When listing your home, a professional virtual tour (like this one) is one of the best ways to help market your home when listing it for sale. Don’t worry about being tech savvy or a great photographer because there are professionals that your Realtor will work with to make your home look its absolute best! There are some steps, however, that the homeowner can take to make the home more photogenic. Here are 3 easy steps that can and should be taken before the photographer snaps the first shot.
Declutter! 
According to Chris Crummitt, who owns and operates Picture Perfect, LLC a professional Real Estate virtual tour company in Frederick, MD, “You should do your best to make your home look and feel like a model”. Ever walked in to a new home model? The counters are clear, decorations are minimal, and there are no personal photos. You don’t need to eliminate everything, but tidy up, clean off the refrigerator doors, and remove any clutter. Bottom line, you want that potential viewer of your virtual tour to be able to picture themselves in your home.
Pets and Kids
Your photographer will be doing their best to make your home look perfect. It makes their job a lot easier when kids and pets are out of the picture (pardon the pun). That potential viewer, and hopefully buyer, has an easier time of visualizing themselves in your home without seeing you there. It will be a fun experience, so you will want to be there and see the magic happen, but let the kids and the pets head to a fun activity.
Watch the Weather 
We all know that we can’t control it, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot do our best to plan for it. Your listing is on the market and you want it to look great. Work with your Realtor to keep a weather eye to the sky and do your best to plan your virtual tour to be done on a nice day. Also, know when and where the sun moves around your house. Chris says, “Any one who has worked with me knows one of my first questions is ‘When and where does the sun hit the house?'”. This helps Chris and her team get the best lighting for your home.
The Virtual Tour is a great way to help get your listing sold fast. It is fun and exciting to see your home at its best! These steps will go a long way to get the most out of your tour!