Best "House Doctor" tips before viewings start?

[Pannacotta]

Our house is just about to go on the market and due to being quite sleep deprived (3 month old baby!), I can't really remember what we did last time we sold and what makes the most difference.
Obviously we will keep the house clean and tidy and decluttered (as far as we can with a todder and baby) but what are your best tips on how to make a house look its best, a la Anne Maurice?!
TIA

[Blandmum]

here

[LIZS]

Clean windows, pictures and mirrors , tie curtains well back , to make most of light. finger marks off chrome and doors. Flowers inside and by front door. Make sure lines of sight are clear as you enter each room.

[MrsBadger]

0nly one type of nice fruit in fruit bowl (all apples / all oranges etc)
hide the rest in fridge

open windows for fresh air

have lights on, even in daytime, in rooms that have tendency to be dark

[littlemissbossy]

Remember the outside - first impressions and all that. Sparkling windows, repaint door etc if required, potted flowers/plants near the entrance and tidy up the garden.
Good luck

[ib]

Descale all the taps. Nice shiny chrome makes more of an impression than the quality of the fittings ime

[Pannacotta]

Thanks all, will get cleaning and polishing!

[Sidge]

Clean clean and clean!

Especially rooms or areas that don't get a lot of traffic normally. Shampoo carpets if you have pets (non-pet owners will smell them the minute they walk in) and tidy the garden.

[Katsma]

And put all of that bulky baby stuff in the car if you've got one - pram, car seat, moses, etc.

[Twinklemegan]

My tuppenceworth:

a buyer will not buy your house if they can see that you live in it

don't assume anything - apparently a buyer doesn't realise an upstairs room is a bedroom unless there's a bed in it

a buyer does not want to do anything, not a sausage, to the house, ever

a buyer truly and honestly believes that they are buying your furniture and finishing touches

a buyer is fundamentally pretty stupid

(can you tell my house is currently on the market?)

[Katsma]

Must take you up on that Twinklemegan - buyers are fundamentally VERY stupid

[Twinklemegan]

[Isababel]

Remove all the bottles of shampoo, shower gels, used soaps and wet towels from the bathroom.

Air the rooms before the viewers are due to arrive.

Keep baby stuff well organised, and as out of the way as you possibly can. Perhaps the buyers are looking for a house to start a family and may not want to see that you are moving because you need more space after the new baby arrival.

If you are having a viewer I would recommend one of you to show the house and the other to take the baby for a walk. I confess that I went to had a look at a house where they had a baby and TBH I didn't feel as if I could relax and try to see if the house was the one for us, mum was playing with baby in the best room of the house that I only looked in passing as I felt as if I were intruding/interrupting something important.

If you have pets, hide their plates away. Actually hide their existance as much as you can.

[Twinklemegan]

You know, I don't want anyone completely stupid to buy my house. What if they can't understand the buying process? Or mess up their mortgage application?

Yep, I think from now on, they can take us as we are. People with no common sense/imagination/ability to read particulars need not apply.

Oh I wish we weren't desperate to sell, then I wouldn't have to give these idiots the time of day

Rant over!

[Isababel]

Sorry Twinkle, you don't need to care about them being stupid but about them having the money to get you to your next house

If they are very intelligent they will notice far more potential problems in the house, honest!

[Twinklemegan]

Was being tongue in cheek really Isababel. Still it does annoy me that we're all supposed to live in show homes. Grrr!

And if you ask me, anyone who's prepared to pay the valuation price for our tiny little house has much more money than sense .

[Pannacotta]

Have to admit I am not about to empty all our baby/kids stuff into the car/cupboards. Its a family house and we still live here so they will have to take us as they find us to some extent, but it will be as clean as poss and much cleanr/tidier than usual....

[stealthsquiggle]

Clean windows and mirrors.

Get a friend to walk around and tell you about the things which you are so used to that you don't notice them any more!

Open windows for a while before they come (and then shut them again!) - fresh air makes the world of difference

[WaynettaSlob]

Have they taken the photos yet? When we had our first lot of photos done our bed looked really messy, so for the second lot I put fresh linen on just before they arrived to take the pics, and my god it makes a difference!

Do you have a car? If so (and assuming it's not parked right outside your door) then dump all your pushchairs and crap in that - it means the hall is clear and that gives a nice impression.

Given that you are going to be moving, would it be possible to box up stuff you won't be using over the next few months (e.g. books, paddling pools, excess photos etc) and store them in a garage or shed or somewhere? Or if you can afford it hire one of those storage places)

[Katsma]

Oh you're so right Waynetta. You're going to have to pack everything up anyway, so why not start asap.

I packed away everything that I knew I wouldn't need (photo frames, ornaments, most of the DVDs and books, etc). It gives you a head start on the packing and made my tiny house look enormous.

I put everything in the loft, and in my experience, viewers can't be bothered looking in the loft anyway.