Are you selling your home in 2021?
In today's market, high quality real estate images almost guarantee you will sell your home faster and for more money (Click HERE for Statistics).
While hiring a professional real estate photographer ensures you have the greatest quality of real estate photos possible, there are some things that you, as the homeowner, can do even before the photographer arrives.
Follow this guide to have your home Photo-ready!
Keep reading for more detailed information on getting your home photo-ready:
Let there be light! Open the blinds and turn on ALL lights (including decorative lights, lamps, track lights, closet lights, etc.).
Curb Appeal - Put the garbage or recycling in the garage, close shed and garage doors, and remove or tidy all unnecessary items from the front, sides, and back of the house. Clean photos of the yard will be the best first impression for your home!
Repair and Replace - Minor fixes, small patches, and replacing all lightbulbs can be small ways to make a big impact on the quality of the photos (and the more $$ you can possible get for the home!)
Less is More - Remove all unnecessary items from the house. You love your animals + children (and so do we!) but items like dog beds, play pens, and other toys can distract from the home and deter buyers. If possible, take these items to the garage or stash them in a closet.
De-personalize - Take down Fridge magnets, hide family photos (when necessary), and try to make the house feel as unlived in as possible. No one wants to feel like they are kicking someone out of their home, so the less-personalized your home the better!
Park the Car in the Garage - Park the car(s) in the garage or park them at least ½ block away so the vehicle is not in view. Especially with aerial photography, having a car in the frame can be more of a distraction than is helpful.
Quick Sweep - It sounds silly, but sweeping the front porch, walkways, and driveway clears a lot of dust and gives a clean appearance to the home. Vacuuming and sweeping the interior (especially hardwood) has the same effect. There is no need to spend a lot of time here, but the little touch helps.
Bloom the house!- This is actually really fun! Open up shower curtains (unless the inside does not look good), expand any outside umbrellas, take off the BBQ cover, fluff the pillows, fix the drapes, and do anything needed to make the house look and feel more open and vibrant!
Stage the Home (Optional) - Now that the house looks and feels amazing, it’s time to stage the home. While most of this will be done naturally by this point or by following the other steps, feel free to emphasize any particularly beautiful elements of the home with clean and aesthetically pleasing “ornaments.” For example, you can place a few brand new pots on the beautiful gas range as a decoration. The important thing is that the items are in excellent condition. You do not want the house to feel lived in, but rather staged.
Communicate with your real estate photographer - This one is tricky. Sometimes one or two things are left out by accident and the photographer can quickly take care of them. However, if there is ever a judgement call needed and there was no communication or if no one is close by, it is the photographer’s job to trust that the agent and homeowner meant for the home to be in that condition. For example: “If the shed door is open in the backyard, the photographer may think the homeowner or agent wanted it to be open. Typically the shed would look better closed, but if there isn't anyone around and the photographer wasn't told to close it, then they would need to trust that it was intended to be open.
"BONUS: If you only had 15 minutes to get ready, turning on every light and replacing all lightbulbs within reach is the most bang for your buck."
It's that simple! And from our experience, 100% of homeowners think their house is worst that it really is. You've done your part on having a beautiful and clean home and now it is our part to make sure you get the highest quality real estate photos possible!
For more information feel free to reach out directly!