What little touches would make you want to view/buy a property?

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Valuations yesterday, fairly average 3 bed 70s terrace, good location for shops, schools, public transport.

I've still got some decluttering, tweaks and gardening to do so looking at getting on the market mid April (I work f/t in a school so need the Easter hols as a safety net!).

Would just really appreciate any opinions on little things that are/are not worth doing?

A couple of things I'm wondering about - having neutralised the decor I've not put any artwork back up on the wall and wondering if it would make it look more homely or just be too personal and a waste of time?

Also to what extent should I try and 'stage' it? It's nicely decorated, clean and tidy. In particular I'm wondering about the dining area - I feel like it would be good to have it fully set up to show the space but I'm halfway through an upcycling project and don't know if spending 2 days sanding, finishing and reupholstering dining chairs is a good use of time!

Agent is experienced and they have an in house legal team who would do the conveyancing for an additional £5-700. I can see on the website they are doing plenty of this already. The advice agent has given, backed up my own research on similar properties to mine shows that having a garage doesn't make a significant difference to the selling price in my area (which I must admit surprised me).

I haven't entirely made my mind up yet, but my garage is in a compound and there are a fair few that have been sold (the one next to mine is on at the moment having been split from the associates house years ago) and some are rented out.

I always think if it smells nice and fresh op that's a great thing. For me a decent garden is important but I like to do it myself so I wouldn't make it too busy as such if you're working on it. Something neutral and easy maintained so people can add to it if they want but not feel pressure with upkeep if they don't. I think fresh flowers are a nice touch and I keep some nice smelling candles in the windowsill so they melt a little when it's sunny and scents the room without you needing to do anything. Make sure your front door etc looks fresh and your front garden is nice and tidy and rubbish free. And that your hallway is as clutter free and nice smelling as possible.

For me, a home that looks clean and light is important. I also need to be able to see the space.

Yes to neutral colours, clean carpets and decluttering. Staging is not important for me.

There is a house for sale near me and I had a nosy at the estate agent's details. I happen to know already that it is a 2 bedroom house with the owners' son and children living there with them temporarily, so I can understand the clutter, but quite honestly there is not a chance in hell that I would go to view the house having looked at the photographs unless it was very VERY cheap, which it isnt. Every surface is cluttered. The kitchen is small, but looks smaller because there is so much 'stuff' on the surfaces. Quite frankly it makes it look as if there is insufficient storage space. I already know, from my own house, how small the kitchens are (mine has been extended) but had I not already known the photos make it look even tinier. Every surface in the bathroom is covered in stuff, you can't actually see that it is probably quite a nice bathroom underneath. The primary bedroom is nice looking, near and tidy, but the children's room has 3 children sleeping in it with open storage, and things spilling out of it. Their father appears to be sleeping in the conservatory.

This is a perfectly nice 2 bedroom house, with a large garden for the area, a nicely planted front garden and a garage, but it is impossible to see how nice it is from the photographs.

So - my advice is - declutter as much as you can. If you think you have more furniture and equipment than you need, put it into storage (or a shed or garage) so that prospective buyers can see the bones of the house. Tidy as much as you can away. If you have open storage, buy boxes or baskets that fit in it to put your things into. Except bookshelves or display shelves, that would just be silly. Tidy books on shelves. Don't have too many things on your display shelves.
Clean your house, and keep it clean. That includes paintwork. If you have anything that needs fixing, fix it. No non-working lights, broken windows, missing doorhandles, drooping curtains or blinds etc.
Tidy your garden. Your home and garden need to look loved and well kept.

Everybody has their own ideas of what kind of decor looks nice... I tend to towards the colourful. If you have anything that is very different then best to neutralise a bit if you can, but anyone that has an ounce of sense can visualise their own colour schemes in a house they already like the look of.
Your pictures should be fine, but if you have anything which could dock or distress a buyer maybe replace it with something generic. No boudoir portraits. Best to avoid nude life studies. And I would remove the family photos, but not everyone would. I can't stand strong smells so scented candles, reed diffusers, room sprays or dog would turn me right off.... but you can't see those in a photo.

Basically, clean, tidy, uncluttered, well kept. If possible, get a trusted friend in to give you their opinion - provided you think you won't take offence and thus lose your friendship. Take your own photos and try to look at them with a prospective buyer's eyes before your estate agent takes the pictures.

a house that looks “presented “ would make me wary , a house that has been “touched up to sell “ similarly

clean, easy to see , not cluttered , no false scents

I think fresh clean and uncluttered on any average house is fine- if you don’t have much storeage don’t make it obvious by having stuff around that really doesn’t need to be on view- get rid of anything like cat litter trays or overflowing bins

I wouldn’t put hooks back in the wall for pictures if you have decorated. You can get those wall sticky things that can be easily removed

We sold our place not so long ago. OH literally moved clutter for the photos and put it back. I'd put the artwork back. Also setting up the dining area might help, even if it's only for the photos. I doubt anyone would notice the state of the chairs in photos. Also the garden is pretty wild as I am pregnant.

Just make sure nothing is broken and that it is clean. I mean really, really clean.

Take a photo of each room once it’s done- you sometimes spot things in the photo that you don’t see in the room itself- you can also upload to ChatGPT and ask for comments.

put away anything that advertises problems- fans/plug in heaters etc. if you have to store anything somewhere odd eg shoes in a basket in the hall, then just put the whole thing on your car.

Clean, doesn't smell. A maintained garden and simple touches like a vase of flowers and warm lighting to help create an inviting atmosphere.

I'm sure people will disagree but one thing that can completely ruin my view of a house is grey everything, I see a lot of it and all I think of would be the added costs of having to rip out grey carpets, repaint grey walls and redo grey kitchen cabinets and/or tiling.
I think having too much grey, black or cold stark white can affect the overall look of a home.

I’ve just had mine on market and looked on here for tips.
we spent a few weekends touching up paint, de cluttering and doing a whole host of little jobs that caught they eye. Also bought some big plastic under bed storage boxes and put stuff in there.
on photo day I moved everything but the kettle off the kitchen worktops, all bottles out of shower, toothbrushes out. Nothing on top of wardrobe etc. I just stuck a load of stuff in the car! Also took pics down and off fridge.
Then I followed photographer from each room and moved bin, dressing gown etc. I didn’t tidy the loft or garage and no one has been bothered
mine went on the market last Saturday and I’ve had 11 views and 2 asking price offers already.
For the viewings I was a bit more relaxed but took the dog to my parents and moved dog beds, bowls and also the washing basket into car. Also lit the coal fire and had fresh flowers out. I’ve had good feedback so must have looked ok!

good luck 🤞

@LondonLady15 oh a real fire...you lucky thing. We had a log burner in my old house and I do miss it.

I'm not really into ornaments fortunately. I have a phrenology head on the bookcase in the sitting room, my works bake off trophy (about 3 inches tall) on the mantelpiece (electric fire) and a tiny lapis lazuli Buddha in the office and that's it.

What I do have is masses and masses of art and craft stuff - papercraft, quilting, cross stitch, crochet, resin, candle/wax melt making, canvasses, acrylics and on and on....! A lot of it is in canvas boxes in cube units but I've bought some lidded plastic boxes so I get some stored away in the garage until I move. I don't have time for any of it at the moment anyway which is one of the reasons for the move!

As long as the house is clean, not cluttered and reasonably tidy people will be happy to view and offer, we see past staging! I did ask if the cat could be put outside when I was viewing as I’m allergic and it wouldn’t leave me alone

The current plan is to do an open day/block viewings so the cats will be going to my mum's.

That said they'd run a mile from anyone new coming in the house anyway.

My DD have been looking at goats. We were totally seduced by one that was lower ground floor, but that little courtyard space, barely 8’ by 5’, was full of colourful flowering plants and greenery with a bistro set and a gorgeous pink door. You couldn’t help but imagine sitting there with a coffee on a lazy morning just relaxing in all that prettiness.
So something that makes anyone scrolling stop and check your house out - a neutral interior is always advised but it’s the interesting characterful colourful ones that grab me.

Do you have a friend/relative who would walk through as if they were viewing and given you an honest opinion of the positives and negatives of your home? (we are often blind to the little niggles that have been there years) Make sure it's clean, tidy and not cluttered (put things in rented storage if needed) but still looks like a home, a few bits of artwork on the walls and ornaments on the mantle etc. you want potential buyers to be able to see that it might work for them and if it's too much like a show house that's not always easy.

Clean, fresh carpets will definitely help (won't increase the price but will definitely add to its appeal)

A friend of my mum was selling her 2 bedroom house. They had no kids so one bedroom was used as an office/hobby room. They were advised to set it up as a bedroom or viewers would not perceive a two bedroom house. Are people really that unimaginative? What a waste of money paying for storage for the hobby stuff and buying bedroom furniture that will only have to be got rid of later.

I would put up a few bits of artwork. There was a place on RM recently that just looked so stark with plain white walls everywhere.

You need decent photos and a good floor plan. If the front is the first photo then make sure it looks tidy, add plants or whatever.

Clear surfaces everywhere, move stuff around for photos if necessary, like laundry baskets, no need for them to be in photos.

I would clean the carpets, as it freshens them up and also removes stale smells of pets, kids or food that may be in them.

We sold our house last year. We sorted out all the places we thought people might look in like fitted wardrobes and kitchen cupboards. Put away lots and lots of framed family photos and bought fresh flowers as they cheer an area up. Just a bunch of daffs or tulips. Obviously cleaned thoroughly.

I really like this idea and have the prefect person to do it so will ask her when she gets back from holiday.

I do think it's a myth, but has become a popular idea. Perhaps there are a handful of people who can't follow floor plans and have zero clue, but mostly you'd understand whether or not a room could be used as a bedroom!
There was a woman on here posting for advice on selling her home recently - several posters were critical about her choice of tablecloth!
It can get nonsensical.

I don't have good spatial awareness, so yes, it absolutely helps me to see a room set up with a bed in it, so I can get a feel for how much other furniture would fit around the bed.

You can call it lack of imagination if you like (though I have, in my time, written many poems, so I obviously have some kind of imagination, if not the visual kind).

You could look at the dimensions and calculate if a bed would fit in.
The measurements are usually on the floor plan.
Anyway, there's no harm in it if it sells the house, my point is that it can be taken to absurd lengths.

I know that I could. But it is easier for me to actually see it.

And it's not just about fitting in a bed, it's about whether you can get other furniture in as well, or if you could theoretically fit a wardrobe but actually there's no space to open the doors if you do.

Maybe think of it like a tone-deafness for 3D visualisation I don't know how rare I am to be like this, but I'm not a myth.