Estate agents photos - any experience?

[Bellasmummy]

We’re getting ready to put our house on the market and have been looking at houses online for a while now.

I’ve noticed that most of the houses I look at are incredibly free of any clutter and it’s got me wondering about the estate agent coming to take photos.

Do they instruct you to move/rearrange things? Or do most people just make sure that their house is photo ready?

I’ve bought some storage bags and boxes so will definitely clear some of the toys from dds room and playroom to make them more presentable but just how far do you go?

Strangely I see an awful lot of pictures of kitchens with not a single thing on the worktops, where have their kettles and toasters gone 🤷

Any experiences you can share? Top tips would be gratefully received 🥰

[Guest]

We put our house on the market two weeks ago and have an offer (yay) and we weren’t told what to do by the estate agents,we just went by what we like to see when looking at houses .
Clutter puts me off and makes the space look smaller and messier .
We hid any surplus kitchen gadgets and just left the kettle/coffee machine /toaster .
We took down all personal photos so people could try and envision themselves in the house instead of us everywhere.
DD’s toys /stuffed toys were whittled down and put away and we put away all shampoo bottles etc in the bathrooms so they are completely clear .
We did put some stuff back after the photos but not much .

[parisdisneyfan]

Our agent last year just tweaked blinds and curtains but I had decluttered and tidied everywhere. I had seen the opposite of tidy houses when we had been searching and was determined my house was going to look better - I even ironed the bedding😉 in fact we bought spare cheap duvets so that I had an ironed set ready to put on for viewings and stuffed the current set in the car when we left😂. We left kettle etc out, just made sure no crumbs etc! One thing I will warn is really really check the blurb they give your house. Our buyer threatened to sue them/us because of the way they had worded a bit. He was a nightmare and we had to knock some money off (long horrible story! ) but make sure nothing can be misinterpreted- if in doubt then leave it out! Good luck

[lizzie145]

It's a balance of showing space but also that lives in feeling. Clean and tidy ( flush the loo, you will be surprised how many dont) without too much clutter.

They often put lights on if it's a dark day but the photos often show a room is bigger than it is.

[parisdisneyfan]

Originally Posted by lizzie145

It's a balance of showing space but also that lives in feeling. Clean and tidy ( flush the loo, you will be surprised how many dont) without too much clutter.

They often put lights on if it's a dark day but the photos often show a room is bigger than it is.

See more...

Yep forgot the lights! They use a wide angle lens which is why rooms look bigger😉

[Floridarules]

They just come and take photos, it’s up to you to decide what you want others to see on the photos.
My advice, put as much stuff away in cupboards as possible, keep it there too for when you are showing people round.😀
Clutter really is off putting

[duchy]

We had photos done on Monday by the estate agent for MILs flat. I cleared clutter off the worktops but left her great grandkids pictures they’d given her on the fridge door at an attempt at spacious as possible but still personal touches .
Clutter really puts me off in estate agent listings.

[Twin mummy]

Yes we decluttered but left things like the kettle and toaster in the kitchen. Didn’t take personal photos down. We actually didn’t like the agents photos of a couple of rooms and took our own which they used.

[shirley]

I love house selling/buying programes, and clutter always put me off, esp if its cramped bedrooms. Luckily for me, our current house was totally clear of everything, so was ideal for viewing xx

[Bellasmummy]

Thanks all.

We’ve been in our house over 15 years and it’s our first so this is all new to us. Luckily we don’t really have much clutter as I like a minimalist look, I was just surprised that nearly all the photos I look at are so clear.

I wondered how they make the rooms look so big in photos, try as I might I can’t take a good photo of a room like them - now I know why!

Can’t say I’m looking forward to dealing with viewings, hopefully it’ll sell quickly 🤞