Listing photos are the first impression that might help a potential buyer decide to look at your home.
Here are some things you can do to get your home photo ready.
- Thoroughly clean whole house (vacuum carpet, mop hard floors, clean countertops, clean windows)
- Turn all overhead lights and lamps ON
- Replace all burned out light bulbs
- Use bulbs of the same temperature (ALL incandescent or ALL compact fluorescent)
- Turn all ceiling fans OFF
- Turn all TVs OFF
- Turn all computer screens OFF
- Open blinds/window treatments to let in outside light
- Remove personal photographs (or replace with general landscape/object photographs)
- Make all beds
- Remove small floor rugs to reveal actual flooring
- Place all shoes/jackets in closets
FRONT EXTERIOR
- Close garage doors
- Remove cars from driveway and front of home
- Clean up landscaping (mow, trim shrubs, clear leaves)
- Remove visible water hoses
- Remove toys, sports balls, basketball goals, soccer goals, etc.
BACK YARD
- Clean porch, tidy up outdoor tables/chairs/cushions/pillows
- Clear out kid's toys, balls, frisbees, etc.
- Clean pool
- Remove pool vacuum/cleaner hose
- Hide pool cleaning supplies
- Turn on pool fountains/water features
- Remove visible water hoses
- Remove trash cans
- Clear counter-tops of clutter, less is more
- Clear outside of refrigerator of magnets, papers, photos, etc.
- Hide garbage cans in pantry or closet
- Remove dishes from sink, place in dishwasher
- Clear and clean the table
- Use decorative place setting if available
- Feature one center piece such as a bouquet of flowers
- Straighten all chairs and space them evenly
- Remove child seats/booster chairs
- Remove stacks of magazines, papers, mail, etc.
- De-clutter fireplace mantel/hearth
- Clean out interior of fireplace
- Fluff and arrange furniture pillows
- Remove kid's toys
MASTER BEDROOM
- Make bed, including decorative pillows/shams if available
- Clear nightstands of all personal items
- Store away phone/tablet charging cables
- Remove all clutter from top of dressers
- Remove family photos from walls
- Clean under bed, removing items that may show in the photos
KID/GUEST BEDROOM
- Remove personalized names from walls if possible
- Remove wall stickers/posters if possible
- Remove diaper genies
- Clean under bed, removing items that may show in the photos
- Clear countertops completely. No soap, toothbrushes, medications, deodorant, etc.
- Put toilet seats down
- Close closet doors
- Remove shampoo, soap, loofahs, etc. from showers and tubs
- Remove dirty towels - leave out only new, unused towels
- Remove floor mats
- Place food and water bowls in pantry or closet
- Place pet beds/toys in pantry or closet
- Use lint roller on furniture to remove pet hair
- Contain pets in hidden crate or outside or in garage
- Clear back yard of pet waste/toys
NEED HELP?
Staging helps provide top dollar and a quick sale.
Selling your home is like selling a product - it must be marketed correctly to reach a specific buyer. Although your furnishings and decor are great for your lifestyle, it’s important to optimize your home for the future buyer.
A professional home stager can provide you with a consultation to help you prepare your home for sale and make sure your home shows at its best online through the photographs.
Here are a few that we recommend.
https://sarabellahomestaging.com/
https://westcentralhome.com/
WHAT TO EXPECT
The house should be shoot-ready when we arrive.
We want the photos of your home to be the best they can be. This requires teamwork and will result in an outstanding online presence when your home goes LIVE on the market.
Although we would love to help you style/design your home, we unfortunately do not have the skill set required to do so. When we arrive to take photos of your property, we ask that all staging and cleaning be done prior to our arrival. To efficiently maintain our busy schedule and deliver the level of service our clients expect, we can not spend unnecessary time at the home waiting for it to be cleaned, dusted, de-cluttered, etc.
WE DO NOT
- Move or re-arrange furniture
- Make beds, clean, dust or de-clutter
- Pick up toys or yard items
- "Photoshop" vehicles, walls, damaged walls, power lines, wall pictures, cords, etc.
- Touch personal bathroom supplies (shampoo, toothbrushes, deodorant, towels)
