What haven’t I thought of?

[RS29]

Home is being photographed to go on the market next week 🤞🏼😬 Its our first ever sale!

What do you look for from photos when you’re looking at a property? Anything that you’ve noticed afterwards about your own photos and wish you’d thought of?

I’m thinking in terms of lighting, finishing touches, things to hide, what to show etc? Any help would really be appreciated!!

Spotlessly clean. Nothing that shows a lack of space, so nothing on top of wardrobes, on top of kitchen cupboards, under beds etc. No evidence of pets. Beds very neatly made, almost to a 'hotel standard.' Completely decluttered, but not so it looks like nobody lives there. If you have small children, nothing like massive plastic toys in the living room. Very clean towels and bath mats in the bathroom. You get the idea!

Also make sure the photos are in an order that flows with the house. So not the kitchen, then a bedroom, then the garden, then the bathroom etc!

I posted my Rightmove link on here about 5 years ago and I'd not spotted this, I got 5 offers in a week after making the Mumsnet suggested changes!

Make sure the parking (if there is any) is shown if not obvious.

Ooh there's loads!

No extra electric heaters in sight,. One of my viewers said 'ah, I see the boiler isn't effective then'.

Toilet lid down.

Check under beds - my friend's bedroom photo looked as though there was a rat under the bed, it was her dog's toy.

@TokyoSushi Thats really helpful, thank you!! I never thought about the order of the photos at all! I’ll make sure they flow 😊

@Salome61 Great points! Thank you 😊

Make the beds look beautiful with cushions and throws etc. Made properly, ive seen some lumpy shockers.

Declutter but still have some nice bits and pieces out and a couple of pieces of art on the wall.

Tidy away any toys and if possible, have doubled beds in double rooms.

Good luck, we sold our last house empty so had it professionally staged and photographed and it made a huge difference in the interest levels and price I think.

Following as we will be doing the same in a few weeks, first sale too.

Have bought and sold numerous times. Ultimately people will be guided by the location, size, layout and price of property rather than photos, especially if it is a popular area but I would absolutely ensure that

• photos are taken on a bright day with lots of natural light. If I see a house photographed with lights on I tend to think it will be dark and gloomy

• if you don't think the photos do it justice, especially the exterior shot, insist to the agent they come back and take different ones

• declutter but not too much! It has to look lived in if it's a family home. In our current house, the previous owners were in their 60s and 70s and had a lot of tat, plus hideous green, orange and red walls throughout.. but the house felt lived in and cosy.

• a floor plan on the listing is an absolute must!

Good luck 😀

Oh and don't vacuum the carpets on the day of the photos. No one can see that fleck of sock fluff on the lounge floor in the pics, but they will see all the great big zig zag hoover marks 😬

@Lemonlemon88 Thank you 😊 Yes, we have a couple of rooms that we just use for storage at the moment so they’ve been cleared and given a fresh coat of paint and I have bedroom furniture arriving this week to stage them as proper bedrooms 👍🏻😊

@oneproudmumma we have a 1 year old so I’m not sure if it could ever not look somewhat “lived in” anyway 🤣🙈 floor plan is being done at the same time as the photos 👍🏻 I’ll 100% check the photos before they’re used. Hahaha, that’s a great point about the carpet lines 🤣

@Luckyelephant1

Following as we will be doing the same in a few weeks, first sale too.

@Luckyelephant1 Eeeek, exciting!! It’s a bit nerve wracking isn’t it? Don’t suppose you’re selling a 3/4 bed detached or semi in the west coast of Scotland? 🤔🤣🤣 we’re still on the hunt for a property to buy!