How to make it 'photo ready' for estate agent

[FusionChefGeoff]

Aiming to declutter, touch up woodwork, get carpets cleaned, finish bits of DIY i.e. seal, sand and paint superficial cracks in paintwork.

And tidy within an inch of its life. Everything off tops of surfaces / wardrobes etc.

Any other tips??

Estate agent advised pulling all the books forward so they are lined up with each other at the front (although different depths). Cleaned Windows and doors including front door. Put out plants at front door. Big bowl of fresh fruit on table. Took down family pics, fridge magnets, coats, shoes, nick nacks, toiletries. Went over walls with fresh coat of paint in same colour (white). Especially made a difference in hallway and living room which were a bit scuffed. Bought new cushion covers, towels, lamp shade to match cushion covers, and mirror (took all with me when I moved). Also I kept a set of pristine fresh smelling matching bedding just for viewings, same one as in photos, and my real used, slept in, covered in toast crumbs and toddler snot ones went in the car on viewing days.

Iron bedding

You'll need a stunt pineapple in the fruit bowl!

Ok well I'm cracking through it but what the hell can I do with this?!?

Obviously a huge tidy but do I try to get rid of all visible toys / books so it's not a playroom?? I don't have anything else I can put in there ie a spare sofa / table so I'm not sure what's best.

If anyone in RL recognises me now, never mind but let me know if you 're free to come and give me a hand

Can I keep kids duvet sets or try to find white ones?? They have quite distinctive rooms with wall decals and bright colours so I'm not going to try to pretend they're spare rooms.

Look at pictures on Right move and you will see most people just go for a basic tidy and clean.
A house near me that was unbelievably cluttered with floral knick knacks everywhere (in the photos on Right move) has just sold. I think most people are looking for room sizes, layout, area etc and have enough imagination to see beyond whether your bed linen matches.
We did put flowers in pots by the front door and some more on the table and got citrus and tea tree scented sticks to make the place smell nice, but that was about it.

Larry I love you!

I'm getting far too worked up over this - all great ideas if I have time but I think I'm going to have to prioritise as Estate Agent is coming on Tuesday and I've got 2 little kids all weekend and a mostly absent DH due to various social plans.

At least show clear floor space and some clear surfaces to give the impression of space and adequate storage. You can showcase it as a playroom, but let buyers see some space.

i tthink most people are looking for room sizes, layout, area etc and have enough imagination to see beyond whether your bed linen matches

You'd think that.. but it is really hard to see past cluttered photos.

If you signpost - this is a lovely relaxing place to live, we have good taste and have looked after the house, lots of space, it's so lovely, we're so happy - it helps get viewings.

For the kids play room do a MASSIVE tidy up and maybe just bag up and move anything that doesn't tidy away into another room for photos - if you have a statement toy like a dolls house or big cuddly elephant or something leave that on show. "Look st the lovely time your lovely children could have here".

I had to do this recently with my parents' house. They both died within a year of one another while living in a large house with a lot of accumulated possessions. They were not untidy people but the combination of a few years' declining health and a spacious property meant their was a lot of stuff.

I sent a double garage full of the least nice furniture to our local hospice shop and many bootloads of books/clothes/knick knacks to charity shops, as well as binning papers. I then rearranged the furniture so that the bits of the house that mattered (such as access to views over the garden) were optimized. I also rearranged the house so that it looked like a family home rather than a retirement property - as far as possible, dated interior styling was replaced by fresher rearrangements.

For the children's rooms you can use a cotton bedspread or throw in a single colour, arranging the pillows on top. This makes an instant tidy before viewings and cuts down on anything looking too "busy" with patterns, themes etc. I used those Portuguese cotton bedspreads last time as they look really crisp and clean. Much quicker than ironing when you are racing to get ready for viewings after work!
Something like this
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Snow-White-Luxury-Cotton-Embroidered-Patchwork-Quilted-Bedspread-Set-/252477483086

Any loose toys hanging around the playroom go into a big box and up the loft for the duration. Good before Christmas too!

make sure exterior paintwork in good condition, gardening all done, all waste bins Clean towels- we kept a set of matching towels and brand new swish bath mat just for viewings, as well as pristine tea towel for kitchen. Depersonalise as much as you possibly can. We sold our house on 5th viewing.

Photos are great and tidy makes sense, my advise as someone keeping a look out to buy is have a floor plan and measurements of the rooms.

I find it hard to imagine / piece together photos to how a house flows.

Stunt pineapple

Sorry haven't read all responses so apologies if I'm duplicating. We just had photos taken recently and I just followed the guy round and removed the things I didn't want in pics-hairbrush, hairdryer, photos etc. And he then took even more away than me! We also decanted a lot of toys to shed and family member to look after!