Selling- talk me through 'staging'

[MooPointCowsOpinion]

I am in limbo and need some advice.

My house is going on the market, and I can't decide if I should frantically paint/declutter to spruce it up.

How important is staging to you when buying a house?

The house is perfectly liveable, in good order, someone could move in and hit the ground running. But woodwork is worn, one wall has filler and needs painting, there's a small amount of clutter.

I think people can't see past clutter so that's got to go.

Definately sort the clutter, you'll need to anyway before you move and i'd freshen up the wall that needs painting. Give the woodwork a good clean with soapy water but wouldn't bother repainting it. Hard to say without pictures what else you should do but making sure each room has had a deep clean and isn't full of clutter will help.

You just must declutter, you're going to feel embarrassed if you don't, surely? People won't see past it otherwise.

Paint your front door if it needs it...first impressions and all that. Give the front kerb appeal big time as many people will do a drive-by and if it looks scruffy they won't book a viewing.

Declutter and depersonalise as much as you can.

Clear worktops and surfaces, if you are putting things out on display then arrange them in threes.

paint the wall with the filler, it's quick and cheap to do and makes a much better impression. I think leaving stuff that is easy to fix makes possible buyers wonder if other, more expensive work has been neglected.
Put/throw away as much clutter as possible - buyers will see there isn't enough room for your stuff and think there isn't enough room for their stuff

Once you have photos done really look at them, if they don't show off your house in it's best light tell the agent and get them done again. Agents earn a big fee for the sale of a house, they should be able to take good photos.

When they come to take the pictures small things can really make a difference, put away all the shampoo/toothbrushes/everything else in the bathroom, make sure the kitchen worktops are totally clear - it sound silly but makes a big difference to the pictures

See this is what I thought.
DH and my mum are telling me to chill out about it a bit, but then neither of them will be the one everyone looks to for a solution for when the house won't sell.

It doesn't need to be months of work - can you just set aside a weekend to go around the house doing all the little jobs that need doing (we all have stuff in our house that could probably be fixed in 5 minutes but you get used to it and stop seeing that it needs doing!)

Yes, get rid of any clutter. Clutter says to buyers that your house is too small.

Definitely sort out the filler and paint. That's a big red flag to a buyer that you are crap at maintenance, they'll think there's probably loads of things wrong with your house. They'll start looking for them. Same for the worn paintwork.

I find it easier to see what's wrong with a room by taking my own photograph of the room. For some reason, all the problems with it jump out at me from a photograph in a way they don't in real life.

"Perfectly liveable" is how my auntie describes her house. I would describe it as dowdy, drab, worn out and unloved. If I had to live there I would want to redecorate every single surface. Which would be expensive. If I were buying her house I would factor that cost into my offer, worst case scenario too, e.g. walls needing skimming not just a coat of emulsion, insulating properly.

Make it feel loved and people will assume you've looked after it properly.

You could post photos up here of a room or two of your house and ask us for our opinion on what needs to happen?

[My idea of a dream thread]

Definitely declutter! It's free and as a previous poster said you'll need to anyway. It'll make your house feel so much bigger.

After that fix any obvious little jobs - like the wall with filled that needs painting - can you (or afford to have someone) give the worst rooms a coat of fresh neutral paint? Shades of white aren't everyone's taste but a blank canvas gets the imagination going and makes the whole place seem fresher and bigger.

Don't have too many personal items visible. Keep it simple and light

Ah I wish I could post photos without being outed, I'd love someone to pick over them and tell me. I've been looking at this house and picking fault since we moved in 18 months ago, it's hard to know what to do.

I Think it depends on the size and age of your house. If you have a starter home it's highly likely that it will be more desirable if it looks in good nick. If you have a larger old house I think it's pointless throwing money at it as if someone is buying a million pound plus house they will probably have every intention of gutting it as its more likely to be there 'forever home'.

Echoing everyone else, declutter like your life depended on it, remove some of the personal stuff and fix any little DIY jobs. A fresh coat of paint always looks so much better. If you think your house looks really sparse you are probably getting there!

First impressions count so plant up a few tubs, clean front door and windowsills and clean windows. I would also hire a rug doctor and shampoo the carpets, it gets rid of any niffs you dont notice and makes them feel so much nicer, it only costs about £40 and makes a massive difference imo. Good luck

We spent a week doing a freshen up on most rooms and doing a deep clean. We painted our olive green kitchen to a neutral tone, re-papered a very intricate wallpaper to a neutral again.

We gave the gardens a tidy and popped some fresh flowers around the house.

Bought some new throws, cushions and some staging pieces ( a glass biscuit jar with nice biscuits in, nice fruit bowl with fresh, bright fruit in)

A good clean everywhere....doors, windows, skirting.

De clutter

Move furniture if necessary to make rooms look bigger.

Lights on, fresh bedding, heating on and a few windows open when people view the house.

We did this after our house being on the market for 2 weeks without much interest. We asked the estate agent to remove the pictures from online and we wouldn't be doing any viewings for a week while we got the bits done.

We got it all done on a budget (thanks to discount stores - around £200) . When the house went back online we had 3 offers in 5 days and so it sold.

We originally thought it didn't matter too much as buyers will put their own mark on it but at the very least I think you should clean and de clutter.

Look at similar houses to yours on right move and see what else is available for buyers in the same price bracket as your house, that is what the buyers will be doing-comparing houses.

Agree massively that if the little jobs are not done, it just smacks of a lack of maintenance & upkeep, so I'd wonder whether the bigger things were left unchecked too, like the boiler / double glazing / built in appliances. I think poor maintenance = money pit for most prospective buyers, so spend the money & time now before you put it on the market and it was pay dividends.

Why are you leaving after 18 months? That and apparent poor maintenance will be far more worrying than clutter

We had another baby!

Ah - less worrying reason! the fixes are the most important then.

I've started. One cupboard down.

If DH questions it, I can send him your way, wise ones!

Everything as above, also remove cleaning products ( house and personal!) from the bathroom. Always make sure the toilet seat is down. Weed the front garden and any paths or patio areas. Employ a window cleaner. Move any furniture that is blocking light from windows or patio doors.

We kept new towels and a new duvet cover ( on a spare duvet ) to bring out before viewings.
Hope you sell quickly.

I wouldn't worry too much about cupboards. Decluttering for staging means clearing the surfaces and really removing as many personal items from view as you can, so that the buyer can imagine their things in there. I'm in Australia and we are usually behind in everything, but we laugh at Houses on Location X 3 with people's stuff lying about. Staging means minimising your stuff, as well as maintenance. (Obv it means more too, but that's the easiest thing to do I think)

Declutter the visible areas, a lick of paint makes a big difference, clean thoroughly and general tidy, make sure it smells nice but don't go overboard with air freshners as they put some people off, a bunch of flowers on side, make the beds and put away any dishes etc (dirty or drying on the rack). It's only small things but makes the house seem cared for (and therefore less likely to be a money pit of maintenance issues). If you can make it look it's best for the photos you'll get more people through the door.