Ugly House Photos

We know selling your house is stressful, so we’re offering our help for free.  Just give us ten minutes and a few boxes and we’ll have your kitchen looking better.

Won’t cost you any money.  Just filling up some boxes.

We promise your kitchen will look better.

Buyers will be more excited to see your home with it tidied up.

Show off those granite counters.

This kitchen will require some cleaning too.

Is the clutter on top of the cabinets necessary?

It’s all in the details.

An easy rule of thumb with kitchen staging is:  only one appliance on the counter.  And no dishes please.  [Poughkeepsie, New York]

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This Mesa, Arizona home is a great learning tool for home staging.  It has many examples of what not to do when selling your home.

Visual Clutter:  Please put away personal items, trinkets, doodads, knick-knacks, etc. before selling.  Anything that would visually distract a buyer.

Pets:  Please remove pets from real estate photos.  Could be a turn-off to buyers.  Please remove visual clutter as well.  A neutral bedspread pattern is another option.  If the budget allows, new window blinds.

Poor Photography:  Flash in a mirror means a new photo should be taken.  The toilet tank lid should be replaced.  Please complete repairs before selling.  Remove clutter as well.

Covered Up Counters:  Please remove all unnecessary items from kitchen counters before selling.  Same goes for above the cabinets.

Refrigerator Magnets:  Please clear all items off of the refrigerator.

Collections:  Consider reducing the number of items in collections.  Buyers might stop, look, and spend too much time on your collections and forget about the house.  Please keep entry ways and foyers cleared of items.  Please put away coffee table clutter such as water bottles and toilet paper.

Driveway:  Please remove vehicles from the driveway before taking real estate photos.

Weeds:  Buyers do not want to see weeds and unmaintained landscaping.

Not Selling a Lifestyle:  Buyers want to envision themselves living in a house.  House photos should have energy, should be sexy, or should feel relaxing or inviting.  Random items on a patio do not have any of these attributes.

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Might have to put some items away before selling.  Just a suggestion.  Like lingerie and the fuzzy dice.  Oh, and the stupid knotted curtain.

Refrigerator stuff, chili peppers, Mickey Mouse, plates, extra stuff on top of the microwave, etc.  Why is the microwave so high?

The Mardi Gras masks and the assorted clutter on the counters.

You’ll see in the next photos that the house appears to be clean, but the photos don’t do any justice.  Too many visual distractions in each photo.

Organized but…

More unnecessary stuff.

Proper lighting helps.

Your eyes don’t know where to go when there are distractions.

The collectibles keep your eyes from noticing the faux rolled paint.

Maybe it’s the angle of the photo?

Foil in the windows.  Different types of window coverings.  An unnecessary hat dead center in the photo.

Random shoes, dusty fan, more foil.

Big blue plastic flower and other distractions in the office.

Visual clutter outside.

Sounds like we’re being really picky, but when you add all of the photos together, it gets confusing to buyers.  What do you remember about the house?

Attention to detail needed.

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Visual clutter in a Kirksville, Missouri home.

Chaos in the kitchen.

Dusty liquor bottles and smelly shoes.

The den of storage.

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The clutter is so overwhelming, I need a Bud Light.

Snoopy says to clear off the counters first before selling.

The vine is cluttering up the next room too.

Extra storage space = clutter.

Two boxes and five minutes is all it will take to straighten up this messy kitchen.

Too bad they’re not highlighting the granite counters.

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These Peoria, Arizona sellers have a rooster & chicken collection in their kitchen.

It dominates the space.

She was feeling cocky.

This is egg-actly how she envisioned her dream kitchen.

Her best-laid plans were ruined when the idea to sell was hatched.

The family room is starting to fill up.

110 degrees.  Not how you want to sell your home to out-of-state buyers.  It is a dry heat (only 16% humidity).

Wait.  It’s 110 degrees and she has a hoard of blankets.

And a lot of old dirty pillows.  Frankenstein does not approve.

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Take a look at what home staging can do for a room or simply clearing out everything.

Before Kitchen.

After Kitchen.

Before Laundry Room.

After Laundry Room.

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Please join me in singing the 3rd annual UglyHousePhotos version of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”  Everybody join in now.  A one, and a two, and a three.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…

Twelve million cow things…

Eleven chairs a stacking…

Ten rolls of T.P….

Nine deers a killing…

Eight dolls a staring…

Seven plates collecting…

Six bears a stuffin’…

Five water jugs…

Four brass geese…

Three turtles dove…

Two panda bears…

And a John Deere in the front room.

Merry Christmas!

2011’s version is here.

2010’s version is here.

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Is it too much to ask?  Please remove all items from the refrigerator before selling.

It will make your kitchen look better.

Your kids might cry for a few minutes, but they’ll survive.

Tell them it will get you more money when sold which means more money for toys.

At least try to clear off the refrigerator.  [Dothan, Alabama]

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It’s so much effort getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

So put a toilet next to the bed!!

Dinner is running late tonight. The chef drank too much cooking sherry. So did the artist.

Before home staging.

After home staging. Much nicer.

New election pole, er, poll was just posted. A candidate’s support has slipped.

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