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Selling your home can be extremely emotional. You’re opening up your personal space for the internet to judge and strangers to poke around in the hopes that someone will love it as much as you did. At best its invasive for just a short time. On top of that you have the stress of packing, finding a new home to move to, and somehow still carrying on with day to day life. Getting your home ready for those listing photos is arguably the most important part of the process. Its the first thing people will see of your home, and the deciding factor on whether its a house they want to see in person or not. I kept track of all the critical things I looked for in a new home, and all the things that helped get our home in the best shape for sale.
1. Don’t Deep Clean… Yet
When you’re taking your listing photos you obviously want your home to look its best, but don’t spend all your time and energy scrubbing every square inch of your house just yet. You’ll want to dust, vacuum, and organize each space, but save the deep cleaning for right before your listing hits the market and showings start up. Photos will not show things like dusty baseboards or tiny chips in the paint. Get the house looking its best for photos and then focus on the finer, more tedious cleaning tasks. The only exception to this rule is the bathroom. You want your bathroom to sparkle since its one of the most heavily criticized rooms in a house.
2. Less is More
If you’re still living in your home while its on the market, you’ll want to really minimize your stuff to just what is really necessary. People looking at your listing photos online should objectively be able to look past any clutter and personal belongings and picture themselves in the home, but that’s not always the best assumption to make. Since it all has to be packed eventually, walk through your home before the listing photos are taken and set aside as many things you don’t need as possible. Sell it or pack it away for now. A clean, clutter free space goes a long way in helping potential buyers envision their own belongings in your home. This isn’t to say the rooms should be bare. Showing a little personal style is great, but pare it down a simplified version. Plus, having less clutter makes cleaning up for showings much simpler.
3. Rules of the Room
Your home is your space to do whatever you want. You prefer a game room to a dining room? Amazing. Did you turn a bedroom in to a house plant factory? I love that for you! But when you’re selling your home, its time to follow the rules of the rooms again. I repeat – objectively, potential buyers should be able to see the rooms for what they are intended with or without your help. But that’s not a safe assumption. Make it as easy as possible for buyers to identify a room without effort. If you transformed a room into something very different from the norm, get it as close to that original purpose as possible. If you’re using a bedroom as an office, that’s a valid exception to this rule.
4. Fresh Flowers
Fresh cut flowers are a luxury. They add beauty to any space they’re in – which is why they should be in as many of your rooms as possible. When we were taking listing photos for our house, I went to Trader Joe’s and bought some in season florals. I gathered all the vases I could find and made small arrangements for each bathroom, the dining room, and the primary bedroom. They don’t have to be massive, elaborate bouquets. I used chamomile as a base with a few ranunculus blooms as pops of color. And, if you follow the rules I’ve listed above, the fresh flowers will add some life to otherwise minimalistic spaces.
5.Create Vignettes
The whole point of taking listing photos is to show off all the best parts of your home. You want potential buyers to look at those photos and think, “I really want this house”. One of the best ways to do this is by staging little vignettes, or moments, in the rooms. For example, the room I use for my office is bigger than I need. Instead of leaving 3/4 of the room blank (which does nothing to show the actual size of the room in photos), I styled a little reading nook near the built in book case. Adding the arm chair and side table actually made the space seem bigger, and gave buyers another place to envision themselves. You want them to think, “Oh look! I could sit here with a hot coffee and read my favorite book… how cozy”.
BONUS: 6. Shop your home
When you’re going through these steps to get your home ready for listing photos, spending a ton of money on decor is the last thing you want to do. There’s no return on investment for that kind of expense, so avoid it if you can. Instead, shop your own home! Chances are, you have some extra furniture that can be re-purposed for the listing photos. Shuffle your furniture around different areas to see where it makes the best impact. You’d be surprised how effective it can be in showing potential buyers how amazing your home is! The only money you should be spending is on repairs/necessary updates and cleaning supplies.
Selling your home is a huge investment of your time, energy, and money. Making it appealing to potential new buyers is critical in getting top dollar. I hope these tips help you get ready to take the best listing photos possible and get your home sold fast! Do you know any other pro tips I missed? Share them in the comments!
