Staging for EA pics - please give me your top tips

[ApplesTheHare]

Hi everyone

What are your top tips on making a house look nice for the EA to come round and take pics? I've never sold before, only bought.

So far DH and I have decluttered, bought flowers, moved a few nice pots near front door, mowed lawns, cleaned inside and painted over some scruffy paint on walls. We also plan to wash external doors and window sills. Anything else...?

Why don't you take your own practice pics. It may be easier to spot anything that looks off putting that way. You could also show then to friends for their view, or post them on here!

Take 90% of your stuff and put it in storage.
(disclaimer: I've never bought / sold / had any useful or pertinent experience here)

Whatever you do - put the toilet lid down.

We cleared all toiletries etc from bathroom and everything off the kitchen counter except fruit bowl (with some colourful fruit!) and microwave. Basically hide all your stuff! We did move things out just for the photos as the ea went round.

Basically go as minimal as you can without making it look empty. You can still 'dress' sofas with cushions add flowers etc.

We were told that the photos were the most important to get people through the door but when people come to view it's ok to have some toy boxes etc out as long as it looks tidy.

Take personal stuff and toiletries out of the bathroom.

We got a storage unit to temporarily get rid of a few large items of furniture (large shoe racks, bookcases and books, some toys etc) to make it look bigger. Shoved a lot of stuff in cupboards on the day - eg bins, ironing board, bathroom bits. Basically it needs to be as bare as possible more so than when you're having viewings as people need to see the potential. Your EA will probably give you a sheet of guidance.

pp suggestion to take practice photos and send to family/friends is a good idea. I did that and realised I had a load of stuff on top of the fridge to remove and also that the (messy) hallway coat stand was visible from the kitchen door so needed to be cleared. Easy to forget

Dress your bed - cushions artfully arranged, a throw across the bottom etc, try Pinterest for ideas

Turn on the lights.

Clear out as MUCH as you can. We put absolutely loads into boxes. and stuck all in the shed.
Declutter. Do not have bits and pieces everywhere, toiletries, perfumes, makeup brushes, hairbrushes.. (things we all need day to day).

I think it is also important to arrange furniture in the best way for the pictures..
EG it may be lovely practically to have the sofas facing each other, but when you place them at right angle it might fit better from a photograph perspective..

It is all about making the rooms look as big as possible IMHO.

Don't assume the EA knows what they're doing when it comes to taking photos. I've seen them just walk into a room, take a quick snap and that's it. Direct them so they take it from the best angle. If I was selling my house, I would probably snatch the camera away from them and show them how it's done (but that's me ).

I thought you meant Emotional Abuse photos. I'm glad I was wrong.

Daylight light bulbs for your main lights
I bought them originally to light my office for filming/skype calls etc but the difference they make is fantastic. It can be rainy and cloudy out yet my office feels like a summers day, perfect for any room that isn't basking in sunshine

Lights on in EA photos put me off!! Makes it appear dark if it's a daylight pic -

Take your own and be critical - do the wall hangings look odd? For example

Think back - what made you buy the house? Big hall? Get rid of everything there - bright kitchen? Think about painting

Any jobs outstanding? Shed falling down or

I agree re lights on. Hate it in listings - makes me assume the room is naturally v dark.

Empty bins - move any recycling bins outside, do the washing up, wipe over surfaces. Put away utensil pots, tea towels, spice racks, knife holders. Don't be suprised to find random things in the dishwasher / oven / cupboards - so many times people would "stage" their homes and it just looked wrong. I used to carry a box of props - matching towels, aspirational coffee maker, educational toys.

Your EA is not there to tidy your house & they are likely to take more care if they haven't had to spend 20 minutes clearing up your breakfast items - early morning is usually the best time to take photos. It bugged me if they left the dirty dishes on the side or the recycling caddy overflowing.

Make sure any of the built in features of your house are used for the purpose they are designed for. Eg if you have a built in wine rack fill it with wine bottles (screw top empties work in a photo but will need to be changed for viewings). We use our wine rack to keep gloves & hats in....

Let your EA know when the sun is in the kitchen, garden, living room.

Clean the house - did I mention that before. It was amazing how many people didn't bother. Including the windows - it lets in a lot more light when they are freshly cleaned.

If your kids room is obviously a kids room - use their best looking ( not favourite) teddy as a prop on the bed.

Get rid of any evidence that you are a pet lover or have pets..... even the photo of you and stinky dog on a beach holiday.

A good EA will move stuff about your house to get the best photos - you may find things out of place when you get home. This is a good sign - not them snooping, just making sure the bright cloured knick nack is not too distracting in a photo.

Leave your EA alone to do the photos - it is diifficult to move a prized gurning graduation photo if the proud parent is hovering. And do not say you are going out and "surprise" the EA by popping out of the bathroom / study/ bedroom....

If your EA is any good, they'll move stuff around etc and get rooms looking in the best light.

Ours did a brilliant job with the photos. I didn't recognise the flat when seeing it on right move. Loads of people said it looked like a show home - we have two DCs and a lot of crap which was very well hidden.

Just make sure they get pictures of the important rooms - well every room. I am always suspicious if there's no pic of the bathroom, for example. Which does happen!

For an example of how not to do it, look at this house we came across during our search...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53639344.html

It has it all. Mess everywhere, unmade beds, tv frozen with a huge picture of Dominic littlewood, a Christmas tree, a dog and a disgustingly dirty conservatory roof.

I would say though, if your house is a project, don't make it look too perfect. The estate agent selling my mum's house took misleading pictures that made it look like one you could just move into when it needed at least £20k investing in it to sort it out. We kept getting people who were horrified at what the house was actually like. You want it to look it's best, but realistic for potential buyers.

Make sure the beds are perfectly made, no sheets showing or wrinkles in the pillows or covers (put two pillows in one case to fluff them up)

Nothing on beside tables/tops of drawers except lamps

Nothing in bathrooms, unless you have proper (nice, neutral) soap dispenser. Toilet seat down. Shower curtain down.

No trinkets on show unless one or two med-large modern pieces in specific spaces for them.

Kitchen: all appliances off the benches inc kettle and toaster. You can shove them on the floor behind the counter while taking photos and put back straight after. Nothing on/in sink - soap, drainer etc. No magnets on fridge, nothing on top of fridge/cupboards.

Dining table cleared, maybe one nice item in the middle.

Bookshelves with books only, no trinkets

Lounges/sofas to have one or two nice, plump cushions, or none at all. No DVDs on show, all TV cables tidy and out of sight.

Minimum photos on walls.

All curtains open to let in natural light.

Agree with taking your own practice photos to see how it looks. When I did ours, there were a few things that I then realised looked wrong and removed before trying again. Attempt different angles to get it to look bigger. Agree that agents can be a bit shit with their photos, I ended up sending them a few of mine to use instead. But it was for a rental so they don't care as much.

YY to making sure your beds are made properly. Makes me to see when beds are poorly made and that is supposed to be the house at its best!! Wipe all surfaces and declutter. A good EA makes the room look good - moving things out of the way if needed.

We put a new duvet cover on a spare duvet for viewings, so it was completely unwrinkled and hid our real one in the airing cupboard.

Wow thank you all so much, I hadn't thought of half of this stuff, especially taking our own practice photos. I've just had a go in the kitchen and realised there's 5 litres of soy sauce on top of the kitchen cupboards

Unfortunately DH (world's worst photographer) will be here when they come round tomorrow so I'm going to have to tell him to make sure they're moving stuff and trying different angles from the sound of things.

Purpledaisies that bad example is hilarious!

That Dominic Littlewood pic, so funny!

I know chloe! We laughed for about ten minutes when we saw the pictures on rightmove. Sadly it didn't make our shortlist.