This photo is from a local listing that is asking over $1, 000,000 for its list price. I won’t specifically call out the house address or any other identifying details to keep the seller unidentified. The point here is to show what not to do, and what you should do when preparing your home for sale. The agent that represents this property does a flat list fee type of business so I guess I’m not overly surprised that he didn’t suggest a staging firm to help this owner out, since saving money was clearly part of the intent, but what I am surprised about is that the agent didn’t at least take a look at these photos and provide some advice to the seller about perhaps re-doing them so the house would look presentable via the MLS. I mean, seriously, what the heck was he thinking? That goes for both the seller and the agent in this situation.
You’ll notice several things in this photo: the soap scum buildup on the glass doors, mismatched color schemes, dirty towels on the floor, lack of storage space because so much stuff is on the floor (ie. toilet paper), garbage can in full view, and shower products stuck on top of the door emphasizing that there is little organization or space to put anything in this bathroom. All I can think about when I see this photo is “gross!”
In my own business this would probably be the “before” photo that I’d take while touring a client’s home BEFORE we go on market. Afterward it would look a heck of a lot better and you sure wouldn’t see the pile of toilet paper and the client’s dirty used towels laying on the floor.
Here is what the bathrooms of our client’s homes look like when they go on market…
Notice the differences? First of all, they are CLEAN!!!! No gross white film on the glass doors or mildew on a shower curtain. The floors are tidy, mopped, and uncluttered. Counters are cleared off and items are put away into linen closets, etc. Please, I totally respect a person’s right to use a less than full service agency to sell their home or to sell on their own, but for goodness sake – do a little research, check out the photos of competing properties to see what looks good, or get honest feedback from a friend before submitting them to be shown all over the internet. You’ll be doing yourself a huge favor.
