Estate Agent Photos - Family Photos

[BeingATwatItsABingThing]

I’ve read things online that say take down family photos but I’m worried we’d just have bare walls or random nails sticking out if we did that.

Would you honestly be put off looking at or buying a house if their family photos were up?

Also, any tips for staging would be much appreciated. This is our first home so we’ve never had to sell before.

Every time I have seen photos with family pics in they have been blurred out, pretty easy for them to do in 2021. I even laughed as my friend's house has pictures of her dog blurred out on the website 😂

Just ask the Estate agent to blur or photoshop them out. I don’t like to see them on Rightmove (and wouldn’t like people to see mine) but I think it’s fine for viewings unless there are really loads.

We didn't take down photos but I don't think any were very prominent

For staging, we had some bits & pieces which were placed for viewings & they were very effective.

• Flowers

• Nice but subtle candle burning in kitchen

• Molten Brown bath stuff on display, wooden toothbrushes & a posh looking soap in holder instead of handwash. Bamboo bath mat

• Tidy everything away - find homes for anything that lives out & especially clear clutter from tops of cupboards & wardrobes. If you must (like we did) buy nice storage cubes that match colour scheme & fill them so they look part of the room storage rather than clutter you can't fit anywhere

Sold in 3 days to second viewers. Cancelled about 10 viewings thereafter

Thank you. I will ask them to blur any photos and I’ll take down some of them. I love family photos so have quite a few. Most are on shelves or windowsills though and we have a few large canvases.

Thanks for the tips @DaddysGirl36. My main issue is going to be keeping the house tidy with a 7yo, 7mo and a DH who doesn’t see mess.

We removed all photos and packed them away in the loft. Also decluttered massively and hit odd bits in the car boot when we had viewings, such as large toys etc. Sold within a few weeks of coming to market.

DD2’s buggy and car seat currently live in our living room so we’re going to put those in my car when it comes to viewings. She also has a large jumperoo and activity garden toy that we’ll be putting away.

I removed all personal photos and certificates etc and replaced with nice, but cheap, pictures from the likes of the Range.

I've accepted an offer now and I'm looking forward to letting everything flow back out of the wardrobe and cupboards where it's all been shoved away . Honestly, it's surprising how much decluttering opens up the space and makes a great impression... and I'm someone who can usually see past pretty much most things.

And clean within an inch of your life, or get someone in to do it.

Front garden / front door etc are also big easy wins - the kerb factor, it's the first thing people see and start making their mind up from.

Family photos wouldn't put me off but I tend to have a list of very specific structural features I look for in a house, so I ignore the decor.

I removed any family photos too. If they're up on the walk could you replace them with a cheap picture? I'm not a fan of the blurred out photos on the marketing particulars.

Thanks @readytosell

I’ll get DH to clean the front door. Hadn’t thought of that! Cutting the grass is already on his list of jobs but we need it to stop pissing it down first. 😒

As I’m tidying, I’m cleaning thoroughly. We’ve not got photos booked yet, just our valuation on Tuesday but I want it all to be as ready as possible. I’m not doing this again in a week.

@Arbadacarba

Family photos wouldn't put me off but I tend to have a list of very specific structural features I look for in a house, so I ignore the decor.

What are you looking for? Just out of interest...

We’re selling our good sized three bed semi in a very desirable area of our town. I’m hoping the house and location will speak for themselves.

What are you looking for?

A large hallway, three bedrooms, a kitchen-diner and ideally two reception rooms but would accept one if if was large enough, a small low-maintenance garden, patio or yard that faces west, a downstairs loo, a bath (not shower), exposed brickwork and low ceilings (cottage style) off-road parking for at least 1 car and a galleried landing. And must be within walking distance (i.e. 2 miles max) of a railway station.

@Arbadacarba

What are you looking for?

A large hallway, three bedrooms, a kitchen-diner and ideally two reception rooms but would accept one if if was large enough, a small low-maintenance garden, patio or yard that faces west, a downstairs loo, a bath (not shower), exposed brickwork and low ceilings (cottage style) off-road parking for at least 1 car and a galleried landing. And must be within walking distance (i.e. 2 miles max) of a railway station.

Our house doesn’t tick many of those boxes.

We have separate lounge, kitchen and dining room. Three good sized bedrooms because it’s a two bed that was extended. We have two bathrooms but they are both upstairs. We have two showers and a separate bath. We have two bedrooms with built in wardrobes.

Our drive can fit one car but there is scope to block pave the front to fit two (we just haven’t got around to this yet). Our back garden has a large decking area and then steps down to a large grass area. Very low maintenance overall. The house backs onto a small wooded area and is very quiet and secure. Our neighbours are all lovely and we hear nothing from the adjoining house.

As I said before, we’re in a very desirable area with quiet roads, low crime rates and good schools within walking distance but not parking distance. We’re just off a bus route to the town centre and train station so easy access but no buses going thundering past.

I’m hoping all of these things will help us sell quickly and for a good price.

I'd get rid of them - you need to present the house so the buyer can picture themselves living there, not to have it full of your memorabilia. Replace them with some cheap / tasteful prints .

Our house doesn’t tick many of those boxes.

It sounds nice, though. I would probably be OK with two bathrooms being upstairs - as long as there was more than one loo in the house!

I'm in a position where I'd like to downsize my house (slightly) and my garden (massively), but I'm not looking urgently - I've made a decision that I am not moving again unless I find a house that really does tick every box. In the past I have usually compromised on various things as long as the house ticked the most important boxes.

@Arbadacarba

Having two toilets is a definite plus! I couldn’t cope with just one.

We’re going in the opposite direction. We need at least a large 4 bed and I’m not willing to just move for the sake of it. I will wait for the right thing. We’d like a third child so I don’t want to be moving again in a few years because we’ve outgrown the house again.

Removing family photos is meant to make the house a neautral space where potential buyers can envision themselves living in, rather than feel like they are visiting someone else's house. That's the same reason very loud colors/patterns are replaced with neutral ones etc. You want people of any background/age etc. to be able to look at any room and imagine it filled with their things and their family.

At the same time if you remove everything and it becomes a clinical empty space, buyers get put off because it's not cozy enough. So you have to find a good balance, there are no hard and fast rules.

Try removing the very prominent and personal things first, or if there are a lot of little things/photos, remove most of them and replace them with more neutral and bigger things like flowers, vases, trays, coffee table books etc.

You can leave some subtle pictures and decorations but basically you want uncluttered and tidy but not empty. For example if you have a mantlepiece you dont want it covered with pictures, postcards, little objects etc. You want to have maybe 2-3 things on it max.

If you have a gallery wall full of family pictures, print/buy some generic artwork and replace some of it with that and leave just a few personal ones, photos you have of scenery/animals etc without people in them are also okay.

Printing artwork is a super cheap way in general to decorate, especially for selling a house. Just search for "free printable art", there are some gorgeous ones, and make sure you get high quality heavy paper.

I will wait for the right thing

I feel exactly the same - it's so frustrating to go through the enormous stress of a move and then a year or so later, see your perfect home pop up for sale (been there and done that ).

Thank you @BlijEi

I am trying to take down some of the easier stuff and put it in a box. Our kitchen window sill was absolutely covered in things that our DD has made so I put nearly all of it in a keepsake box. I feel sad not having it all out though.

@Arbadacarba

I will wait for the right thing

I feel exactly the same - it's so frustrating to go through the enormous stress of a move and then a year or so later, see your perfect home pop up for sale (been there and done that ).

Oh no! Us putting our house on the market was spurred on by seeing a really lovely house appear on Rightmove. We realised that houses like that weren’t frequently appearing and we needed to be ready to pounce.

@Arbadacarba Out of interest, is the galleried landing a dealbreaker? I hope you don't think this is rude but whilst I can see the logic in all the other requirements, that one stuck out for me! 😁

What are people’s thoughts on this?

I am a huge Harry Potter fan and this is in our bedroom along with a few other decorative things (nothing too cluttered). It’s probably about a metre squared in total in size and unlikely to be in the photos based on its positioning in the room.

[quote Laquila]@Arbadacarba Out of interest, is the galleried landing a dealbreaker? I hope you don't think this is rude but whilst I can see the logic in all the other requirements, that one stuck out for me! 😁[/quote]
It's just something I have always wanted, but never had. When I was a child, my grandparents lived in a lovely dormer house with a galleried landing and it's always stuck in my mind.

Aside from really large houses, they are most common in dormer properties. I like dormer properties generally because of the low, sloping ceilings, so I get excited if I see one on Rightmove and immediately check to see if it has a galleried landing.

There was a lovely semi-detached barn conversion not too far from me that had a galleried landing large enough to use as a home office (which would be my absolute ideal) but unfortunately it had literally no outside space and I do want something even if it's only a tiny yard to sit outside in. It's under offer now anyway.

If the Harry Potter thing isn't in the pictures then there's no major harm in leaving it there for viewings.
But if I'm being brutally honest (and I'm guessing that's why you asked?) I would think it's a bit weird for an adult to have a Harry Potter display in their room. On its own it certainly wouldn't put me off making an offer, as I'm looking past decor when I view a house, but I'd mentally file it as "a bit odd."

@fellrunner85

If the Harry Potter thing isn't in the pictures then there's no major harm in leaving it there for viewings. But if I'm being brutally honest (and I'm guessing that's why you asked?) I would think it's a bit weird for an adult to have a Harry Potter display in their room. On its own it certainly wouldn't put me off making an offer, as I'm looking past decor when I view a house, but I'd mentally file it as "a bit odd."

I’m aware I’m odd. I’m a primary school teacher if that makes my obsession with a children’s book any less insane.