• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Plainfield Living

Your Source for Plainfield Info

  • Real Estate
    • Open House
  • Communities
    • North Plainfield Real Estate
    • Central Plainfield Real Estate
    • South Plainfield Real Estate
  • Events
  • Restaurants
  • Outdoors
  • About/Contact
  • Plainfield IL Blog

How to Get Your Home Ready for Photos

July 23, 2019 by Steve Roake Leave a Comment

How photo ready is your home? Maybe the question has crossed your mind as you consider putting your home up for sale in the era of Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. A camera-ready home is a must whether you’re listing your home on Craigslist, Zillow or with a professional REALTOR. Great photos will draw people in. A messy, cluttered room will quickly turn them off.

I consulted numerous real estate articles, professional photographers and stagers to get their advice on how to create the perfect photo-ready home

CLEAN AND DECLUTTER EVERYTHING

“You may have to remove half to two thirds of your things” says Steve Roake, of Keller Williams Realty Infinity.  Keep items to a minimum and if you can live without it on the counter, hide it away in a cabinet or drawer. One or two decorative items on a table are great, 10 is clutter.  

In living areas, put away the family photos, clear off the windowsills, coffee table, piano top and other surfaces. Remove towels, refrigerator magnets, sponges, paper towels, dish detergents, mats and most small appliances in the kitchen. Hide away your mail in a drawer. Box up anything out of season, like your winter coat (if it’s summer). Most items can be stored in a closet, under the bed or even hidden on the side of the room the camera won’t catch it. In the bathroom, open the shower curtain, remove all toiletries and wastebaskets, and close the toilet lid (PLEASE!!). Get decorative towels and fold them nicely. (How to Fold A Hand Towel)

PAY ATTENTION TO THE WINDOWS

Wash your windows, open the curtains and pull up the blinds. The more natural light you let in, the better. Turn on all the lights and make sure every bulb is bright. And if you have a fireplace and its cool enough outside, light the fire. When homebuyers are asked to describe a home they’ve toured, they usually include references to light in their description.

Replace any broken or foggy windows. It will make a huge difference for your photos. Window replacements can be expensive and even more so when the buyer demands a twice the actual cost credit because they can’t be installed prior to closing.

MAKE THE BEDS 

Replace your old worn out comforter with a new, neutral one. If you took care of the windows, now all that light is shiny on your old, wrinkly, unmade bed. Crisp up the comforter with a hand-held steamer to take out any wrinkles.

A few throw pillows will also help add to your bed’s luxury. Make sure the pillowcase openings lie outward and center a throw pillow against each stack of pillows and prop it up with a soft karate chop in the middle to create a bed that will be inviting. (Don’t worry, buyer’s won’t test it out)

ADD SOME COLOR 

A vase of flowers or a throw pillow is always welcome. Don’t go crazy with a variety of flowers, keep it simple with only one type.

A colorful throw (aka pretty blanket) can be placed on beds, benches, chairs or couches. For a perfectly placed throw, check out the video –

PAY ATTENTION TO THE ARTWORK 

Keep your photos at eye level, if you place it too high, the ceiling looks very low. Most buyers love high ceilings and if you have high ceilings, you can add a vertical piece to show off the height.

What if your ceiling is low? Then you should not only hang your art lower, use frames that are more horizontal than vertical.

You should also depersonalize your “art”. We all love our kids, but buyers will be distracted by family photos and kid’s artwork. Keep the artwork to a minimum (reread the Clean and Declutter paragraph again)

“BANISH” YOUR PETS 

Keep your dog bowl, cat house and hamster wheel out of the photos so you don’t discourage potential buyers who are allergic to hamsters or do not like dogs. Always hide chew toys, feeding bowls, litter boxes, pet beds and cages. Try to minimize the impact of your pet’s presence for showings, too. Just remember it’s only temporary and everything you do to make your home more inviting to potential buyers puts more money in your pocket.

Many Multiple Listing Services (MLS’s) have policies against have people and pets in listing photos so make sure your pets don’t sneak into the photos, either!

DON’T FORGET THE CURB APPEAL 

Park your cars across the street as you don’t want them obscuring the view of the front of your home. Also, mow the grass, rake any leaves and trim the bushes, especially if they obstruct the view of the home. Remove extra items like kid’s toys, grills or other items not included in the sale.

And if your house has a pool, clean it, uncover it and turn on any hot-tub jets.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE WEATHER 

Most photographers now offer “blue sky” touch ups so even on rainy days, your photos will appear to have sun shining on them. But too much sun can pose a challenge.  Sometimes, cloudy days provides soft light that tends to produce good results for interiors.

PUT ON YOUR BUYER’S HAT

You see your home every day and become immune to little imperfections like scuffed walls or worn carpets. Bring in a friend or experienced REALTOR to help you put on a “buyer’s hat” to look at your home. Make it a game to find things a buyer would find and address them if possible.

Click here for a printable checklist for photo day

Filed Under: Client Tips, Real Estate Tagged With: curb appeal, declutter your home, make the beds, pets, photo tips, photography, real estate, throw blankets

About Steve Roake

Hey there! I'm Steve Roake. I work with buyers, sellers and investors in the Plainfield area (Naperville, Aurora, Oswego, Bolingbrook, Shorewood, Joliet) who are looking to save time and money in real estate.
I've been a Realtor for 16 years and I've served over 400 families to date. The best praise I've ever received from a client was “Steve is someone I would recommend to anyone that is looking to buy a house”.
Helping people to become first time homeowners like that, makes me so proud and drives everything I do!
If you're looking for a Realtor who listens to your needs and delivers results, I'd love to work with you, too! I've had an average market time of only 19 days and gotten my sellers 99.6% of their asking prices, while helping buyers successfully outbid cash offers when they still had to sell their home (most would say this is impossible).
When I'm not helping people buy or sell homes, I can be found working in the garden, playing with my 2 girls or just relaxing with a book or playing games.
Want to learn more about how we can work together? Call or text me anytime! 815-603-0077.

Thanks for reading my story!

More Posts

selling secrets you can't afford to miss

Selling Secrets You Can’t Afford to Miss

How to Get Your Home Ready for Photos

Buyer Real Estate Bible

Events in Plainfield Sept 27 – Oct 3

Events in Plainfield Sept 20 – 26

Doc Watson's Smokehouse

Doc Watson’s Smokehouse

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Free Updates

Never miss a thing in Plainfield. Let us keep you up to date. Get fun upcoming events delivered to your inbox.

Search For Homes

Categories

  • Client Tips
  • Events
  • Outdoors
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants
  • Uncategorized

Footer

Steve Roake
REALTOR

Connect with Me on:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

RSS Keeping Current Matters

  • Are There Going to Be More Homes to Buy This Year? February 25, 2021
  • How Much Leverage Do Today’s House Sellers Have? February 24, 2021
  • The Reason Mortgage Rates Are Projected to Increase and What It Means for You February 23, 2021
  • Where Have All the Houses Gone? February 22, 2021
  • Home Mortgage Rates by Decade [INFOGRAPHIC] February 19, 2021
  • Will Low Mortgage Rates Continue through 2021? February 18, 2021
  • 3 Ways Home Equity Can Have a Major Impact on Your Life February 17, 2021
  • Millennials: Is It Time to Buy a Bigger Home? February 16, 2021
  • 3 Ways You’ll Win When You Buy a Home This Year February 15, 2021
  • Why It’s Easy to Fall in Love with Homeownership [INFOGRAPHIC] February 12, 2021

Copyright © 2021 · Agent Focused Pro by Winning Agent · Log in

Keller Williams Realty Infinity

Privacy Policy