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.

Once you have photos done really look at them

Noooo!! Too late then.

Take your own photos and look on a larger screen - ot makes it much more obvious of gaps and clutter

I'm putting my house on the market this week as a doer upper (priced accordingly). I am totally skint (ill health on benefits) so can't afford any staging other than a brutal declutter and deep clean.
When I've viewed houses I've not been put off at all by shabbiness, the frugal (miserly) part of me doesn't want to see new carpets/ tiling/ wallpaper as I'd be changing all that and the waste would upset me!
I've also been put off by heaps of kids toys and piles of laundry as it does make rooms seem smaller, but the one I'll always remember is the online pictures of a house where elderly owners had moved into sheltered accommodation, and the estate agents had photographed a room with a commode in the middle!

Heaps of kids toys... Yep.

It is the clutter on any surfaces that really matters and everywhere as sparkling clean as you can!
Banish the pets and their beds etc to the car, conservatory, garden or elsewhere.

Leave your drive clear, if you have one, so visitors (not the EA!) can park easily.
Fresh flowers give a welcoming touch

I de-cluttered until it looked like a rental, didn't decorate but did a decent deep clean.

The decluttering was hands down the thing that did it, stored coats, shoes and bulky toys at sil for the two weeks it took for pictures to be taken and open house done.

It is really really worth it, and it meant that moving was an absolute breeze as the crap had gone!

Deep clean, including windows in and out. Maximise light. Banish clutter (plastic boxes that can go in your boot are ideal) doorstep appeal (window boxes are great), wash down front door, lick of paint if needed, trim hedges. I think a freshly painted entrance hall and main reception are worth it. If it costs £1000 and you sell for £5000 more why not do it? Fresh flowers, few well placed cushions and anything unnecessary in storage.

No real staging needed, just clean, fixed and less crap.

Dont use plug in smell generators , they shout ' something to hide' Get rid of anything smelly and all is well.

I wouldn't bother with cupboards but concentrate on the rooms themselves and how inviting they look

Bathrooms - fold towels, bleach down toilet, make sure everywhere is clean, remove bath toys. Think of a hotel bathroom when you first arrive.
Kitchen - only essential items on work tops, such as kettle, everything else put away
Bedrooms - make beds, put away clothes
Lounge - put crap away, you don't want piles of papers, toys etc

Hallway is the first thing people see, so I'd concentrate on uncluttering this area first. You don't want people to have to clamber over shoes etc

Tidy up the front garden and remove toys

I tip I was old about years ago was just prior to viewings put on a pot of coffee and bake some cookies so the house smells warm and inviting.

Open windows so the place smells fresh (obviously don't if it's cold)

If you have time go look at a couple of show houses to see how they dress the rooms

I was once selling a 2 bedroom flat however people kept commenting that the second bedroom was too small. I put in a double bed with a couple of small cabinets and it sold more or less straight away

Open spaces leaves room for people to use their imagination.

Thanks for lovely advice folks.

Photographer (professional, not estate agent with a Nikon) is coming Friday morning.

Today I have thrown out a ton of clutter, wiped down walls, and I did focus on cupboards to free up storage and everything has been put away that can be. I'm currently filling up the garage, do people tend to view the garage? We haven't viewed any garages on our viewings?

Tomorrow I am shopping for a replacement light for the living room, plain coloured bedding for DD1's room (it's a multicoloured bedding set in there, too busy!), a table cloth to cover our worn/well-loved kitchen table...

I've taken all photos down and put blasé canvases up on picture rails.

I'm painting the feature wall tomorrow night.

The other painting won't show up on photos so that's a Friday evening job, after photos.

I'm lucky to be on half term I think, none of this would get done if I was at work.

I am awed by how much has been done in a dayl

People will want to see the garage but piles of boxes is a positive there, I think. It shows you are serious about moving and get on with stuff. I saw some houses waist deep in stuff and it was clear that at least one person was resisting the move.

All the above is very good advice, about making it really really clean, and no clutter. And the stuff about kerb appeal. I did all this, and my DH thought I was really going over board, but the house looked fab and we got offers over the asking price straight away.
It does depend though on what type of house you have...ours is a family home that's in decent condition, so would appeal to buyers looking to do very little to it, hence the appearance was important. We bought a house in need of total renovation, which was shabby and grim, but that didn't matter cos we knew it'd all come out anyway.

I echo what everyone else has said.

Do a huge de-clutter. Hide it in the car boot / sheaf / throw away / your mums loft. Whatever.

Stage your furniture so that it shows off the space in the best way - not how you actually use it. Ef if you normally have your dining table rammed against the wall because it make more floor space for kids, don't do that for the photos. It will look like you can't have a dining table. Or for eg can you show the purpose or suggestion of things - suddenly an out of place arm chair looks like a lovely place gornreading a book of you stage it right with light, books and a throw. That kind of thing.

Paint. It's cheap and easy and people don't see past things like that.

Make rooms look inviting and loved - fresh flowers on the dining table, nice cushions on the bed etc.

Give the place a good airing so it smells fresh. Get a few of the smelly things by go for clean smells and don't go overboard.

If you're going to be home for the viewings, get the lighting right. Gently music sets the scene too - think like a shop does! You want people to feel relaxed.

First impressions - shitty front door or peeling woodwork on widows make me worry as a buyer. If they haven't kept front door maintained what else haven't they maintained?

I think it is so worth the effort because you have to get someone to walk in and think "I'd love to live here".

Estate agent said just declutter, clean the windows, air it out, maybe put up a big mirror.

We decluttered and shifted anything that didn't need to be out to the loft.

Moved big/ugly furniture to a family member's spare room.

Spent about 3 days on heavy duty cleaning removing limescale, cleaning walls, tiles, floors, windows, front of house etc.

Then had a decorator friend come in for 2 nights and fix a few minor issues like broken tiles and do a coat of white paint (the flat was already white) over the two main rooms and the hallway so it looked lovely and new.

Ironed duvet cover!!! and kept a set of fresh bedding just for viewings so they didn't get our crumpled sheets. Some new accessories (mirror, lamps, picture frames, cushion) to tie it all together. Took out all our crap from the bathroom and kept a fresh set of towels just for viewings so there was never any damp smell. Fresh bowl of fruit in the kitchen.

THEN had the photos done. Looked spotless. Got lots of viewings and 4 offers.

I'm still going on the improvements.

Question: do people look in garages?

Also, the main bedroom has a king size bed, and a side car cot in. the side car cot is too big to get out without dismantling.

Would that put you off?

Yes people do look in garages. We did for all the houses that we viewed. Even if we ended up buying a house without a garage. You should however, not stuff the garage so much that you can't get in to get a good idea of the space it provides.

Th side cot wouldn't put me off as long as I can see that there is another room for the nursery.

I find that if you live in an area that is in demand and that the house is priced right then you will get offers no matter what. However, it makes it easier to sell a house that is well presented, clean and decluttered. It makes buyers concentrate more on lovely the place looks/feels instead of totalling up how much money would need to repaint, etc ... to knock that value off asking price.

Cot wouldn't put me off, as long as it does t make the room feel very cramped I wouldn't mind.

We did look in garages when there was one, they were almost all full of stuff but we kind of expected that. I just wanted to see if it was reasonably sized and not falling down.

For those talking about curb appeal. I'd also think about having planters/baskets of flowers in front of the house. My MIL is a gardener and when we've been selling she's always made sure that the front garden is spotless and that there are flowers in bloom out front.

Inside, my DM has a recipe she calls 'sell the house cake'. It's a boiled fruit cake. It smells wonderful in the oven or cooling on a rack. She likes to make sure it is in the oven when the first viewing of the day starts. And it's worked for her and us.

Front garden just got a bit of special treatment.

I'm pretty worried about someone looking in the garage. It is a state.

Most people don't have a tidy garage! As long as it's in good structural condition I wouldn't worry too much about it.

ALL surfaces must be clear. Even the stuff you're used to.

DOn't worry about inside cupboards. Or the garage. No one cares.

Repaint the wall - NOT just before viewings (the smell of fresh paint might mean you have covered up damp).

Question: do people look in garages?

Yes defo but it wouldn't bother me if it was full of junk. That is the purpose of a garage!

The king size bed and cot will make the room look cramped - I would make it very clear it's a king size bed eg by putting three pillows end to end across the bed to show the extra width.

Three pillows is a great idea!

I've had the dodgy wall painted, and sealed in a ceiling that had a small old damp mark on it. Front garden is all weeded with fresh hanging basket. I've also changed some lights, to make living room brighter.

It's almost pretty enough to stay now!