Putting my house on the market

When we sold Mums house after she went into care, she had a junk room which was full. The estate agent photo shopped it so it looked empty on the brochure! Once sold we had a clearance company to take anything we couldn't remove.

Don’t forget kerbside appeal. Very important.

In England you can’t offer on a property unless your property has an offer too and in some cases vendors can refuse a viewing unless house owners have an offer. Make sure your estate agent prices your property realistically, when my DD and SiL sold their’s last year it stuck for ages until they reduced it quite a bit because the agent had over priced it.
We are decluttering but not moving, just sick of stuff everywhere. For the small stuff, bric a brac etc., ring round local charity shops and try to get them to pick it up if is tricky for you to drop it off, otherwise just do the rounds to your fav charities.
Remind yourself that if something isn’t overwhelmingly sentimental and has been in a drawer or cupboard for many years and close family don’t want it, then it has to go.
Is hard.

Decluttering* for the advertising photos is very important. Also, ‘depersonalising’ is liked by the selling agents, so remove all family photos and trinkets etc.

*If there’s stuff you want to keep you can either keep it in a garage or rent a storage unit for a while. Almost all our possessions went into storage for three months when we moved, and I can say that in truth, we missed very little of it.

As you’re in Scotland you’ll be needing a home report. Make sure all your lightbulbs are the most modern, energy saving version. It’s a cheap and easy fix that can upgrade you on the energy report!

Also, the market[at least in England] has slowed down a lot.
Cost of living. And war in Iran.
But also, people think about the cost they bought a house for, how much they have spent doing it up.
And some then decide not to move because they are not getting the prices they want.

I would look on Rightmove or whatever is similar in your neck of the woods.
And do a lot of copying what they do.

For reason I wont go in to, I have looked a lot on it in the last 6 months.

Some of the houses are remarkably clutter free[not all of them].
Sorry to have to tell you that.

Flowers on the table.
A nice runner along the dining table.
Things like that.

Gardens are not often that tidy I have to say. On the ones I have seen.

I haven't sold a house for ages, so feel free to ignore me, but I would say to start by thinking of who is likely to buy yours, and try to show that it would be a suitable place for them to live.

Only you (with the help of the Estate Agent) will know who it will appeal to (people like you were when you bought it, probably) but as an example, if it is a family house, show that there is somewhere to watch TV, and somewhere else to listen to music or read without being disturbed. If you can show an 'office' space, whether it is a box room, or just an alcove somewhere that will be a big help nowadays. It sounds as though the house is quite large (as you have five large bits of furniture leaving), so you could show that it is suitable for entertaining friends - that sort of thing.

Be aware of restaurants, cafes, theatres etc, whether you use them yourself or not, and be able to talk about them if asked.

Get bus and train timetables, so if people ask about accessibility you can answer, and look up local schools. If their OFSTED results are good, print them off or make a note of the url to tell buyers with children (if the results aren't great, just ignore it and let them look it up).

I don't know what the market is like where you are, or what deals are available with EAs, but the best deals are 'no sale, no fee' ones, if you can get them. That way, if the house sits on the market for too long you can switch without fees, but watch for tie-in clauses such as those who say that if it sells within 6 months you have to pay them as well as the selling agent.

That's all I can think of for now, but good luck, and keep posting so we can chip in with other ideas as we have them.

I’m not assuming for one moment that you would, but a lot of people do and regret it.
Employing a cheap solicitor.