Any tips for putting your house on the market please?

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I had hoped my house would be on the market by now, but lockdown has pushed back some work I need to do in my bathroom. However, I hope to get that sorted by the autumn, then go on the market. This will be the first time I've sold a house and I am pretty clueless. Wondering if you have any tips on making your house look brilliant for the photos, and also some practical ideas for clutter etc. Do people hire storage spaces to shove all their stuff? Houses on rightmove often look empty! Thanks in advance.

Clean everywhere super thoroughly, do any little jobs.
Fresh flowers, garden tidy with colourful flowers.

Yes you do need to clear any clutter, you can have tasteful ornaments and pictures they improve the look. Have a ruthless clear out of everything, then hopefully you will have enough room to store everything, we usually have found this, you don't want to have anything on wardrobes, kitchen cupboards etc. Plain white bedlinen always looks nice, with a throw for colour.

Take down personal photographs (I did just for viewings - although I didn't have many photos up anyway) someone once told me that potential buyers can't imagine themselves in the home if your photos are everywhere?

Air the house.

Spotless bathrooms.

Put radio on low - makes any awkward silences seem less awkward?!

I'd also request EA do the viewings. Potential buyers don't see the property properly if shown by the vendor.

We sold ours in 2018. Before instructing estate agents we did a full "snagging list" of jobs needed in the house and worked our way through them.

We repainted all skirting boards and doors. We jet washed the front path and the rear courtyard. We deep cleaned everywhere to within an inch of its life.

With clutter/storage, we had a good clear out. There was a massive shed full of crap in the back yard which got in the way so we got rid of it, borrowed some loft space from a friend for all our camping gear in it, and chucked the rest out.

Kitchen - we cut down to what we needed, as it was a very small room and we had too much stuff.

Living room - we packed away everything that wasn't just there to "look good".

Bedrooms - fresh new white linen for the photos and the viewings. Nothing visible under the bed or stuffed into bedside tables.

Our home never looked as good as it did when we listed it for sale.

Massive de-clutter before listing, fully clean & tidy for every viewing. Repair any damage. Repaint any walls etc that are weird colours or looking tired. De-personalise as much as possible.

Use the boot of your car to store things during viewings. Our old house had nowhere good for coats, so I used to stuff them into the car when people came to look at the house. Also, I put fresh bed linen on a spare duvet and kept it in a spare room so that I could just put it out for viewings and didn't feel I had to change the bed every time.

Hire me! I'm a declutterer.

Another useful tip is locating all papers/receipts/certificates for all works ever done to the house. Send copies of these to the solicitors when you fill in the property information and fixtures and fittings forms. This saves an awful a lot of the back and forth between solicitors when they do their enquiries. This can potentially shave weeks off the process.

Declutter, clean and tidy and finish any little jobs like paintwork refreshing or broken bits.

I disagree about removing family photos. As long as you don't have 6363 of them they suggest a nice family home. Yes to putting things in your car eg pram/buggy, coats etc. Nothing at all on top of wardrobes, under beds - screams this house is too small. Remove stuff stuck to front of fridge.

Do not declutter too much though. An empty house looks soulless.

Then for viewings hoover, air out, plump up cushions and make beds neat, towels tidy etc. Fresh flowers if possible on table. Table lights on in darker rooms or if the day is overcast.

Remove any pet paraphernalia if you have them.

Good luck.

Definitely declutter but not to the extent of making the place seem soulless. You are selling a home, not a house.

I know some people find it boring, but pale neutral colours do sell a house more quickly. They are colours that can be lived with until decorating decisions can be made.

You need to give the perception of light and space, so don't store stuff on top of cupboards, put the lights on if it is a dull day, and pull the curtains right back to allow as much natural light in as possible. Swap low light level light bulbs for brighter bulbs as well.

Little things like shining the taps on sinks will make the viewer feel that this level of attention to detail means that you are keeping on top of repairs and have looked after your house.

You also need to consider kerb appeal. Depending on what the frontage of your house looks like you may need to power wash the paving and maybe add some pots of flowers or shrubs.

Tidy the garden - cut the grass, trim the lawn edges, weed the flower beds.

Try and find out who your target audience is. If it is families with young children make the house look child friendly.

Thank you, all, for these really great tips. I am going to use them as a checklist. I have my work cut out here!

Thank you, @Happydaysforever123. Great tip re clearing the top of the kitchen cupboards. I am going to ditch some stuff from there today as my first task. Also great re the white bedding and throw. Helpfully, I have just been gifted a handmade throw which will give a nice pop of colour. X

fix stuff. Get rid of stuff. And no extra smells, especially not reeking plug-ins. That just shouts 'this place is damp/has been soaked by pet urine and I'm hoping you won't notice'. It would be a shame to give that impression if it isn't the case!

If you have pets, use a plug-in air freshener on a low setting and open some windows.

Make sure the windows are clean - or at least clean-ish.

that's weird....as I said, plug-ins shout 'something to hide'.

all they do is add another reek to the one that is already there.

Take your own pictures and look at them. It’s surprising what you can miss.

Think about what attracted you to the house? Big hallway light bedrooms etc and recreate that in the house to show off the best features

Get a brutally honest friend to do a walk round as if they were a potential purchaser.
Pressure wash patios & driveways.
Wash the windows.
Practice your spiel. Don't say that your moving because the place is too small. Place the blame on a third party. Say that you're moving because of work commitments.

Have windows professionally cleaned inside and out.

Agree with the tip about high wattage light bulbs.

Absolutely pristinely clean.

Remove clutter

Air

Doorstep appeal - prune, add a decorative pot, jet wash, paint front door.

Hide shoes and coats

Fresh flowers

And no extra smells, especially not reeking plug-ins. That just shouts 'this place is damp/has been soaked by pet urine and I'm hoping you won't notice'

Definitely this ^^

Some brilliant advice in here. My house was in pretty good shape anyway but like a pp I did a snagging list and worked through it (it took weeks despite being in good shape anyway). I went on the market a week ago and have already had viewings and an offer.

You have to detach yourself from the property and look at it through someone else's eyes. Taking photos is a great tip. The only other thing I'd say is pay attention to your exterior appearance and your hallway. First impressions count so much - people decide to buy in the first few minutes and then the rest of the viewing is either confirmation or they see something they can't live with. Small details really matter.

De clutter, snagging jobs, paint doors and skirting if applicable.
Get the house to a standard where if someone wanted a viewing at short notice it would be possible with minimal stress.
I agree re no plug ins, most of them are grim. That said I do have a lovely diffuser which we left out but it's not over powering at all.

@mencken

that's weird....as I said, plug-ins shout 'something to hide'.

all they do is add another reek to the one that is already there.

Ok, grouchy! Did you not think I might have been writing my post when you added yours given they were one minute apart? No need for as I said.

I have sold three properties of my own and also my parents house when they died. Although all the properties were different and each was targeting a different type of buyer these standard items always worked so my houses sold faster and for a higher price than my competitors (I sold in city, suburbs, commuter belt and country village).

First declutter - hire a skip or a mini ship and get rid of everything you have stored in your shed and in your spare room and random cupboards (people do open drawers and check all storage cupboards and if yours are full, they will assume there is not enough storage for the size of the house).

Second - depersonalise.
People need to be able to walk in and imagine themselves living in the house. Therefore remove all but two to three photos - you need some life in the place so it looks lived in but not enough to prevent people seeing their furniture and photos in the place.

Third
Clear out the garden front and back and make sure the front of the house is clean and tidy - get rid of bins from the front area.

Fourth
Go around all the house and see if you need to repaint any walls or woodwork - if the paint looks shabby, unless your house is an executors sale, you need to paint it or touch it up.

Fifth
Clean, clean and clean again - your house needs to look like a show house for each and every visit

Sixth
Have fresh flowers in the kitchen or dining area - at the kitchen table.

On the day of the photos, review them all with the photographer before they leave and make them redo photos if they do not look good.

All the items you remove of yours like photos should be packed and stored away ready to move to your next house (and they might even spend the next decade in the box, if, like me, you forget about them).

We hired a garage and stuck LOADS in there. Our house had never looked so good.

Clean beds/floors/bathrooms every time you have a viewing - it nearly bloody killed me!

Welcome to your new job - cleaner extraordinare

I used to hide the washing in the car, any pictures up make sure they are aligned straight. I like a nice bowl of fruit in the kitchen or dining table. Viewers may ask to go in the loft, so give that thought before you chuck everything and the kitchen sink up there.

Good luck.

I would move any vehicles off the drive etc and keep them out of sight so you provide maximum parking area for the viewer, and so that the first impression is of space and ample parking (if appropriate of course)