Hellobee Boards

I think the main thing is just keeping all clutter hidden, keep it as neutral as possible. When we sold our unit, it had had a collapsed roof and suffered extensive damage from flooding, the insurance company paid for it all to be fixed up, and we paid a staging company to do all the furniture and decorating for sale (we never moved back in before selling). Everything was vaguely modern, neutral in colour, 1 piece of neutral (ugly!) art on each wall, and A LOT of empty space - way more than you would expect. We ended up selling for about $80000 over what we wanted! (bearing in mind it's Sydney, the most ridiculous real estate market in the world at the moment).

De-clutter and remove all personal photos etc. Buyers have to be able to imagine themselves living there. Good luck!!

Be careful of the wide angle lens. When we were looking, we'd see pictures online that looked great and then be disappointed when we actually saw the space in person. It was a huge turnoff. So when we sold, we made sure our pictures accurately reflected the space so people wouldn't be disappointed.

In addition to general decluttering, I boxes up out of season clothes so our closets looked bigger. And make sure your storage spaces are well organized. A mess of a storage area screams - the house isn't big enough for all of your stuff. We had everything in those big Rubbermaid bins all stacked up on shelves and everyone was so impressed with how much storage was available in the basement.

@hilary: this is so true
"And make sure your storage spaces are well organized. A mess of a storage area screams - the house isn't big enough for all of your stuff. "

We actually rented a storage unit and put so much crap in there before we showed the house - made a huge difference!

I echo all the other posters to declutter - clean off countertops, pick up toys, etc. One thing our realtor told us that I thought was completely ridiculous was to clean out and paint the closets. It seemed so stupid, but it really did make a big difference. It makes the closets look so much bigger! If you can't paint, then at least clean them out.

Good luck! The only thing that bothered me while buying a house were the houses that were over-run with clutter.

@Cherrybee: I definitely opened cupboards when house hunting!

@Cherrybee: maybe I'm weird but I liked to see where I would put stuff

I opened closets too!

@Mamaof2: I check out closets too. When we were selling my old townhouse the realtor told me to downsize my closet (I was in both the her AND the his closet ) and have my husband move his clothes back into the master because it indicated to people that the closets weren't big enough for both of us. While they may make that decision on their own, no need to point it out!

@Cherrybee: I even take a quick glance in wardrobes because it's likely that I'd be putting the same size wardrobes in the space or at least use as reference to know what fits.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

I think most people have said it, but declutter everything. We took out about 1/3 of our furniture and stored it in the garage (anything non-essential)... Baby stuff was all minimized to the best of my ability. I even put the high chair in the garage for every showing.

Good luck! I hope it sells really well!

@Cherrybee: People are not always honest when they come in your house.... our realtor had told us stories about dealers and addicts that come to open houses and raid the medicine cabinets looking for meds they can take to sell or abuse

Maybe I'm just very jaded and not trusting but another tip I've heard is to check all doors and windows to make sure they're locked after a showing.... a "prospective buyer" might have unlocked one in order to break into the house later if they've seen something of value like a laptop, or personal files used for identity theft.

I agree. I wouldn't look in a wardrobe, but I do open kitchen cupboards and drawers to make sure the insides of the cabinets are in good shape (because I'm moving out of a house that desperately needs new ones!)

Our stager cautioned us to "secure" any valuables or items that could be easily swiped. So if you have nicknacks that fit in a person's hand, pack them up.

DH and I live in a tiny 900 square foot house (1/3 of that is a finished basement we rarely use, so it's more like 600 SF of living area) and we rented and filled an 10X10 storage unit to open up our house.

I have a to-do list from the stager if you'd like me to email it to you. Just wall me your address.

Our house has been listed for a little over a week and we've had 6 people come through. Three called for a showing the day after it was listed. One has already come back for a second showing and our neighbor said she brought the whole family!

I agree with everything everyone has said... I wouldn't look inside furniture that belongs to the owners but I would look in closets, cabinets and the fridge.

One tip my parents realtor gave them was to turn on all the lights in the house for the photos and before each showing to make the house look as light and bright as possible. She did also warn about too many scented candles and things because the scent could bring a negative reaction or memory to mind for buyers if they didn't like it. I think vanilla would be good but I would stay away from anything too floral or anything.

@Cherrybee: lol, no not that bad. But I've only purchased houses with minimal closets so always opening in the hopes that they're actually wider than the single door.

We actually left our wardrobes in the last house we sold so all buyers looked in them. However, wardrobes aren't the norm over here so maybe people would be less likely if the norm were to always move them with you - as is common in many places.