How do you prepare a home for photos and viewings?

The photos decide whether a buyer books a viewing at all. According to one survey, 95% of potential buyers choose which homes to view based on the photos, and as many as 90% of sales happen because the buyer falls in love with the home.

Once the buyer is standing there, things move fast. The decision is made within just 15 seconds, and the first 30 seconds decide whether the home comes across as pleasant and welcoming.

A recognisable photo of the entrance or front door is an important part of the presentation, so buyers can recognise the home from the listing and feel at home straight away. By preparing your home, you give buyers the chance to recognise what they have already taken a liking to, and to fall in love all over again when they see it in real life.

Outdoor preparation and first impressions

A buyer’s very first impression is formed outdoors. That also makes it the natural place to start when you begin preparing your home for viewings. Here are the tasks, which you can tackle one at a time.

• Start outside by trimming the hedge and pulling up weeds between the paving stones.

• Mow the lawn, sweep, rake up leaves, shovel snow and wash the paving in the garden, on the patio or on the balcony, so the outdoor areas look well kept.

• Freshen up the façade as needed: paint the windows or woodwork, or find a professional.

• Check the entrance: remove unnecessary items and put out fresh flowers.

Getting a home ready for sale is mostly about removing the small distractions that make an otherwise attractive home seem less well maintained than it is. Well-kept outdoor areas set the expectations for the rest of the home before the buyer has even set foot inside.

Indoor decluttering, cleaning and minor repairs

When the buyer comes in, the home should feel neutral and well kept, so they can picture themselves living there. The idea is that the less there is pointing to you and your life, the easier it is for the buyer to imagine their own. Take the tasks one at a time.

• Declutter and make the home as neutral as possible so buyers can imagine it as their own, and put very personal items away during the viewing.

• Clean thoroughly: vacuum, wash the floors, clean the windows and dust, including under the sofa and in nooks and crannies.

• Make sure cupboards, drawers and the cupboard under the kitchen sink are tidy, because buyers look there and want easy access.

• Fix minor faults such as loose door handles, crooked sockets, peeling wallpaper, dripping taps and cracks, so the home does not seem poorly maintained.

Clean surfaces, empty cupboards and a handle that is firmly in place all work together to create the same impression.

Light, air and indoor climate that lift the photos

Light, air and temperature lift both your property photos and the viewing itself more than almost anything else. You can handle most of the things below in under an hour, and they make a difference you can see straight away.

• Draw back the curtains, raise the blinds and clean the windows so as much light as possible comes in.

• Open the doors between rooms and switch on the lights, even if it is light outside, to reach the dark corners.

• Air the home before a viewing so it does not feel stuffy or smell of smoke.

• Get the temperature right. The bedrooms should be slightly cooler than the rest of the home, and turn up the heating in the bathroom. Avoid scented candles during the viewing.

Small adjustments to light and air show most clearly in professional property photos, and they cost you neither money nor much time.

Home styling, furnishing and the sense of space

The aim of styling is to help the buyer understand the rooms without filling them up. When home styling before the photos is done right, the buyer sees the size of each room and the home’s strengths straight away, instead of having to guess what is hiding behind moving boxes and furniture that is in the way.

• Use shelves to get things off the floor so the buyer can see and sense the room and its size.

• If there are wooden floors under the rugs, remove the rugs, and make sure storage rooms and the basement look tidy and well lit.

• If the home suits families with children, you can put out a few toys for the children to play with while the adults look around.

• Decorate with cushions and soft sheepskins where they fit in, and bring the rooms to life with fresh green plants, which both add colour and look modern.

• Put out flowers once the home has been cleaned, so the details enhance a well-kept impression instead of being lost in clutter.

• If the basement or loft is overflowing, you can use a temporary storage unit and move the things you do not need into it.

• Think about your target group and who is likely to buy the home, so the interior is tailored to the people who actually come to viewings.

Home stylist Gitte Christensen points out that it pays to work with matching colour tones, because it is restful on the eye. She also recommends avoiding symmetry, as odd numbers, uneven lines and varying heights feel more spontaneous and less staged. According to interior architect Niels Rejnhold, buyers get a feel for the home immediately, which is why the atmosphere needs to be warm and welcoming.

From preparation to valuation – the next step

You have now been through the whole home: the garden, the entrance, the clean surfaces, the light, the air and the final touches of styling. The question is what all that work is actually worth. Good preparation can help you defend your price and avoid price reductions along the way, and that in itself is a gain when the home is to be sold. Studies do not clearly show that home styling on its own raises the sale price. What you can reasonably expect is that home staging maximises your chances of finding a buyer, and that the home looks its best at the viewing that will hopefully be the decisive one.

The next step is a chat with someone who knows the market. Brikk offers a free, no-obligation valuation with a local expert, which you can book online. This is where valuing your home goes from a gut feeling to an informed estimate of what it can sell for.

If you would like a quick indication first, you can use Brikk’s online tool, which gives you a property valuation in under 1 minute when you enter your address. Bear in mind, though, that the estimate is not always accurate. It is a good place to start, but an in-person valuation is recommended, because there are things about a home that a figure on a screen cannot capture.

For the in-person valuation, a local Brikk estate agent and specialist visits you at home. The same agent is with you throughout the process, from A to Z, and helps assess the home’s possibilities, sale price and potential, so you are not left on your own translating all the small improvements into a realistic price range.

That is how it all fits together: the preparation gets your home ready to be seen, and the valuation tells you what the home you are showing is worth. Book the free valuation with Brikk and have a local expert value your home before the first buyer rings the doorbell.