Top tips for making my house look lovely for viewings

[manyhands]

Well, titke say it all please can I have your top tips!

Get rid of all the things that make your house YOUR HOME
Some people are incredibly unimaginative and can't see beyond e.g. a collection of ornaments or lots of photos on the walls etc.

Clear all surfaces - kitchen, kitchen table, hall table, bathroom (on basin/round bath), and make sure everyting is clean.

Flowers/an inviting fruitbowl are a nice touch but not essential.

Keep toy clutter to a minimum (tidy up before viewings and then take DC out if possible- make your EA EARN their money)

Best of luck with it.

Everyhting champagne said plus:

• If you have pets remove any sign of them (bowls, beds, etc) for viewings- some people are very anti-animals and it will put them off straight away.

-Make sure your front door/drive/porch area is clean and inviting. People will be having a good nosey round outside your front door before you answer the door.

-if you are doing the viewings yourself, don't talk too much. We nearly didn't buy our perfect house because OH MY GOD we could not hear ourselves think during the viewings by the over-enthusiastic 'comedy duo' that were selling it. On the plus side for us it did immediately signal to us just how desperate they were and we got the house for a song!

Thr main thing really is to maximise the space you have by removing any clutter and making the best of what you have.

Make the rooms as light and airy as possible - pull the curtains right back and switch the lights on if necessary. I hate dark, gloomy houses.

Also, shine your taps. Only a little detail, but it makes the buyer think that everywhere else will be clean and shiny.

Declutter declutter declutter - look like you haven't run out of space. But do not stick everything in the built in cupboards because I always open them when viewing a house and they tend to be stuffed with crap. Borrow a garage, rent space and get rid of the stuff

It needs to look like anyone could live there, not the person who does.

Absolutely no pet smells. I would walk straight back out if I smelled a dog.

we are househunting at moment - i am a bit of a clean freak, but even so, am stunned that even in otherwise lovely houses, nobody has ever used a bit of viakal/limescale remover on taps and plugholes...

clean the light switches fittings and sockets.

get someone rather critical to give the house an eye over.

I read on a decluttering website that you should take photos of each room and then look at them to see what you think makes the room look cluttered or too small. And like others said, get rid of it out of the house as people will always find it.

ooh many hands where do you live-I would LOVE to come and give your house a snooty once over before you ahve any viewings

make the house look like it does not have storage problems.
Clean the windows, weed the garden and if parking is an issue, then leave the drive free so its not obvious.

Then most important of all - don't hang around the buyers or walk in front of them into tiny rooms so that all they see of it is your back!

Wow so much advice, I live in lancashire and my house is cheap! Hadn't even though of plugholes, oh dear so much to do.

We nearly managed to empty the garage because we didn't want to give the impression that we are driven to dump junk there because of insufficient storage (we are!). We rented a storage unit for £100 a month and I think it's worth it - apart from anything else, we can gradually move inessentials out there before the move. Cuts down on the stuff you have to shift on the day.

We removed virtually all of DS's toys, boxed them up and put them in the empty garage. Removed photos and most ornaments. Cleaned and made shiny. I made a point of hooking back curtains and clearing space round windows to let the light in, and we had the windows cleaned for the first time since moving in.

We then went on holiday! Obviously not always an option but it made things so much easier. Got asking price offer soon after that.