Dressing an empty house for sale

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We are selling our BTL house- it was my husbands house but we had to move away for work.

The current photos are awful- the tenants furniture is there, they both run businesses from home so it's full of building stuff, toys etc etc. We've only had two viewings.

I think we may have made a mistake marketing it before the tenant moves out, so should I take it off the market then remarket when she's gone in 3 weeks? Or just get the agent to take new photos?

When it's empty should I dress it a little? It would just be curtains and lampshades plus one of those blow up beds that looks like a real bed. Or is it better to leave it fully empty? I'm not sure what's best.

Any advice for what works best gratefully received as we really need to sell!

I’d definitely take new photos when it’s empty, I don’t think I’d put the effort into staging it though - it either has furniture or it doesn’t.

I quite like seeing photos of empty properties - it underlines the fact that these are chain-free. And all the better if they come with plain / under-stated light shades and curtains etc.

It will sell better dressed with stylish furniture. There are usually good deals at Habitat.

Take off. Empty and clean. new photos

Empty and clean as pp said. No point spending on furniture.
Absolutely get new pics. It's quite off putting when the house is super full and messy and many people don't have imagination to see beyond that plus they might worry what state it will be after stuff is taken out as well

But then the OP ends up with a bunch of Habitat furniture that she probably doesn’t want / need.

True.
But it is worth it if it increases the value of the house significantly. And some things like nice bedlinen and a rug the OP probably has already.

It would absolutely not increase value of the house significantly....

Wait until the tenant has gone. Give it a good clean and if carpets needs cleaning or basic paintwork could use a freshen up, do that. Then market it.

Absolutely wouldn’t buy any furniture to stage it.

When we sold our house, there were two bedrooms that were empty of furniture, because we were downsizing and had got rid of things that weren’t needed. The people who bought the house were using both bedrooms and said it was useful because they could see how they needed to use their furniture.

Empty. Selling a house currently which has nothing in it except for curtains, light fittings and built in items (kitchen and bathrooms). Estate agent just said to make sure it's as clean as possible. They have done 7 viewings with 5 more booked - nobody has complained about the lack of furniture.

Empty is fine. No furniture means you can see clearly if you have to repaint, replace flooring etc

I'd leave it empty. Nice furniture and bedding isn't going to persuade me to make an offer, layout, room size and how light the rooms are what I'm interested in.

Unless you’re selling the house as a BTL with sitting tenants you need to wait until the tenants have left because if they don’t move out the new buyer won’t have vacant possession. There was a recent mumsnet thread about this and a lot of people were put off.
The house also needs to be decluttered, look clean and well maintained. All of this is hard to do with tenants in it. It also isn’t fair to the tenants.
I would wait until they have moved out, clean the place very thoroughly and dress lightly.

It’s very easy to tell from the photos when a property is rented and it almost always means it goes for a lower price.

You can hire property stagers, I follow someone on instagram who does this as a job and the difference it makes is incredible. Don't buy a load of new cheap furniture you don't need, pay for a professional to stage it once the tennants have gone.

@FruAashild who is the professional stager you follow?