windowsill in pots that matched his new table runner. There were a few other suggestions and she pointed out some areas to de clutter that we hadn't noticed. He spent around £150 and his flat looked really good in the photos. The photos stood out from other similar properties on the market.

How many agents did you have value?

I think sometimes agents over value to win you over with joy, and then you go on the market with them. Especially the ones who aren't commission based.

I always assume the cluttered houses for sale are rented properties with tenants living there. I viewed one with the entire family sitting watching tcmv while the estate agent showed me around. It was all very awkward, I didn't make an offer!

Accept loads of viewings will just be from nosy people who have no intention to buy. Move valuable stuff - some people are light-fingered. Don't take any of the negative comments personally, some people have no intention of buying and come up with random stuff off the top of their head

Get an non iron beds set eg waffle pattern

Then when viewers come it looks like it should regardless of when it was changed

We moved just over a year ago, and started the process in September 2020.

Declutter, then do it again. And then again. Box up personal items and store them with family, or friends or rent a storage unit.

Tone down your colour scheme if it's bright, and definitely make the beds!

If you can, buy in help. Get the garden sorted so it's tidy, windows cleaned, Get a cleaner in (or get friends or family to pitch in) and blitz the house.

I would definitley start looking at properties now, and when you go for a viewing, take your time and take photos if you can. Our house needs to have loads of fiddly faffy jobs doing, but because of covid, DH only saw it once. I'd viewed it earlier that day, but the market was going bonkers so we had to make a decision quite quickly.

Good luck. hope it goes smoothly for you.

In this market do what I did.
Killed myself to get it decluttered,clean tidy. Stuck stuff in the loft and garage.
Photographer came Wednesday. Went live on Thursday (Rightmove) booked viewings on the Friday, sold that day.
I had teenagers and toddlers, I could not have maintained the Sheen of organised home a second longer. And that was the week that the trees were in full leaf and hid the houses at the back.

Make sure the photos don't include next door's really dirty driveway, it looks awful and I am so embarrassed.

I'm sure my drive won't put people off, but I do cringe whenever I see the listing.

Be prepared to look a lot! We sold ours in 4 days on Wednesday. Now we need to find a house…

People will look in fitted wardrobes and cupboards (ones that will stay with the house), so avoid hiding things in those.

@FiftyStoriesHigh

Be prepared to look a lot! We sold ours in 4 days on Wednesday. Now we need to find a house…

Congratulations. Good luck finding your next home, hopefully it's not a long wait.

Thanks for everyone's responses, I really appreciate all the advice. We've made a really good start today and I'm going to double the effort tomorrow, thankfully we have family who are coming to help.

Additionally the toddler seems to have had a personality transplate as he was exceptionally good today. If the new and improved biddable toddler sticks around I'm going to find myself beginning to wish we'd decided to move sooner.

Things we did when we sold:

• new towels/bedding/bath mats just for viewings/photos
• consider curb appeal both from the front and wherever your for sale sign is (ours was at the back so we made that look neat too)
• declutter and then some more. We also used the car boot trick for the buggy and playpen.
• sort any little unfinished jobs, paint touch-ups etc
• we also painted our fence panels and wooden window frames as they were very unsightly (but we went on the market in the spring, so better weather for that).
• Look at Rightmove and similar and find what appeals on those ads. Use all those things in your ad too.
• Know your area, what's special about your home and get that in the ad too. Our house had parking for 2 cars, which was quite unusual for a 2-bed on our estate, plus a good sized plot. We were sure to point both those out.