Help me prepare for house viewing!

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

Quick help please - what’s your secret top tip for preparing your house for a viewing that I might have forgotten or not realised?

It’s in 2 hours so anything quick is good but there will probably be more so things that take more time but aren’t too expensive also appreciated 😀

Also anything you might have seen on your travels viewing other peoples’ houses that put you off so I can consider what to hide or change!

Thank you!

Following!!

Key thing is it needs to both look and smell clean, and that includes bedding, soft furnishings and towels etc. No one likes a grimey house.

Polish your taps, pull your curtains right back to allow in lots of light.

The polished taps make the viewer think that the attention to cleanliness is very high.

Nothing on view like washing, ironing, washing up, paperwork, bathroom should be free of everything apart from clean towels and toilet paper, clear kitchen worktop etc etc. Shove everything away in cupboards. No smells, open windows, grate some lemon zest on small plate and hide on top of cupboard. No pets. Good luck!

You can afford to pull curtains right back only if windows are clean.

Sparkling clean and smelling nice. Put any crap, big plastic kids toys, anything that would suggest that there was no storage like boxes under beds/on top of wardrobes in your car. Clear off kitchen worktops, open windows, double check that anything like bath mats are really clean.

Light, space, no clutter, good luck!!

Light a subtle candle/scent infuser thing.

Hide the clutter. Like multiple family photos on a shelf, just have one. A group of trinkets.. hide them all.

Clear kitchen worktops.

Fluff cushions.

Last min hoover.

As for some things that take more time, you might have already done these but here it goes:
If you don’t have a separate play room, store toys away in large boxes with lids (neutral wooden or weave style not plastic). You are aiming to be able to put things away at short notice whilst still living in your home.
You don’t need to invest in soft furnishings, if things don’t currently match, cut right back. I absolutely loathe cushions (personal choice, I don’t mind them in other people’s homes) so unless they are artfully displayed very neatly, just hide them. Better have just one beautiful throw casually resting on an armchair to give a homely feel.
Put away small decorative items and limit the number of personal photographs unless you have a nice considered display. Keep only a few large interesting decorative items. Same for wall decorations and lamps.
Woodwork (doors, skirting boards etc) clean and not chipped, broken.
Try and have lots of clear floor space (that includes under beds if bed frame has legs). So reduce rugs and mats.
Pets’ beds go in the garage/garden before viewings no matter how clean they are.
Beds must be made, towels folded, no spare clothes, shoes dotted around the house.
Kitchen and bathrooms must be spotless and completely clutter free.
Handles for doors and windows, blinds, taps and all switches must be in working order (some people just feel the need to try things out for some reason).
Try not to place furniture right against walls, leave a little gap otherwise it appears that there isn’t enough space that’s why pieces of furniture are jammed against walls. Worths considering storing away furniture if it takes up too much space.
Entrance to the property has to look clear of any mess (like dumped children’s scooters etc, and the front door in good state of repair and clean. If there any plant pots here, they look better if they are in good taste, not mismatched and drying out. It doesn’t matter what colour as long as they look nice as a group.
Back garden clear of mess.
Keep everything as neutral as possible even things like shopping bags from, say, Space NK and expensive designer shoes on show can be off-putting to some viewers.
Most reasonable people can see through the decor and personal items and can see the space but there are a lot of people who can’t and those are the ones you don’t want to distract with visual ‘noise’. You want to convey a sense of light, clean, spacious and calm.

Be careful about fragrance because people are very peculiar, you might like something others find too heavy. Fresh air is better than a fragrance sometimes.

Thanks everyone! I was so busy dashing around that I didn’t have time to reply earlier.

We have thoroughly decluttered so I tidied up the few bits that had crept back out, gave the bathrooms and windows a wipe down, hoovered thoroughly, opened the windows for a couple of hours.

Initial feedback positive as it always is, they’re viewing another one tomorrow so have to wait and see. We need a buyer!

If you are anything like us - where wardrobes are fitted, we opened them to see what can be stored inside 🙈

"Light a subtle candle/scent infuser thing"

Please don't. I agree with Branster that fragrances are very subjective. Also a fragranced house would make me think the owner was trying to mask an unpleasant smell.

chopc after all this decluttering / light shoving of extra items away, they will see that the fitted cupboards can hold more than expected so it’s a Sale!
Good luck OP

Thanks for your tips and tricks, one of my viewers is coming back for a second viewing this weekend!

Last time we sold our house the estate agent asked me to be around for the second viewing as the potential buyer had specific questions but this time I’ve been told to make myself scarce (which works better for me to be honest) - anything different or extra that needs doing for second viewings?

That’s brilliant!
I’ve never had that happening to me when selling in the past and I never went for second viewings myself on any house.
I can only suppose that she has a shortlist of 2 properties and at this stage she is looking more at the size of rooms, garden, garage etc, distance to school, train station etc, the feel of the area so there’s nothing you can do about these sort of things.
Or she is bringing along someone for a second opinion.Either a relative who would act like a potential buyer or a builder or architect for future alterations to the property so they won’t be interested in small details.
Leave it exactly like it was first time around and hope neighbours are well behaved during the viewing.
You can always ask the estate agent why is she coming back for a second viewing.
Good luck!

I think second viewings are the norm. Our second viewing was to check stuff like where to store bikes, look in more detail at rooms and space we wanted to maybe change.

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Best thing I did was buy a magic eraser and rub the odd scuff mark off the walls. Looked like we’d just painted afterwards.