Estate agent are coming for photos tomorrow.. what have I missed?

[FTEngineerM]

Unbelievably stressed about selling our house, can’t pinpoint why, nevertheless can you hit me with anything I might have forgotten to repair/clean/make tidy?

We have two DC under 18m so toy area but I’ve hidden most of them in the car hahah it’s neat.

We’ve been to see a few houses now and it varies from zero effort to absolutely pristine. We obviously want to maximise what we can for this house but for it to still go quickly. Is there anything you’d forgotten when selling that got brought up?

Toilet seats down! I really kicked myself for that one when I sold my last house (they were clean though).
Remove any evidence of pets. Put anything in the garage / shed if you them.
Hide away any clutter (probably obvious).
Work surfaces as empty as you can get them in the kitchen, besides things like kettle / toaster.
Take down personal pictures if you can, and anything likely to put off folks from a political / religious point of view.
Keep up with the agent taking the photos, and move things like bins out of the way (you can then put them back).
Ask to see the pictures they take there and then, and also ask to ok them before they're used on the internet / in adverts - if you don't like for them ask for them to be taken again, with the reason why you don't like them.

Make sure your Xmas tree and decorations are gone as they’ll look wrong if the house doesn’t sell very fast.

Do some winter pots for the garden/by the front door (hellebores, ivy, cyclamen type stuff) so you have something that looks pretty?

Really hate it when you see a bed that has been photographed without being tidily made.

I saw a listing recently where the vendor was in one of the shots of the garden 😱

If you're going to be in, you can move stuff out of the room being photographed and then from room to room to be out of the photos. My photographer did that for me but if they don't you can suggest it. Means each room can look it's best and not cluttered without actually having to permanently remove stuff.

Well made beds with nothing sticking out underneath.
Loo seats down.
All drawers and cupboard doors closed.
Surfaces cleared down of everything but the essentials.
If you have a coat/shoe area, just put enough there to show what the area is for and stash all the others in the car.

Take some photos now, it's much easier to see problems in photos than in the flesh. If you're feeling brave post them on here - I'm sure you'll get lots of advice.

Get rid of any evidence of pets if you have them. We turned down 2 house viewings as you could see dogs were in the kitchen area and another one with dog poo left on the patio.

Ensure things like ironing board, pile of ironing, is all away.

Iron bedding (whilst on the bed) to make it look unslept-in.

Move personal photos/ornaments (I love cats and have several cat-related things) as viewers might not share the same taste.

Hide cables. If they are dragging on the floor, hanging down from the TV etc they immediately catch the eye.

Make sure all window handles are pointing the same direction ie not one open and one closed

Agree close loo seats

Really straighten out the sheets and any throws, plump cushions, makes the whole effect a lot more ‘expensive’

Give the taps a good Polish for some reason they’re obsessed with taps!!

Praying you’re selling in my area

Wish I'd hidden the Sports Direct mug. We sold, but it probably cost us thousands.

Fab!
Haven’t thought about ironing the bedding I’ll do that in the morning once we’ve slept in it and our toddler is in nursery.

No pets anymore 😢, clutter is mostly gone so I’m pleased you’ve said that.

I was going to disappear when the agent was here but by the sounds of it I’ll stay and help him shimmy stuff around like bins and the likes.

No plants/pot are pretty unfortunately 😩certainly not by tomorrow anyway.

Also absolutely minging leaving dog shit on the patio 😬😬 did they take as much care inside as outside?

Thank you 🙏🏽 @maximist still toys everywhere atm though, I’m hiding them after dc are in nursery tomorrow 😂. If it doesn’t sell I’ll be posting though!

Declutter like mad. If you have any smaller rooms offload / hide some of the furniture.

Stunt pineapple 😉

Toilet lids down as well as seats.
Bit grim seeing inside toilets in photos

What’s a stunt pineapple? I have about 20% of a pineapple left on the top shelf in the fright 🧐

As much natural light in as possible

Remove the following and hide them outside/in the car/wherever possible:

• Bins, loo brushes, storage baskets etc. Any small items on the floor that aren’t furniture.
• Family photos and incidentals, whether on the wall or surfaces.
• Towels, bath mats and tea towels from kitchen and bathroom.
• Any over door storage, including clothes on backs of doors.
• Anything on kitchen countertops, other than a fruit bowl. So kettle, jars, utensils, microwave etc. It always looks cluttered rather than homely in photographs.

Basically take out or hide all the less glamorous signs of occupation. Open all blinds and push curtains all the way back. Loo seats down.

Fucking hell @MyAnacondaMight I’ve only got a hatchback 😂

On a serious note, note taken about bathmats, bins, brushes and baskets 🙏🏽😍 thank you.

I always notice lopsided poorly drawn back curtains and blinds.
Maximum of 2 bottles (nice ones) of shampoo etc in shower
No overloaded plug sockets

I’m always put off by all the lights on in every photo. Always makes me think the house must be very dingy. (Though it’s probably just that the estate agent hasn’t employed a proper photographer). Still, I don’t like it.

Yes to hiding kitchen towels but leave nicely hung ones in bathroom

Also smells…. More difficult in the winter to just keep the windows open as you want the house to feel cosy. But do let some air in and be careful with cooking smells and if towels or tea towels are on radiators make sure they’re very very clean.

Nothing above your kitchen cabinets.

Move ugly black office chairs out of pictures (really jarring)

Does the dinning room look fit for purpose? (I.e. table can be properly sat around/ not too cramped/ being used for something else)

Take family towels out of the bathroom and just have one neat colour coordinating towel on the rail folded neatly. Get all shampoo bottles/ toothbrushes etc out of shot.

What does the front look like? Does it have kerb appeal? Is it obvious there is parking? Make sure outdoor bins aren't in the photo and it's weeded etc.

Does the back garden look appealing? Room to socialise/ play but not too much maintenance or too overlooked?

Are there any awkward rooms/ spaces? What gave you second thoughts when you brought the house? Could you display those areas differently? I.e. demonstrate that small room is big enough for a bed?

@Candleabra

Also smells…. More difficult in the winter to just keep the windows open as you want the house to feel cosy. But do let some air in and be careful with cooking smells and if towels or tea towels are on radiators make sure they’re very very clean.

I don't think they will be doing scratch and sniff lol 😆