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?

Take a photo of your bathroom and check for black mould on the tiles or underside of the bath. Mouldy tiles really really put me off.

Agree with PP point about two nice bottles of shampoo in bath only!

@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.

Good advice for viewings but I don’t think smells will be noticeable in photos 😂

Take photos now/before they come to work out what you've missed. Much easier to see in a photo than real life. Fortunately most of our "personal" photos are landscapes so not too personal!

Worth a quick dash to local Lidl/Aldi to buy a cheap bunch of flowers if you have a vase.

Things I notice in photos (although less in RL)

Wonky or unopened blinds
Trailing cables
Messy bed
Laundry pile
Lights on everywhere - suggests house is dark

Stunt pineapple I think I may know you

I would stay in the house while the photographer is there and tell them that you're very happy for them to move anything and offer to help move things (e.g. bins etc) out the way. You're at their mercy really so make sure they like you! One other thing we did in our last place was to take down a shower curtain that looked a bit worse for wear.

Declutter everything not needed.. Create as much space and light as possible in your house.

What time are agents coming? Is this the best time of day for natural light?

leave a bowl fruit like lemons or green apples. Simple yet a burst of natural colour.

put items in the roof or tidily in the basement if possible, orderly in storage boxes.

Make the front door as welcoming as possible.

Sell the house from the front pavement to inside the doorway.

Open homes:
Make sure the house smells clean/ fresh - no unwanted odours.

Use stunt towels - ie new & unused ( no body uses them to wipe toothpaste on etc)

Light & spacious.
Basically increase the sense of bigger internal space.

Make beds / clean linen & no children dirty indie hiding anywhere on floors.

Unless you have a massive drive make sure cars are elsewhere when they take the front photo, if it’s on street parking try and keep it clear for them to take the main photo - so tricky to get a good kerb-appeal shot if there are loads of vehicles blocking the view of the house. Good luck!

As previous posters have mentioned it really bugged me on our photos that the curtains were hanging a bit wonky and also that the toilet roll was nearly empty! I wish I had put a new one on the holder!

My house was in a general cleanliness state for showings.... Until my agent told another seller that they had a showing.... But it was ME! So I came home from picking my oldest up to find people in my house. Kids clothes and toys on the floor. None of the cats removed from the house. Dishes in the sink. I think my toddler also had failed to flush our toilet. I was mortified. Apologized as I didn't know anyone was coming. They put in an offer anyway! Ended up selling to them. Sometimes if people like a house they like it even if it isn't perfectly clean

I thought I'd be able to move things from room to room to declutter as we went round....unfortunately the estate agent wanted to do a video walk round of the house first so I had to quickly move out all the stuff out into next door neighbours back garden! I was 7 months pregnant as well. Boiling hot day and I thought my husband could help move it to the summer house when he got home from work. No - started raining and my neighbours and I had to lug everything into their house/shed as it was quicker! Nightmare!

We ended up instructing a second agent a few months later and I planned to take myself and the baby next door to get out the way for photos - it was November then and I left my bobble hat next to the kettle as I rushed out. So annoyed when I saw it in the photos!

So many great tips from PPs!
I totally agree about making sure loo seats are down - seeing them up on Rightmove and alike always puts me off - why why why do people keep them up?!

Lovely looking 'unslept-in' bed is a great tip. You don't need to iron everthing inside out. Just make the bed up after you get up in the morning and iron the visible part of the duvet cover (that's not coverted by the bedspread if using it) and top sides of the pillows. Sounds lazy, but hey, it's very time efficient

For viewings we put the gas fire on. We didn't always remember, and we didn't think of it till we'd been on the market for a bit. Viewers loved it.

One of things I hate seeing in photos is an unmade bed, one that looks as though it smells of the last occupant-really puts me off! Also boxes if you’ve started packing up already look terrible.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Decluttered, bins gone, beds made, I’ll go out in the car when they arrive so the front looks like it has parking available 😬.

Fingers crossed that’s as presentable as we can get it. It’s actually looking lovely🥳.

Unfortunately the blinds/curtains are a bit wonky because the house is wonky 🥲. I hope they add ‘character’ to the description 😂

Check for any weeds around the doorstep/kerb.

We are maybe putting our farm house on the market. Clearing signs of animals may be difficult. Mmmmmm🧐

Don't let them take twatty arty photos, I don't give a fuck about the shower tap, or the plant on the window sill.

Haha I know the exact ones you mean @SlowBoiledFrog when I’m looking and see photos of things like zoomed in fruit bowl…

Right they’ve been, I can’t stress about it anymore

Please don’t buy one bunch of flowers and move them into every room for a photo- I see that so frequently. It’s hilarious, but daft.

Clear away signs of recent life such as toothbrushes on show in the bathroom, washing up liquid by the sink, clothes not in wardrobes; it looks really messy otherwise.

Well all I can say if your advice paid off - 6 viewings booked in and it has only been on 24 hours!!!

Just in case anyone reads later on ^^ do the above 🥳

Ironing bed sheets?!

Please give potential vendors some credit. Don’t waste precious toddler nap time doing this

Instead clean clean clean. Windows open when you wake.

Oh brilliant news!

Sorry i thought it was for viewings

All about clean and space

Take down photos.

I was in when the photos were taken so I moved the kitchen bin, moved the outside bins and made sure the house looked as spacious as possible.

The bathroom was bare except a lovely handwashing pump and an expensive candle. The kitchen just had the kettle and toaster.