Getting your property ready for your photoshoot!
Here are some tips to help your property look it’s BEST and get our photographer done on time and have your property look its best for showings.
The little things can make a big difference!
Disassociate From Your House
Letting go of your home can be difficult. You’ve lived there, possibly for years, and the house holds many memories. To detach from it emotionally, you must realize that without you in it, the house is just a shell to be filled by other occupants. Look to the future, where you can make new memories in your next home.
Depersonalize Your House
Important: The goal is to make it easy for a potential buyer to see the house as their future home.
Pack up your personal photographs, family heirlooms, and other objects and clutter that might distract potential buyers and hurt a possible sale. You want to present buyers with an impersonal, clean environment so they can imagine the home perhaps decorated with their own photographs, furniture, and art objects. Depersonalizing your home makes it easier for potential buyers to visualize how the home might look filled with their own items.
Regarding furniture, only leave understated pieces that are not a distraction and don’t create an unintended impression. For example, it would be difficult for a buyer to visualize their own antique furnishings in place of the existing zebra couch, bright yellow chair, and bear rug.
Organizing Bedroom Closets and Storage Cabinets
Buyers will be curious about storage space and will want to check closets and cabinets. It’s important to ensure these are organized, as it sends a negative message if your storage spaces are cluttered with items falling out.
When a buyer sees everything organized down to the last detail, it shows that you take care of your possessions and likely took good care of the house. In kitchen cabinets, alphabetize spice jars, neatly stack dishes, and turn the coffee cup handles so they’re facing the same way. In closets, shirts should be buttoned and hung together, and shoes should be lined up neatly.
Depersonalize Your House
Tip: Throw open the curtains and blinds and turn on those lights. Houses show better when each room is clean and bright.
In some seller’s markets, you can sell a home in lived-in condition without much complaint. But in normal markets or a buyer’s market, repairs can make or break a sale.
Replace cracked floor or counter tiles and patch any holes in the walls. Fix leaky faucets and doors that don’t close properly, as well as kitchen drawers that jam. Consider painting walls neutral colors, especially if they’re currently hot pink or purple. Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the one with the orange bathroom.”
Replace burned-out light bulbs and also consider replacing those that have been in service for a while. Avoid the potential of having a bulb blow out when you flip the light switch during a showing. It’s a small incident that can easily be avoided if you are mindful. You want the buyer’s experience to be as positive as possible.
Make the House Sparkle
Tip: Kitchens are a big selling point for many buyers, so make yours as spotless and uncluttered as possible. In the event someone opens your refrigerator, make sure it appears clean and orderly.
Preparing your home to be viewed by potential buyers may require hiring a professional cleaning crew. Cleaning may include washing the windows inside and out; renting a pressure washer and spraying down sidewalks and the exterior; recaulking tubs, showers, and sinks; and polishing chrome faucets and mirrors. Make sure all of the dust is removed from under the furniture, in the cabinets and closets, and everywhere else it could be hiding.
Try to maintain this cleanliness by vacuuming daily, waxing floors, dusting furniture, and keeping the bathrooms and kitchen spotless. Hang up fresh guest towels. Also, keep the toilet lid closed when it’s not in use.
Scrutinize Curb Appeal
A potential sale is lost quickly if a buyer won’t even get out of their agent’s car because the exterior of your home turns them off. Make the exterior more appealing and welcoming by painting your front door and, perhaps, adding a wreath of dried wildflowers, or placing one or two flower pots on your front porch. Hire a landscaper to clean up your lawn and add a few shrubs or flowering plants. Consider hiring a contractor to fix any cracks on your front steps or walkway. Also, make sure visitors can clearly see your house number.
Here is a simple to follow TO-DO list
Outdoors:
- Spruce up your garden and lawn; trim shrubbery, consider planting flowers.
- Yard and patio should be neat; outdoor furniture should be in good shape.
- Mow the lawn; make sure the driveway & entryway are free of clutter (toys, bikes, trash cans etc.)
- Remove pool cleaning hoses along with pool toys from and around the pool.
Living Areas and Bedrooms:
- Remove clutter and tidy up shelves and table tops.
- Move excess furniture out of rooms. You want the space clean, open, and clutter-free (dog crates, tray tables, remote controls, etc…)
- Replace burnt out light bulbs; great photography requires proper lighting.
- Vacuum, clean the windows and surfaces.
Kitchen:
- Clean off kitchen counters; remove any clutter.
- Make sure dirty/clean dishes are out of the sink & put away.
- Remove Garbage cans.
Bathrooms:
- Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored away.
- Close the toilet lid and remove garbage cans.
- Clean mirrors & glass surfaces, smears and spots on mirrors will show up big time.
- Hang nice towels neatly from the towel bar.
Overall/General:
- Clean floors and surfaces look best in photos.
- Blinds set at a 45 degree downward angle
- Check the basics around the property to make sure it is clutter-free and picture ready.
- Turn on all lights when the photographer arrives.
- Try not to be in the room the photographer is photographing as you may end up in the photo.
- Keep pets out of the area that the photographer is working.
Please make sure property is photo ready by the time the photographer arrives
Due to Liabilities The Photographer Cannot:
- Move Furniture
- Clean or dust
- Move blinds or curtains