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@Mrs. Jump Rope: I'm against scented candles even being present just because of how sensitive I know I am to them (and imagine there are others similar to me)
Even if they're unlit, if they're out in the open they sometimes bother me. For instance, I was at a new restaurant and thought a waitress was wearing horrendous perfume. But after going to the restaurant and passing wall art with unlit candles in it, I realized the smell was coming from there as she walked by.
I'd rather not risk it.
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Oh man just why would you do that?!
Actually, I've heard of cases where it helped the buyers that the owner(s) saw/talked to them. Sometimes I guess you leave a good impression and sellers actually picked them over others even if their offer wasn't the best.
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I've heard you should bake cookies before a showing, like the slice and bake chocolate chip ones...not to leave them out, but because the smell is really welcoming.
I either open windows or run the oil diffuser.
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@MaryM: that's fair! I definitely don't want to give off the impression we are hiding something (because we aren't!) so I always move the candle down to my office space. I'm obsessed with vanilla candles and always work with one lit anyway
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@looch: We actually enjoyed when owners left out cookies and little bottles of water.
We looked at up to 10 houses a day. It could be a long day and snacks were really helpful!
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Don't be home! We viewed 3 houses where the family was there, watching us. It was hard to discuss the house, and it made me feel uncomfortable!
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@MaryM: I like the bottles of water idea, but I would never eat random baked cookies. from people I didn't know! If they were in individual factory sealed packages, sure.
eta: I know I am crazy and extreme, lol.
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Every time these threads come up I get super anxious about how I'm going to clean/de clutter my house well enough to sell it FIVE years from now.
That's all. -
@looch: I don't think we partook of home baked cookies, but we did help ourselves to bakery cookies and bowls of candy that said "Please, help yourself"
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@Silva: ha me too! I have no plans to move for at least ten more years too!
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I'm getting the impression that our area's real estate market has just a different set of norms than elsewhere, probably because it's a screaming hot seller's market here. When we go to open houses, there are always a million people there, and ALWAYS a sign ordering shoes off at the door or to put on shoe covers. It would never occur to me to try to walk through an open house without removing my shoes or putting on shoe covers.
Professional staging is also the norm here, so that's what I'm used to seeing. It's startling to see any personal decor, so I would get rid of anything identifying. But definitely keep your home office as an office, I think most people plan to use one bedroom as an office or rec room in a 4-BR house.
Only other thing that annoys me is if there are big surprises that aren't visible in the online photos. A common one around here is houses that are built right up onto the property line so you're looking right up into someone's living room, or just don't have any back yard at all. Stuff like that should be visible in the photos.
Oh one more thing for me that is annoying about househunting: whyyyy are there so few listings that include a floor plan? I don't like having to try to figure out how a house is laid out. Post a floor plan!
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I agree about decluttering and organizing closets. Our house has one main large closet and the sellers had put up shelving that made it look huge. I don't mind a little personalization, like photos on the fridge being left up. I know people live there and to me it makes the house feel happier.
One other thing is being flexible with showing times as much as possible. We recently tried to see a house and were told that showings were only between 4-6pm during the week. WTF? I didn't love the house enough to take off from work, so we didn't go see it. -
@PawPrints: when clean, *I think* our home looks like a model. I'll probably post some pics after the cleaners come this weekend just to make sure it's open house ready.
@Chuckles: I have a feeling, I'm going to spend an insane amount of time at my mother's house during this process. She won't mind because that means more face time with baby before we move.
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We are in the process of getting our house ready to list and we had a stager come to tell us the most common things people need to do to sell quickly:
No personal photos, drawings on fridge, etc. people want to see themselves in the house, not you.
No pet stuff like was mentioned
Replace front entry rugs
DECLUTTER...it makes the house look bigger and less distracting. We are packing and putting anything we can into a storage unit before listing. We are currently going room by room every night.
Put away diapering stuff, toilet paper or personal items in bathroom and/or nursery
Paint rooms with really dark colours if there's a lot of those in your house -
The only things that really bothered me were when the owner was present or nearby (like waiting outside while we looked), when they left music playing, or when we'd open a closet and find it stuffed to the gills.
Things we really liked were: a floor-plan, copies of recent utility bills, and information about unique aspects of the property. For example, the house we ended up buying is within walking distance of some trails, so they left a map and a brochure about that.
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@mrsrain: I would get in so much trouble if we left our utility bill. We don't turn anything off ever. Literally our TV is kept on all day and all night. When DH is home he leaves the lights on in three rooms just so he doesn't have to walk in the dark if he gets up to work in the MOTN. Thing is sometimes he's so tired he STTN. We did a ton of things to reduce our electric bill for A/C purposes, but man we run it up with other bad habits.
I can definitely do the other things...we still have a copy of the floor plan and a Nature Preserve is very close by, so I'll play up that plus the six places to buy groceries within 7 minutes from us.
@muffinsmuffins: put away toilet paper? Wouldn't that come off kind of gross if TP isn't in the bathroom?
We could provide water bottles for everyone...that's cheap and probably a nice touch!
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@looch: I wouldn't eat the cookies either. I'm all business when house hunting! I did walk into a home that had music lightly playing and notes around the house pointing out different features and key points. It was a historic home, so there were some quirks. It was nice!
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: ha oops I should clarify: if you have any personal items or toilet paper out on shelving or say on the back of the toilet or beside, put them away. Definitely keep your regular roll out on the dispenser!
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I think the #1 thing is just declutter and then when you think you are done, take away about 30% more on top of that. The closets should be super neat and organized - I like to do color order for hanging clothes. And each rack should not be stuffed to the gills, because then people think you don't have enough storage. No bottles or razors or things in the showers. No personal pictures. And if you can put it in storage somewhere else, even better.
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Speaking of the bathroom, get new towels to have out just for showings. Don't have older, worn, less fluffy towels out.
I think it's a great place to spend a little money, because then after you move, you can use the nice towels. It's not wasted money.
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If any member of the family (including pets) were in the house during a showing, clutter and overstuffed closets, too many personal items in common areas. Makes me feel like I'm intruding! I don't mind a list of things that aren't included in the sale because if you liked it you can take a picture and buy the same thing!
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1. Cat piss
2. Owners sitting on the couch -
Empty the rubbish bins and take away the dirty laundry!
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Basically it should look and feel like no one actually lives there. I want to envision my family and my stuff in the house. Take out as much furniture as possible, leave very little out on the kitchen counter, make all cabinets, closets, and storage areas as organized and spacious looking as possible.
No personal photos or effects.
Clean, new towels in the bathrooms, neatly made beds, SPARKLING clean bathrooms, especially tile/grout. If you have to recaulk something, do it. A spritz of Febreeze through the hallways should be plenty to prep the home.
Just run this type of plastic runner through any high-traffic carpeted areas of your house if you're worried about shoes and dirt (but don't leave this stuff on the carpet for weeks at a time - the adhesive will come off on the carpet). If you have hard flooring, an entry mat should be plenty.
If you can dump some stuff into storage or at your mom's house to get it out of the house, then do it. Remove as much furniture as possible.
Empty out your garage as much as possible.
You can let your realtor know that you are open to including the TV in the sale of the home. I would not disclose the water damage since you've completely repaired it.
Remove anything that you will want to take with you (i.e. the chandelier).
Don't post those stupid photos where they try to stretch the picture out so the rooms look bigger than it is. Its a total turn off.
Have the landscaping in tip-top shape.
If you want to be welcoming, those tiny bottles of water and a basket of packaged snacks, like fun size candy bars or chewy granola bars (no crumbs) are fine. I usually took a water and DH usually grabbed a granola bar.
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@Kemma: yes! We have been been living out of our cars the last few weeks! Every time we have a showing I pack the cars up with all our laundry
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I also put all remaining toys in a storage bin and whenever it's time to go, I just have to grab it and throw it in my trunk. Super easy! We have had as many as three showings a day & have been very flexible with showing times, so I imagine you'll be spending lots of time at your moms!
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I heard it is good not to have personal photos because people don't want to associate their possible new home with others.
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Ok ladies here are some pics of our current home. I am going to rearrange the guest room later and will post that later. But, for now pick these apart- I want a quick sale! >the realtor will make sure none of the shots are misleading, I'm just an amateur photog<
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Other than taking down the photos in the bedroom, I think it all looks amazing!! Great job
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I would turn off the TV and then take the picture
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My only suggestion would be retake the shot in the living room without the TV on and get rid of stuff on the counter in the kitchen and shoot the kitchen from a 2nd angle too. Can you move the pool cover out of the shot in the breakfast nook? TREND only lets realtors post 25 pics but other sites (zillow, etc) you can post as many as you want
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Like others said, turn off the TV, clear your counters, and remove the pictures from the bedroom. I would also add in to smooth out the top back of your couch, it looks like it's wet (just my preference). I also think that the dining room picture is kind of dark, but that might be with the angle of the sun. You have a lovely home!
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I would pack up about half the throw pillows and any afghans so the space looks more open. And probably half the stuff on flat surfaces too (photos, the thing in the middle of the round table, anything on the counters).
You seem to have a lot of rugs that define spaces, would you consider taking them up for the time being? It might make the space look bigger and more open in concept to not have areas defined by rugs.
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my professional opinion:
-DECLUTTER! that includes taking small appliances off your counters, and putting away the majority of family photos (a few in nice frames is fine.)
-Clean. No visible dirt, and no disorganized toys. Put away as much as you can, obviously you can have kids stuff in a kids room, but you don't want to look like you're busting out of the house.
-Closets- make them organized. Color order is a nice touch. It makes them look bigger (huge plus) and sets your home apart.
-Make all the beds tightly with straight pillows (and you can also karate chop them
-Lights on, shades open
-Consider moving your furniture around, if it's not organized in the most logical way (ex: it might be a layout that works for your family to eat in the eat-in kitchen and use the dining/living as only a living room, but the house should show that there's a dining area.) -
I love your home!
Is there some other angle you can the photo from in the master?
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Looks great! Since your counters are shiny and dark, I would maybe try to find one thing to leave on the counters to "stage" it and make it feel homey. A basket of lemons or a small vase of flowers. Give that counter some texture and break it up. Put the paper towel holder in a cabinet.
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Full disclosure I took these photos to send to the GA realtor so she could get a sense of our aesthetic and what we are looking for. By the time our local realtor takes photos I will have a) everything perfect and b) the shots will be useful for a potential homebuyer. Thanks for the feedback, I'm taking notes on all the comments.
@avivoca: that is a constant battle- DH has destroyed our couch by using the back cushions as throw pillows @MaryM: the round tray on the table holds my cookbooks, since it doesn't look good there maybe I can put it on the kitchen counter to add some color like @T.H.O.U.: suggested. The tray is made out of recycled magazines and colorful up close. @Chillybear: that pool cover needs to be tossed out once and for all, I will have to wait until there's another strong man or woman available to help DH take it to the curb.
What will hopefully happen is that we can take some great photos of our house furnished, but move to GA before showing the house (empty). There's now way I can keep my house looking like this on a regular basis. Besides with a newborn I'd rather not have germs people in and out of the house.
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: you are going to have a quick sale. Will your realtor hire a photographer? If so, leave your stuff as is, because they will move anything they don't like (like small appliances) before taking the photo. It all looks great!
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: pS I don't think the things on the table look like clutter. It all looks professionally staged. And you don't want the rooms to be so cold and bare that someone can't imagining this as a "home".
I agree with taking up any throw rugs you may have around the house (like in the kitchen or hallways) so that you can show off the pretty floors.
Just personal thought, I wouldn't be afraid to set out a big pop of color somewhere. Like red flowers on the table or yellow lemons on the counter. Something that is bright and memorable (while still blending in). This isn't professional advice hair things that stand out to me when house hunting.
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I loved it when we were interested in a home and the owners left a nice sheet with the age of the roof, HVAC, etc., along with any upgrades done It was one of the things we did when we sold our house.
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