Selling your home comes with many challenges, not the least of which is preparing it to look appealing to potential buyers. That’s where we come in! We love helping people showcase their home in the best light possible, but there are some steps that need to be taken in order to help us do our best.
Yes, we will help move things out of the way, and hide things in the closets, cupboards, and even the oven (yes, you read that right), but if we get to a house and those things are already done, then we get to put all of our efforts and energy into capturing the beautiful space you’ve prepared for us! And trust us, we’re good at what we do no matter the situation, BUT if we can purely focus on our craft, it helps us be even better!
So, here’s a breakdown of things you can do to help make your home listing photo ready before our photographer arrives. Keep in mind, moving the following items means putting them in storage, your car, a closet, or garage – NOT moving them from room to room. This will allow the process to go smoothly and our photographers can focus on what they do best!
(Each item is explained in more detail below the infographic)
__________________________________________________________________________________
Inside Your Home
We keep things on the counter and sink for daily use, so sometimes it can be hard to even realize they are there, but if you remove absolutely everything, then nothing will get missed!
All magnets, notes, calendars, and child safety locks should be removed and hidden away. This helps remove any distractions from your beautiful kitchen.
Similar to the kitchen, we want to remove all evidence that someone lives in this home. Potential buyers want to be able to envision themselves living there, not see how you do. All soaps, lotions, razors, jewelry, toiletries, and tissue boxes should be removed and hidden. Trash cans and toilet cleaning supplies should also be hidden, nobody wants to see those things!
If you have all of the lights turned on throughout the house, including lamps, then that is even more time for us to be able to focus on capturing your home in its best light! And if you find some burned out lightbulbs, replace them so those pesky things don’t hog the spotlight! (excuse the pun).
While you’re turning on all those lights, make sure you turn those fans OFF! Our photographers capture such beautiful images with multiple exposures, so any movement WILL show, and that’s – you guessed it – distracting. TV’s and computer screens are also distracting if they’re left on, so for these items, OFF is BEST.
You know how you feel like it’s super closed-in, dark, and uninviting when your windows are closed? Yeah, so does everyone else. So open those curtains and blinds! We want curtains open symmetrically to either side of the window, and blinds down but slats open, or if your windows are a treat to look at – or an even better view outside - open them all the way up!
We know, it’s a pain and a lengthy process sometimes, but here’s where you can start: Knickknacks and unnecessary furniture. Clear off those shelves, hide your family photos of your extended family dating back to the 1900’s, put that extra rocking chair in storage. The less of your stuff you have, the better it will look to potential buyers (sensing a theme yet?). A word of caution here – if you de-clutter and move stuff under the bed or in a closet, make sure it’s WELL under the bed (and not visible), and not in a big walk-in closet that could be a selling point of your home.
Most bathrooms look smaller and (you guessed it) more cluttered with bathroom mats, plus if they’re not brand new and decorative, they tend to look worn and distract from the rest of the space.
Of course, beds should be made and blankets folded/rolled and put away. But what about those bathroom towels? Fresh, white or lightly colored towels hung neatly are acceptable. Anything else should be removed and hidden, including hand towels. We know you don’t live like that, but again, we want to show off the potential and not distract from it.
You might have an amazing drop zone in your home, but having it cluttered with your shoes and jackets doesn’t help us showcase it! Put everything away in a closet where it won’t show, and let us help you display your amazing shoe and coat storage in all its glory!
You might think this belongs with the “de-clutter” category, but these areas get their own write up. Everyone uses night stands and dressers to keep their every day, essential items. BUT, clearing them and staging them nicely will be more appealing to potential buyers.
We know you love your pets, we love ours too, but not everyone loves pets or can have them, so all evidence of them must go! Dog beds, toys, water and food bowls, cat towers, and kennels need to be removed. The garage is a great place to store these things for the photo shoot!
__________________________________________________________________________________
Outside Your Home
You know the term “curb appeal”? Well, we want to show that off in our pictures – so mow that lawn (please don’t start mowing after we get there, yes it had to be said), rake those leaves, sweep off the walkway and porch, trim the hedges…you get the idea. It’s not just the front lawn either, do the same for the backyard, it deserves to look its best, too!
Put out the cushions like you would for a BBQ, uncover the grill, pool, and TV, open the patio umbrella. Get rid of tattered and torn items, things that have been left and forgotten need to be resurrected and removed, and the patio needs to be swept and cleared.
Any cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trailers, and campers need to be removed from the driveway or side slab. They can be hidden in the garage, or moved to the street (NOT in front of your house, but rather in front of the neighbor’s house down the street).
Move those garbage cans into the garage, and try not to fill them so full that they can’t be moved! If there is a pile of trash in front of, or beside your house, then there will be a pile of trash in the pictures. We don’t know about you, but we think trash was SO last century!