Nobody buys a house from a photograph. But a great many people decline to view one from a photograph, and that is the same problem arriving earlier.
Take things out, do not put things in
The instinct when preparing a house is to add: cushions, flowers, bowls of lemons. The photographs that work almost always come from subtraction. Remove half the furniture in every room and the rooms will read as larger, because they will be.
- Clear every horizontal surface except one object
- Remove rugs that cut a floor into pieces
- Take down anything personal — the buyer is imagining themselves there
- Move cars off the drive and bins out of every frame
Shoot across a whole day
Every room in a house has one hour when it is at its best, and those hours are not the same hour. A photographer who arrives at nine and leaves at eleven has photographed a third of the house well and the rest badly.
Fix the three things that always show
Sealant in bathrooms, the state of the render or paint immediately around the front door, and the condition of the terrace surface. These read in photographs far more strongly than they read in person, and all three are a weekend of work.
Preparation is not staging. Staging hides the house; preparation lets a buyer see it.
Teodor Halvik
Partner — City
Founded the city desk. Has read more service charge accounts than anyone should.
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