to sellers . . . .

[gardenmom5]

when taking pictures of your house to list it for sale and *interest* potential buyers (as opposed to making them run for the hills and never actually looking at the house in person), it looks better when you:

 

put toilet seats down

clean the mirrors so every single splotch (bigger than a speck) does not show up making them wonder how often you clean

put away the 'fridge magnets

put away everything you stack on top of the fridge or microwave (and counter top!)

do something about the large plants that make it look like a jungle

do not put living room and bedroom furniture (including clashing electric fireplace) in the same room so it feels like a *very* crowded studio apartment - even though it's a house and there are lots of empty rooms

 

I've looked at lots of house ads, but this is the first that has prompted me to make a public service announcement.

 

[hjffkj]

Hmm none of that would stop me from looking at a house in person that met my needs. Clear damage to the house would but nothing having to do with issues on how the sellerlives

[kitten18]

when taking pictures of your house to list it for sale and *interest* potential buyers (as opposed to making them run for the hills and never actually looking at the house in person), it looks better when you:

 

put toilet seats down

clean the mirrors so every single splotch (bigger than a speck) does not show up making them wonder how often you clean

put away the 'fridge magnets

put away everything you stack on top of the fridge or microwave (and counter top!)

do something about the large plants that make it look like a jungle

do not put living room and bedroom furniture (including clashing electric fireplace) in the same room so it feels like a *very* crowded studio apartment - even though it's a house and there are lots of empty rooms

 

I've looked at lots of house ads, but this is the first that has prompted me to make a public service announcement.

I agree with you. The vast majority of people cannot see past all that STUFF.

You're trying to give an overall impression, you don't want that impression to be messy.

[zoobie]

Imagine how it's going to look in person! We looked for nearly 2 years and saw so much crazy... 

[Seasider]

Hang up your clothes and make your beds, too.

 

House marketing photos like this, to me, are the real estate equivalent of those "dumb criminal" stories.

[elegantlion]

Close the toilet lid, this one is my pet peeve. Really, I don't want to see inside the commode online. 

[gardenmom5]

Hmm none of that would stop me from looking at a house in person that met my needs. Clear damage to the house would but nothing having to do with issues on how the sellerlives

 

the thing about having so much clutter, or poor housekeeping obviously showing up in PHOTOS for a house that is for sale, is you wonder about what you *can't* see?  is there rot behind the walls?  in the floor?  black mold?  do you have to replace the carpets because there's junk in it that won't come out because they didn't clean anything?  (or did the carpet under the plant rot?  we had a rental like that.)

 

we won't even get to the "cat" house dd looked at.  I had to leave it was so bad.  dd was interested (she wanted to be done with the process), but then kept thinking about the fact her bff is highly allergic to cats and wouldn't be able to come over.

 

the house dd did buy showed very well (they'd painted everything neutral and put in new carpet) - but there was still a garbage can under the kitchen sink.  the inspector didn't look behind that (and neither did we).  there was an open plug for the garbage disposal underneath. the. sink.  it was one of the things she had fixed before moving in.

[RebeccaS]

I would also add to not bother putting up blurry pictures.  Our good friends recently listed their house with an agent.  Some of the photos he posted are really blurry.  They have a lovely house, but it's hard to tell from the pictures.  :P

[elegantlion]

I do think it's a good idea for sellers to take some of their own photos and really look at them BEFORE listing to see how your house appears. It's hard to see minor clutter when you know that you use that stuff everyday. There is a different look you want when you go to sell. Compare your house photos to those on Pinterest or magazine sites. Not that you have to redecorate, but getting rid of one piece of boxing up some knick-knacks can make a real difference. 

[hjffkj]

the thing about having so much clutter, or poor housekeeping obviously showing up in PHOTOS for a house that is for sale, is you wonder about what you *can't* see?  is there rot behind the walls?  in the floor?  black mold?  do you have to replace the carpets because there's junk in it that won't come out because they didn't clean anything?  (or did the carpet under the plant rot?  we had a rental like that.)

 

we won't even get to the "cat" house dd looked at.  I had to leave it was so bad.  dd was interested (she wanted to be done with the process), but then kept thinking about the fact her bff is highly allergic to cats and wouldn't be able to come over.

 

the house dd did buy showed very well (they'd painted everything neutral and put in new carpet) - but there was still a garbage can under the kitchen sink.  the inspector didn't look behind that (and neither did we).  there was an open plug for the garbage disposal underneath. the. sink.  it was one of the things she had fixed before moving in.

 

 

See clutter would never make me think that there is any issues that I can't see.  Extremely poor housekeeping would; a sink filled with dirty dishes, stove crusted over with food drippings,  extremely dirty toilets, etc.  I would never post pictures like that but I wouldn't dismiss a house that had pictures like that.  Blurry pictures would bother me more than seeing clutter.  Now I know if I'm going to a look at a house in person I'd prefer for the clutter to be cleaned up so I can inspect it properly and get a feel for it better.  It being cluttered while looking at the house in person would certainly affect my decision on buying the house

[DawnM]

If the price is right, I will still go look.  

 

Dawn

[Jeannie in NJ]

when I was looking at houses I actually would not go look at houses that had kitchens with open food  containers on the counters , dirty dishes on counters , just lots of junk (not decorations but junk) all over the kitchen .  Also clothes all over the floors of the bedrooms.  And don't get me started on the pix that have people sleeping on the sofa, etc

 

I did not like looking at cluttered houses.  It was hard for me to see past the clutter.  I much preferred looking at empty houses.  I could visualize my furniture, etc being in an empty house but not in a cluttered one.

 

also I would not look at houses that did not have at least one pix of the kitchen.  And houses that have NO pix of the inside but several of only the outside.  I wanted to see the inside of the house before I would take my time to schedule a showing.  I did however, want some pix of the outside, to make sure that I would like the yard, as I wanted trees for sure.  I would weed out a lot of houses based on pix or lack of pix. 

[blondeviolin]

We have our house on the market so I've been looking at comparable houses and comparing somewhat. Sometimes I wonder how/why the listing agent even put bad pictures up!

[gardenmom5]

that's inexcusable from an agent.  the agent is being PAID (or will be when/if the house sells) for their professional services.   blurry photographs screams amateur.

 

I would also add to not bother putting up blurry pictures.  Our good friends recently listed their house with an agent.  Some of the photos he posted are really blurry.  They have a lovely house, but it's hard to tell from the pictures.   :p

 

[gardenmom5]

and turn that formal dining room back into a dining room.  (we've friends who used theirs as a tv room.  after staging their house in a more conventional manner - it sold very quickly after having just sat.)  etc.

I do think it's a good idea for sellers to take some of their own photos and really look at them BEFORE listing to see how your house appears. It's hard to see minor clutter when you know that you use that stuff everyday. There is a different look you want when you go to sell. Compare your house photos to those on Pinterest or magazine sites. Not that you have to redecorate, but getting rid of one piece of boxing up some knick-knacks can make a real difference. 

 

[Sun]

See clutter would never make me think that there is any issues that I can't see.  Extremely poor housekeeping would; a sink filled with dirty dishes, stove crusted over with food drippings,  extremely dirty toilets, etc.  I would never post pictures like that but I wouldn't dismiss a house that had pictures like that.  Blurry pictures would bother me more than seeing clutter.  Now I know if I'm going to a look at a house in person I'd prefer for the clutter to be cleaned up so I can inspect it properly and get a feel for it better.  It being cluttered while looking at the house in person would certainly affect my decision on buying the house

 

If someone can't be bothered to clean up the clutter before listing pictures are taken of their house, then I would worry that they also couldn't be bothered to do needed maintenance while they lived there. I might still look at the house, but I'd be primed to be suspicious of their level of care for the house.

[kitten18]

If someone can't be bothered to clean up the clutter before listing pictures are taken of their house, then I would worry that they also couldn't be bothered to do needed maintenance while they lived there. I might still look at the house, but I'd be primed to be suspicious of their level of care for the house.

Yes. A very clean house give the impression that it has been well maintained.

[JuanitaL]

We have our house on the market so I've been looking at comparable houses and comparing somewhat. Sometimes I wonder how/why the listing agent even put bad pictures up!

 

This is where I am also. Looking at other people's bad pictures has had me decluttering and painting like crazy. On the one hand I'm thinking  - this looks great! why didn't I do this before? On the other hand I'm reminding myself - oh yeah, it's because of life and family and doing other things than crawling around on my knees painting and caulking all of the trim in the house.

 

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree with OP.  I have moved many times, as a child and as an adult.  When marketing your house, go look at other comparable houses on the market first.  Take someone else that you trust through a tour of your house, too.  Ask them to be brutally honest.  What you may find perfectly comfortable and normal may look ghastly to many potential buyers.  Your own comfort zone is not nearly as important as the potential buyer's.  Declutter, clear out, clean up, repair, etc.  And I agree, if you have a ton of furniture all stacked on top of each other, and lots of toys, etc. you might want to rent a storage unit temporarily or get a POD to start packing up and moving things out before showing the home.  When a house first goes on the market is usually when the bulk of the interest will occur.  If your house shows poorly when it is first put on the market you may lose many potential buyers and it could extend how long your house is on the market.  Some potential buyers only give a house a minute or two before they start making up their minds.  And if your house doesn't show well in on-line photographs you may lose MANY potential buyers because they don't even try to come look.

 

And a great surface look may get them in and even get you an offer but if there are a ton of hidden repairs that you have not addressed don't hide them and hope noone notices.  That can end up being a deal killer after the buyer gets an inspection.  We actually ended up paying for our own house inspection before we put the house on the market and tackled as many littler things, and a couple of bigger things as possible so the house would show better, so the buyer's home inspection wouldn't give them fodder for a huge reduction in price (or cancellation of the contract) and so we would also hopefully know if there was some much larger issue we were unaware of that could potentially damage the sale and our home (like a slow pipe leak we didn't know was there).  It also gave us a better idea of what our house might truly be worth in that market and we were very honest in our disclosure and offered the results of our own inspection.  It helped us sell the house extremely quickly because the buyer felt that we had made a good faith effort to keep our house in good repair and were being very honest with what they would still need to tackle after purchase.  Our house was a much older home but the buyer was not fearful that there were some horrible hidden issues that were waiting in the wings.

[BlsdMama]

We are in the process of closing on a house that is empty and has been empty for a while.  Things like the fridge not being clean, floors not being swept, the shower not being clean are a turn off.  We looked past it but I have to tell you, my DH wants to replace all the toilets before we move in.  It gives him the heebie jeebies something fierce.

[OneStepAtATime]

We are in the process of closing on a house that is empty and has been empty for a while.  Things like the fridge not being clean, floors not being swept, the shower not being clean are a turn off.  We looked past it but I have to tell you, my DH wants to replace all the toilets before we move in.  It gives him the heebie jeebies something fierce.

BlsdMama, I must have missed that you had actually made a final offer and it was accepted.  YEAH!!!  So excited that you are in the final stages of getting a home!

[gardenmom5]

 We actually ended up paying for our own house inspection before we put the house on the market and tackled as many littler things, and a couple of bigger things as possible so the house would show better, so the buyer's home inspection wouldn't give them fodder for a huge reduction in price (or cancellation of the contract) and so we would also hopefully know if there was some much larger issue we were unaware of that could potentially damage the sale and our home (like a slow pipe leak we didn't know was there).

 

 

dd's seller also had their own inspection -and a contractors list of costs for estimated repairs the seller didn't do.  (coincidently - we knew  the contractor's so.)  most of them were not pressing items. 

 

if the lender knows about items needing to be repaired that are discovered by an inspector, they will require them to be repaired before they make a loan.

 

we've a friend who is a big diyer. he does such nice worked, I've teased him if he ever gets tired of what he does, he could be a finish carpenter. (as he says -people won't pay his rates for a carpenter.  ;p)  he bought a foreclosure (their third fixer upper) that was the subject of a fight between the bank and the irs.  (the bank won.)  he had a very long and detailed list of everything that needed to be fixed.  he was able to prioritize, and had no concerns of any hidden nightmares to fix. (they've now been there 20 years)  coincidently - I was in that house a few times before they purchased it - so I can really appreciate how much he has done.

 

[gardenmom5]

it wasn't until dd was doing a partial remodel (the tub/shower & hall bath shower since they share a wall) on her master bath that it was noticed there was not one, but three cracks in the master toilet.  none of them were leaking so it was missed.  so, she got a new one.

 

We are in the process of closing on a house that is empty and has been empty for a while.  Things like the fridge not being clean, floors not being swept, the shower not being clean are a turn off.  We looked past it but I have to tell you, my DH wants to replace all the toilets before we move in.  It gives him the heebie jeebies something fierce.

 

[Slache]

I came home early to find our realtor was showing our house without checking with us if she knew we wouldn't be home. I found out that's more common than you think. She said it was the first time and that it was a mistake. We fired her because we had reason to believe it wasn't true.

[lavender's green]

I can't stand pictures with open toilet seats.  Yuck.

 

I have one to add, though.  Make sure the pictures of the outside of the house give the right impression.  I kept passing over this house, which we bought a year and a half ago, because a couple of trees in the front obscured the entire second floor.  The house is traditional and rather stately from the front, but in its pictures it appeared to be a very tiny bungalow!  I couldn't figure out how it had the number of rooms that it did.  I thought they must be cramped, miserable spaces.  I'll have to remember to take a picture in the winter, or from an odd angle, when/if we decide to sell.

[Seasider]

I came home early to find our realtor was showing our house without checking with us if she knew we wouldn't be home. I found out that's more common than you think. She said it was the first time and that it was a mistake. We fired her because we had reason to believe it wasn't true.

Your conditions for showing are part of your listing agreement, aren't they? I suppose that can vary by state, but if so, she was in breech of contract. I actually fired a realtor for the same thing about 15 years ago. The contract in hand (from a personal friend of hers) had fallen through and she started showing the house again while we were out of town for a week. She did not advise us of any of this, we came home to find a door unlocked and half a dozen new realtor business cards on the kitchen table. The house was a disaster because I finally started the packing process after keeping it spotless for showing for weeks.

[*Alyssa*]

I won't look at a house that look tacky from the photos, because it screams to me that the home was not properly cared for and I'll have my hands full for several years to come making repairs.  Whether or not that statement is true or not, the tacky pictures are enough for me to assume it is true and I'll pass on wasting my time to view it.

With that being said, the home I currently live in had beautiful pictures and the previous homeowners kept it clean.  However, it has been an utter nightmare all the repairs we have encountered since moving in.  These repairs are not minor, but most couldn't be seen on your average home inspection.  If I ever buy a house again (as opposed to building my own), I will not only hire a home inspector, but various engineers to inspect the home much more thoroughly.  The cost for those inspections far outweigh the pain of all the repairs we've had to make since moving here.  This matters much more to me than tacky pictures.

 

 

but there was still a garbage can under the kitchen sink.  the inspector didn't look behind that (and neither did we).  there was an open plug for the garbage disposal underneath. the. sink.  it was one of the things she had fixed before moving in.

 

As long as the outlet is on its own circuit breaker (as it should be) and has a GFCI outlet, it's perfectly fine.  I prefer this over hard wiring a garbage disposal, because the GCFI outlet provides more protection.