Selling a house unfurnished

[Cobblersandhogwash]

We are moving abroad really soon. It's all been quite a fast process.

It means our house will be for sale and be empty of furniture.

Will it be much harder to sell?

I think if the house I bought had been unfinished when I viewed it would have gone before we had a chance to put an offer in - he had very eclectic taste and it was a bit off putting.

Of course, personally I find it easier to visualise my ow furniture etc in an unfurnished house than one that is full of someone else's stuff. It also makes it easier for them to hide stains / damp etc behind furniture.

I mean of course not - it will not be harder to sell

Mmm - I tried to sell a house unfinished and it didn't move for six months. I moved back in and it sold three weeks later. It could be just been the market but I think it makes a difference.

Could you leave enough to make it look lived in?

Yes it will be harder to sell.

There is a reason people stage houses and new builds have photos of dresses show homes.

Houses look tired and unloved without furniture.

I would hire, buy or borrow what you can to show the house off to it’s best.

I've done it twice (not through choice) and yes, they take forever to sell.

I bought mine from empty - it confirmed vacant possession/quick sale was wanted to me, meant I could offer a bit lower as a first time buyer chain free and it all went smoothly.

Would not hesitate to buy an empty house again. Gets rid of hassle.

Really surprised that others have found vacant houses difficult to sell...
We've just sold an empty flat, no problem getting viewings / offers etc. Pretty much everyone that viewed made an offer.
As a buyer, what I can't stand is a house that has been staged. Flowers on a table. Artful arrangement of logs. Sorry, maybe I'm just cynical. I'm also usually interested in houses that need a bit of modernising though, because I don't want to pay for someone else's decor that I don't like.

Do you have photos of it with furniture, e.g. when you bought it? If so (and if it loooked nice!) I would leave a few photos out on the kitchen table so viewers who are unable to imagine it with furniture don't have to.

(sorry, just seen that it sounds like you haven't moved out yet. Stage the house and get the agent to take the photos and create the particulars now, before you move your furniture out)

My last 2 houses that i bought were unfurnished, i prefer them empty when i view as i find it easier to visualise my furniture in rooms if they are not taken up by other peoples furniture. It also allows me to see precisely what work needs doing on a property.

^ this. I bought my current property empty and vacant. I think it works better as rooms look bigger and other people’s furniture tastes aren’t chasing the look of the rooms

Chasing = changing

Both houses I've bought have been completely empty when I viewed them. It didn't put me off.

I've sold a house vacant.I did repaint it (only a 2-bed terrace so not too costly) and replaced a few worn carpets (admittedly with cheap ones).
It sold on the first day at asking price which meant I more than recouped what I'd spent on the decoration. The new owners just wanted to move into somewhere plain & habitable and decorate to their own tastes in their own time.
Obviously this wouldn't work on a larger property...
I've prefer to view non-furnished properties so you can easily see what decorating, etc needs doing.

The only time I think it's an issue can be in bedrooms, when it's hard to picture if a room would fit a double or a single bed. Yes, a potential buyer can work it out from a floor plan, but it's not as easy to imagine. I've stood in an empty room trying to picture myself lying down before
If you've got any rooms that a are marginal might be a single/might be a double, even dressing an air bed could help.

weve just been looking at houses and to be honest the empty ones were much easier to imagine where our own furniture would go as we could see the whole room as opposed to ones with beds in place their sofas and tellys where they wanted them and ones that were empty but still had stuff in them we worried about the owner getting shot of left stuff the one we are buying id totally empty so we went for it at asking price

If it's a fixer upper, then empty rooms are no problem. Otherwise not ideal. Some people can't visualise furniture and work out what would fit. Also, in the absence of furniture, they'll notice minute things on walls and floors that wouldn't matter otherwise. It's also important to make sure that the house is regularly cleaned and aired + heated in winter. Otherwise, it'll come across a lot worse than it is.

The house will have been totally repainted, new carpets everywhere, new kitchen, all bathrooms steam cleaned.

I suppose after all that it could actually look really sterile.

Depending on how much money you have to throw at a situation, would you consider hiring a company do stage at least a couple of rooms? Consider which rooms could use some furniture in them to help people visualise the house, etc.

For example, if you've got a box room that's a bit tight, set it up like a single bedroom to confirm that a single bed fits. And maybe the main living room and master bedroom.

I like a PP's suggestion of either having photos taken before you move out, or leaving photos of how each room was previously furnished before moving out. That would help.

Some people will like an empty house on viewing, others won't. One house we looked at was furnished and it totally threw me as the furniture wasn't laid out in a way that I would have laid it out but I couldn't for the life of me fathom what I'd do with it either! Perhaps if it had been empty I'd have been able to figure it out better.

I'm in a similar position to you OP. I'm wondering whether to make sure the photos will show the house looking it's best (ie furnished and slightly 'staged'), but then empty it for viewings so people aren't put off or distracted by my furniture. But it's a small property and looks a lot bigger without furniture so that's factoring into my thinking.

I bought unfurnished & it was great. Would do so in a heartbeat.

I've always bought places that are unfurnished but 2 out of 3 had been on market a long time. However, they need renovating.

We are planning on selling ours empty but its true some houses look very unloved empty and you can see every fault. I prefer that though so I know exactly what I am buying. I did notice you could buy photos with furniture added but not sure if that's a good idea or not.

I do think empty is better than cluttered or really worn out furniture.

I have seen some houses which have beige carpets white walls and empty everywhere and they do look very characterless / unloved if there's no character in the house. The house we bought was like that but thatched C15th so the houses character and beautiful garden compensated for that. Not sure how you get round it otherwise - maybe ask EA for ideas. Best I can think of is some flowers but if you aren't there that wouldn't work.