How much do you 'stage' a house for sale?

[Katymac]

We won't be living n our house while it sells but I don't really want to pay for any more storage than I have to

So packing away all superfluous stuff & leaving out one or 2 nice bits to make it looked lived in
Packed family photos but left the 'arty' ones of DD as that wall isn't very flat & could do with hiding

Can a fridge stay nice if it's off - if so how do you do it?

The house won't be heated but it will be alter spring - is that OK?

What about plants should I keep them & get someone in to water them or just dump them all?

I'm all confused!!

I think 'staging it' massively boosts the chance of a quick sale. People's emotional response to walking in to a lovely environment strongly affects their logical decision-making, without them being at all aware of it.

My tips (I have sold 3 houses and had them all sell on the first weekend even in bad markets).

1. Price it right to begin with, don't faff about with 'stretch prices' that you're then willing to negotiate on. Price it right, and tell the agent to make it clear that it's a good price and there's no leeway, straightforward full-price offers only. That tends to focus buyers' minds.

1. Clear away absolutely everything. Make it look as bland as possible. People don't like 'lived in' when it's someone else's lived in. They want a completely blank canvas for their own lives to make a mark on.

1. Make entrance inviting. Tidy front garden if there is one, with flowers near door if at all possible. Get rid of any paraphernalia (gardening equipment, hoses, buckets etc. No gnomes or anything of that sort.

1. Put a quick, cheap coat of paint over interior walls if they need it.

1. Everything scrupulously clean. No sign of mould in bathrooms. Open windows regularly so it all smells fresh.

1. Cupboards as empty as possible. Clean liner paper in cupboards/drawers.

1. Ornaments an absolute minimum. Furnishings of the most bland possible. Nothing stained (put furniture/rug over carpet stains if necessary!)

1. No sign of pets. Or children, even if it is obviously a family house. No toys or photos of your kids. It puts people off (weird but true).

1. If your agent is amenable, getting them to get there before the buyer and switch on lights / turn on electric fires etc. does make a difference in winter. Not so important in summer.

Keeping it fresh might be a problem as we are away

I wonder if it's worth repainting front door? It's looking a bit sad

I thought to remove all electronics (to my mum's) & just leave a telly?

I'd leave the fridge on, they don't cost much to run if the door is not opened. If you have to turn it off leave the door slightly wedged open, otherwise it will go moldy.
I would also leave the heating on at the lowest setting to come on in the morning, even in the late spring it can be chilly and cold houses are a real turn off.

Make up all the beds with crisp linen and put clean towels in the bathroom.

Semi empty houses make me think they've been rented and might not have had careful owners.
Also, empty houses can still get dusty and attract things like flies and spiders, which might die on the windowsills. Is there someone who could go in and have a quick Hoover?

I put some artificial flowers in big tall vases. You can get some realistic looking ones Lilies. Poppies. Strategically placed in the hall and on the hearth etc Dress the beds too with a coloured cushions and throws that contrasts. Take a colour as a theme and have touches of it throughout the house. When we sold our house recently in a week, it was only when I looked at the pics that I realised how I'd put lots of splashes of red throughout against neutrals and warm wood

That's possible the lounge is Purple grey & gold and the bedroom Purple & cream, so maybe purple will be my accent colour (although the kitchen is lime & bright blue already so I may have to think about it.....the is bright blue & white- oh dear!!)

Artificial flwers are a good idea

The house should still have all it's furniture I think & curtians etc

I was considering buying new tea towels for the kitchen & new cheap towels for the bathroom just to brighten it up a bit

We have a fridge freezer & a separate fridge & chest freezer so were hoping to turn the separate ones off

I amright to remove family pics aren't I? I'll photograph the 'arty'walls & you can tell me if I need to take the down tomorrow

Stressing a bit about it all atm

keep it background heated - your insurers won't be happy if you don't, let alone the damage that could be done. A cold mouldy damp house won't sell.

remove all real plants.

Sadly we have wood fired central heating & to be honest we rarely light it after mid March even living there

I'll sort out the plants

Definitely polish up the exterior of the house, freshen up the door, clean the gutters and blast clean any pavements. Weed the garden. It's easier to sell if first impressions are good instead of working to overcome a bad one.

Clearing stuff out made such a huge difference to the appeal of our house. We sold a mid terrace in a very average area in a poor climate (EA warned us not to expect much for at least 6 weeks) within a week. Whilst we were living in it, removing everything we could live without for a few months (to FIL's garage!) made it look so much nicer, and we had several viewings plus an offer only 3K below asking price in a week.

Hanging baskets/ pots at the front, clean windows & front door, pulling any weeds up from front of the house will improve kerb appeal. Definitely adding little touches like a luxurious looking colour coordinated throw over a tired looking sofa or crisp ironed bedding (I never iron my bedding normally), bright flowers in a very neutral, bland room etc really brighten the place up.

We sold a house for the price we wanted in a town where the market was awful. It was a ski house and the mountain had just closed. Every single other house on our road was for sale and had been for ages. The realtor told us he'd not sold anything in months and it would take us years even if we dropped the price to a forth of what it was worth.

Everything was ultra clean. Not bit of junk hanging around. We found it helped to take pictures of every angle of every room and pretend it was going in to a magazine.

We bought some cheapish cushions, rugs and throws for beds. All red. Fake flowers in every room. The lady that bought it actually stipulated we leave all the furnishings and flowers and apparently hasn't changed a thing. It was well worth the little extra time and money we spent, the realtor went to tjmaxx and bought a bunch of the same stuff to try to shift some other houses.

new duvets, towels and stunt tea towels help

i even bought art work.

minimalist and stylish is the look to go for

Navy did you miss the whole moving out bit

Hmm lots to think of I'll add pics as I finish areas

navy I love it- fridges on, lady in once a fortnight to hoover, air and fry fish

I love homestaging and totally believe in it. But I'm trying to sell with three days notice, two very small children, no childcare and v little storage. Aaaaargh!! Please tell me my emergency tidyup artfully staged boho family look is all the rage??

Sorry Navy I was teasing envisaging just what grubby ws suggesting.....

Maybe a weekly lady who does (sans fish) might be the way to go?

I'd be inclined to take the arty photo of DD down, and replace it with a cheap picture instead - flowers or a landscape or something, whether a neat frame or an unframed canvas.

Grubby As far as possible, declutter what you can and tidy things away so that the rooms don't look like there isn't enough storage. For photos - move around with the photographer/estate agent, and a big washing basket or similar. Grab everything you think doesn't belong or makes it look cluttered and throw it into the next room - and then move it back again once the shot is taken. Just let them know when they arrive so that they will give you a few extra minutes.

Definitely clean as much as you can - give the kitchen a good scrub, and the bathroom.

Open the windows and let fresh air in.
Wash windows if you can. And any nets. Doing curtains would be great but waaaay down the list.
Give the whole house a good hoover and dusting - get as deep into each room as you can (skirting boards, pictures, shelves etc). Polish wood, clean mirrors - think of it as a last minute cleaning for Christmas.

Take every chance you get to do a "15 minute declutter" job and tackle hotspots around the house. Go through DC clothes and pack up things that don't fit, toys that they have grown out of etc - black sack them for charity shop, attic or whatever. Go through your makeup drawer and dressing table top to get rid of bottles etc, and try to reduce to everything in a drawer rather than on top. Do 1 book shelf and decide if you still read and love everything or are there some that should be passed on to others - put them in a bag and drop them off asap.

Eat from the cupboards as much as possible - go through and find older food that needs using up - saves not only on throwing things out last minute but also to reduce clutter in those cupboards.

Once you have the house cleaned and photographed, and first lot of viewers through, try and take

Ah, I see the heating problem. Not a quick job. Electric heaters on timers ?

Maybe - this is the 'arty' pictures (the rest of the room is currently for dumping & the wall needs replastering) so just photos in cheap frames really.....just a lot of the to help hide.....

Guess I need to buy textured wallpaper

I've put all the toiletries in the bathroom in use into baskets so they can be removed easily & I should have photos of that tomorrow or the weekend

My bedroom is newly done too but I won't have photos with the correct bedding as we don't really use that as it's a bugger to iron so you'll have to imagine that bit

Painting the downstairs Hall tomorrow I filled all the holes in the walls tonight and I sand a little bit before I start

Bathroom is nearly done and so is the lounge

bit knackered

I love how my house looks when it's on the market. Wish I could keep it like that all the time but I'd need staff!