Preparing Your Home for Listing Photographs
When selling, your listing photos can make or break a buyer’s first impression of your home so it’s crucial to get it right! Real estate photos of a tidy and organized home can absolutely affect your bottom line. Let’s take a look at the simple things you can do to get your home ready for the real estate photography!
Curb Appeal
Let There Be light
The curb appeal of a home is just as important as what’s inside. People form their impression of a home as they walk up to the front door. Mow the lawn, tidy up garden areas, sweep the porch and make sure any burnt out lights are replaced.
Small things can make a big impact: some flowers at the doorway, replacing a worn out doormat and sweeping away any cobwebs allow the buyer to focus on the great aspects of your home and not focus on the little things.
Paying attention to these small details has a positive impact on a buyer. Subconsciously, people may draw a connection that if minor items are overlooked, that must mean that bigger items are also ignored. So nip that negativity in the bud and create some good curb appeal!
On the day of the photography or videography, make sure to open up those blinds and curtains! Ensure that all the lights are on, including any furniture and appliance lighting, such as above the stove or built in cabinetry lights. Let the photographer worry about adjusting any of the lighting, just ensure everything is on.
Less is More with Decor
When deciding how to decorate your home, a good rule of thumb is to imagine your home as a tastefully decorated hotel. You want it to be inviting and stylish so that it visually appeals to a wide variety of tastes. When in doubt, remember that less is more and you can take this opportunity to get a head start on packing away some additional items that make your home uniquely yours.
Eliminate Clutter
Probably the biggest impact on real estate photography is getting rid of any clutter! Paperwork on the dining table, magazines stacked on the coffee table, appliances on the kitchen counter and your daily set of lotions and creams in the bathroom all create visual distraction.
Tuck appliances into cupboards, store the random bills and paperwork into a drawer and place any random items in the closets or cupboards. Having a basket on top of your fridge is a great way to tuck you day to day papers and miscellaneous items away. Just make sure the basket isn’t overflowing!
Laundry Room and Large Closets
It might not seem like these areas matter much when it comes to selling your home, but they are great assets to feature in your listing photos. Create a quick and easy organized look with baskets to hold all of the different laundry items such as dryer balls, fabric softeners and detergents. This simple fix can have a massive impact.
When it comes to closets, unless you have a massive room-sized closet (lucky you!), create the appearance of ample storage in these spaces. Pack away off-season items and take a few minutes to organize the remaining pieces so everything looks neat and tidy.
Final Tidying Tips
As you go through your house to tidy up and organize, stand in the doorway of each room and take notice of anything that seems out of place. Make sure there isn’t anything sticking out from under the furniture, especially beds! If you can, tuck away any pet items such as litter boxes, beds and cat scratchers, even if they are removed for the photo and then put right back (your agent can help with this!).
It might seem like a ton of work to do just for some pictures, but studies have found that well organized homes sell quicker and for more money, so a little hard work now will pay off in the long run!
Leah Chandler is a real estate agent with RE/MAX Colonial Pacific Realty in South Surrey. She helps both buyers and sellers with their residential and commercial real estate needs in the Southern Fraser Valley (and beyond!). Follow her on Instagram: @leahchandler.realestate
Melanie McConnell is a professional organizer and the owner of Mello Spaces. She helps busy professionals and parents, in the Lower Mainland, get organized. Follow her on Instagram: @mellospaces