Most of us have seen some cringe-worthy photos on listing on websites such as Property 24. You know that dirty bathtub that ruins the whole bathroom and that grimy oven that still gives you nightmares…
The truth is, it is the photos of the listing that get the buyers and lessees to a viewing and sometimes even sign an offer without even looking at the property in person! So, what can you as a property owner do to facilitate your Estate Agent to take the best possible photos for the listing?
The devil is in the details! Here are a few things you can do to ensure the best photos:
1. Start by making your bed. This sounds simple but is often overlooked and the agent ends up making your bed in the time they could have finished taking beautiful pictures of your home. Best is to put on clean sheets the morning of the photo shoot, that way there is no chance for a sneaky dirt mark or wrinkled sheets.
2. Put the toilet seat down. Yes, we know we sound like any woman nagging ever. But it is particularly important. No one likes to see the inside of a toilet unless they have to. Clean or not. It is also good to wipe off all fittings in the bathroom. A shiny tap always looks nice on photos. Grime does not. Make sure all visible towels are hanged neatly and are clean. Put a new roll of toilet paper on the holder; it just looks better.
3. Hide the Laundry. Wherever you keep your dirty laundry in your house, make sure it is not visible in any photos on the day the agent comes to take the photos. We know it is a part of everyday life, but a dirty t-shirt is not photogenic.
4. Wash your dishes. A Kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a house when it comes to ‘sell-ability’, it often makes or breaks the entire house. You don’t need a fancy kitchen to sell your house, just a clean one.
5. Let the light in. Open all curtains as if it were a nice sunny day in the winter. If you have shade curtains, keep them drawn, but open up the block-out curtains. It is also better if you turn on all the lights in the house; the agent can decide if any of them need to be turned off for a photo, but most of the time they prefer them on.
6. Vacuum/Wash the floors. Yeah, we know it can be a lot of work, but clean floors look neat and promises better photos.
7. Clean the yard. Yes. You need to pick up the dog poop. It is very seldom that the day the gardener comes to clean the yard and the day the agent comes to list your property falls on the same day. We know, it stinks. But so will your listing if you don’t pick it up. It is also better to roll up the hose and put it away and pick up all dog toys and garden tools that may be laying around.
8. Put away the Children’s toys. Not all prospective home buyers understand the struggles of having young children in the house. If at all possible, hide as much of it as you can in cupboards and baskets that close (i.e. not visible on the photos).
9. Don’t invite guests on the same day of the photos being taken. The less people visible on photos, the better. The best is zero people visible. Ask your cleaner/gardener to wait on the driveway or outside while the agent is busy taking photos. Seeing people in the reflection of a window makes for very creepy photos.
10. Throw away the dead stuff. If you have any plants in the house hanging by a thread, it is time to let go. Dead plants do not make for good photos. In fact, if you can get fresh flowers on the day of the photos being taken, even better!
At the end of the day, you can use the following rule of thumb when preparing your home for a listing: Is it clean enough for me to invite my grandparents over?
If you cannot find the time to clean and don’t have a regular cleaning service, there is a great app you can use to hire a last-minute cleaning service called Clean Sweep. It is free to download from any app store and they operate in most areas of the country. They are cheap too and you only pay for the amount of time spent cleaning.
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With Love,
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