Is it ok to market our house without it being completely bare/decluttered?

[SwimmingInToys]

We are thinking of trying to get on the market in the next few months. We've been on a program of decluttering over lockdown and we have made a lot of progress, but with 20 years of stuff and 2 young kids (plus our personalities ) it's not going to be sleek and minimalist without a LOT more effort.

I'm pg with DC3 and between work and the kids there's limited scope for how much effort I can really put into preparing the house for sale. Tidy and clean, yes, but every house coming on the market seems to be totally bare these days with no signs of human life

Any thoughts? Are we going to have to suck it up and just radically declutter in order to compete? Or is it ok to look like we have toys, cats, and a lived-in home? Would it put you off?

Perfect thanks. This is all the stuff I need to hear.

We have an appointment with the estate agent in 2 weeks, the houses they market are always beautifully presented so I suspect she'll have some sound advice for us. It gives us a good deadline to work towards.

I think I'm like some of you - I care about the floorplan, the garden, the views etc and don't mind decor or clutter but I can understand not everyone is the same. It is nicely decorated (I think?! ) and an attractive early Victorian semi with nice views so I'm sure has appeal. I do need to maximise that so we can get the best price to help us up the ladder to a new place. Fingers crossed.

There's a difference between houses looking completely bare though and having lots of cat paraphernalia, kids bikes and wellies in the way! You also need to be honest about whether your idea of "lived-in" is someone else's mess? If you have stuff that you use all the time but that shouldn't appear in photos, then just stick it in your car or the loft or something for photos. At least if you can get people through the door they can make a judgement on your house in real life, rather than discounting it because it looks too small or cluttered from the photos. Investing in a couple of weeks at a self-store place can also be money well spent. We moved a load of guitars, a bass drum and some other stuff into a unit when we sold last year. Think it cost about £100 overall as most of these place have half-price deals etc constantly on offer. The items were things that we wanted and used but were prepared to be without for a couple of weeks and which would have just made our living area look like a cut-price music studio. In the event the photos looked great and the house sold on day 1 to the first viewers.

It is a messy house, I really wish it wasn't but we're messy people.

Definitely working towards neat and tidy and I'll look into a storage unit. It was beautifully tidy and uncluttered when we viewed it and they also had 2 children so I need to pull my socks up!

Of course it matters. Staging is such a big business for a reason
You will be moving anyway so why not take the opportunity now to get rid of stuff.
You want your house looking it's absolute best, not just for photos but for viewings. People do lack imagination, and too much of your personality on show will make it hard for some one to imagine themselves living there.
I go so far as to clear all the stuff off the bathroom sinks other than a pretty bottle of hand soap - people don't live like that, but I don't want them to see toothbrushes and contact cases and junk like that.
You want people to concentrate on the house, not your things.
And I agree that if you have too much stuff around they will wonder about your storage.

I have bad cat allergies (ambulance has been called) but these are managed. But evidence of cats wouldn't put me off personally. I'm the sort of person that can see beyond "stuff". The previous owner of my first flat had a cat but after a few weeks my allergies were fine.

It matters.

People are buying a lifestyle and a promise. Everyone here will tell you they just look at square footage but in reality, if your house is full of shite then you won’t get the price for it that you could.

My house doesn’t look anything like it did when it went to market, and I had a six month old baby. The cupboards and car were exploding with stuff, though.

Yep, it does matter. As they say, you’re selling the sizzle not the sausage.

Whilst it might seem overwhelming now, There is little point alienating part of your potential market for the sake of a couple of weekends and some evenings tidying up. If someone offered you £2/3k+ to tidy up would you say no? Otherwise, are you planning on paying for the removal of items you no longer need/want to your new house? For a great many people clutter gives them the itch so why not appeal to them too? It would seem a bit of a waste of time to start viewings etc when the house doesn’t look it’s best. You definitely can’t please everyone regarding decor and anyone who wants to know what you do with your hoover as opposed to how they’ll store it once it is their house is a bit for me..nor does it need to be 50 shares of Mrs Hinch Grey... but I do develop properties and I do stage them carefully to maximise the return. Buyers want to envisage themselves at the house so help that process.

So, bite the bullet, start the clearout now to help you transition from this house to your new one. Or hire someone to help you. Remove anything you don’t use regularly and put into storage. Get the immediate touch points looking good - clean windows, front door, front garden/driveway, mow your lawn if you have one and ensure you have maximum kerb appeal. Light candles/Reed diffusers, Deep clean the bathrooms/kitchen and freshen the silicone round sinks etc. Definitely remove pet paraphernalia.

Good luck with it all.

I think it matters, yes.

You can sell it but it will be easier if the pictures put off fewer people.

I always notice cat/dog stuff and it puts me off because pet homes smell quite strong, so the carpets need changing usually.

I rejected a house recently because of clutter but it was honestly stuffed full of kid crap. My main concern was that a surveyor would not be able to access most parts of the house.

Every time I've moved I hire a storage unit. Pack up stuff you don't need. They are expensive but it is so helpful - makes moving much easier too. My DD is allergic to cats so are others- do not have any day stuff whatsoever in the photos.

It wouldn’t bother me at all, we viewed houses based on the location and as long as the photos give a good idea of the sizes of the rooms and there’s a floor plan we viewed it - I’m more put off by no floor plan!

But, some people won’t even view a house if they don’t like the decor (which I find completely bizarre but everyone’s different, you can’t please everyone!)