Listing Prep Part Five: Day of the shoot
This is the final part in a five part series on preparing a real estate property for listing. In this post, I’ll be covering my favorite part, the shoot day! If the goal is to make the most profit off the sale, these blog posts will highlight the major steps you must take before the home becomes available for showings. Even if you just want a quick sale without much effort, some of these tips will be very useful to make sure you still earn top dollar for your effort. The past topics covered have been decluttering, upgrading, repairing, landscaping. and cleaning.
The day has finally come. All the prep work over the past few weeks and even months is about to pay off. With the majority of clients viewing their favorite listings for the first time on Zillow, the pictures will be the first impression. We all know about the importance of a good first impression. So what final steps are needed to ensure the photoshoot goes as smoothly as possible?
For the sake of this blog post, the photographer will arrive at 1pm. This will give you time before they arrived to complete the following tasks. Here is a guide that you can use that breaks each area of the home down. It touches on past blog posts, but you can attend to these areas now or skip them if completed previously.
Here is a downloadable PDF of the following guide!
GENERAL PREPPING TIPS
Make all beds
Turn Televisions off
Turn ceiling fans off
Turn on all interior lighting
Turn all computer screens off
Thoroughly clean whole house
Remove personal photographs
Replace all burned out light bulbs
Remove realtor sign from property
Use bulbs of the same temperature
Place all shoes and clothing in closets
Remove all vehicles from the property
Open blinds & curtains to let in outside light
Remove small floor rugs to reveal actual flooring
FRONT EXTERIOR
Close garage doors
Remove cars from driveway and front of home
Clean up landscaping (mow, trim shrubs, clear leaves)
Remove empty planters
Use broom to remove cobwebs from eaves and door frames
Remove visible water hoses
Remove toys, sports balls, basketball goals, soccer goals, etc.
BACK YARD
Clean porch, tidy up outdoor tables/chairs/cushions
Pillows/cushions should be fresh, not faded
Clear out kid's toys, balls, frisbees, etc.
Clean pool
Remove pool vacuum/cleaner hose
Hide pool cleaning supplies
Turn on pool fountains/water features
Remove visible water hoses
Remove trash cans
KITCHEN
Clear countertops completely. No knife blocks, baking supplies, mail, etc.
Leave out max of one small appliance (ex. coffee maker)
Clear outside of refrigerator of magnets, papers, photos, etc.
Hide garbage cans in pantry or closet
Remove dishes from sink, place in dishwasher
DINING ROOM / TABLE
Clear table, dust and polish the table top
Use decorative place setting if available
Feature one center piece such as a bouquet of flowers
Straighten all chairs and space them evenly
Remove child seats/booster chairs
LIVING / FAMILY ROOM
Remove stacks of magazines, papers, mail, etc.
De-clutter fireplace mantel/hearth (no more than 5 items, including art)
Clean interior of fireplace and re-paint if needed
Fluff and arrange furniture pillows
Remove kid's toys
MASTER BEDROOM
Make bed, including decorative pillows/shams if available
Press bed linens and bed skirts
Clear nightstands of all personal items
Store away phone/tablet charging cables
Remove all clutter from top of dressers
Remove family photos from walls
Clean under bed, removing items that may show in the photo
KID/GUEST BEDROOM
Remove personalized names from walls
Remove wall stickers/posters
Remove diaper genies
Clean under bed, removing items that may show in the photos
BATHROOMS
Clear countertops completely. No soap, toothbrushes, medications, deodorant, etc.
Put toilet seats down
Close closet doors
Remove shampoo, soap, loofahs, etc. from showers and tubs
Remove dirty towels - leave out only new, unused towels
Remove floor mats
PETS
Place food and water bowls in pantry or closet
Place pet beds/toys in pantry or closet
Use lint roller on furniture to remove pet hair
Contain pets in hidden crate or outside
Clear back yard of pet waste/toys