The House Hop Guide to Selling

Taking Photos and Preparing a Description

Taking Photos

Including photos with you listing is essential.

Most buyers will ignore listings without photos and, even if they didn't, yours is hardly going to stand out against those that have them.

Not only this, but including photos of the house, the garden and key rooms will generate better quality leads.
From your digital camera or phone down load your pictures onto your computer. Once there they can easily be uploaded onto the House Hop site when you add your listing.

Tips for taking good photos

• take your photos on bright, sunny days if you can. Don't worry if you can't — once the weather improves you can retake them and edit your listing, swapping the new, sunny pictures for the old ones!
• experiment with different lighting to see what looks best. Lamps will create a very different look from ceiling lights.
• generally it's better not to use a flash indoors, unless it would be too dark not to. You may need a flash if you are taking a picture that looks towards a bright window
• brace the camera against solid surfaces or use a tripod to get sharper pictures
• take photos of the garden from both ends and from an upstairs window looking down before deciding which picture looks best.
• see our guide on "Home Staging" for tips on how to get your house and garden looking their best

Describing Your Home

It's important to get the description of your home right to generate maximum interest.

We have designed an easy to follow template so that your property details will be displayed professionally.

The template is in two parts:
i) general description of your home
ii) brief description of each room plus dimensions

You can either type your descriptions straight onto the template or prepare them in advance and cut and paste them in.

i) General description of your home
Here are some tips to follow when writing the general description of your home:

• focus on the key information that a buyer will want to know, such as: the type of property (eg, detached); the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and reception rooms; the type and size of the garden; whether there is parking and what kind
• also mention any major selling points such as en-suite bathrooms or swimming pools
• include enough detail to qualify your buyers. This way you only spend time dealing with those who are genuinely interested
• don't include so much detail that it never gets read. Remember, people like to be able to scan listings and get information quickly especially when they're online
• use short paragraphs or bullet points to break up your text. People are easily put off by long, densely worded paragraphs
• use simple language and avoid using estate agent jargon. By this we mean meaningless adjectives such as charming, attractive, delightful, distinctive, well-presented and so on
• include a brief description of the area in which your property is located
• include a brief mention of local amenities such as schools, shopping, bars and restaurants

Example 1, short paragraphs:
A modern detached house with 4 bedrooms (one with en-suite), 3 reception rooms, bathroom and conservatory.

The house has a secluded 60-foot south facing garden with patio.

As well as a double garage there is room in the driveway for an additional two cars.

The house is situated on a quiet residential street. It is a 10 minute walk from the centre of Oxford and just a 5 minute walk from Oxford station, which has a regular service to London.

As well as being close to the local shops and post office, there are also a number of bars and restaurants in the area.

Example 2, bullet points:
A modern detached house with:
4 bedrooms (one with en-suite)
3 reception rooms
bathroom
conservatory

The house also has:
a secluded 60-foot south facing garden with patio
a double garage
room in the driveway for an additional two cars

The house is situated on a quiet residential street and is:
a 10 minute walk from the centre of Oxford
a 5 minute walk from Oxford station, which has a regular service to London
close to the local shops and post office
close to a number of bars and restaurants

Example 3, a single paragraph:
Contrast the two examples above with the example 3 below.

In example 3, the text is not broken up in any way so is much harder to read and, therefore, much more likely to get overlooked by a busy buyer:

A modern detached house with 4 bedrooms (one with en-suite), 3 reception rooms, bathroom and conservatory. The house has a secluded 60-foot south facing garden with patio. As well as a double garage there is room in the driveway for an additional two cars. The house is situated on a quiet residential street. It is a 10 minute walk from the centre of Oxford and just a 5 minute walk from Oxford station, which has a regular service to London. As well as being close to the local shops and post office, there are also a number of bars and restaurants in the area.

ii) Brief description of each room plus dimensions
Here is a chance to sell each room in more detail.

The description doesn't need to be long, but if a room has particular strengths you should play to them. For example:

• recently fitted kitchen with built in stainless steel hob, oven and microwave, double sink and breakfast bar
• large dining room, with south facing French windows opening onto patio
• main bedroom with en-suite and view onto open countryside

This is also where you include the dimensions of each room. If a room is an irregular shape it is ok to give the largest dimensions, but you must mention the fact, eg, "at its widest point".

Adding a Floor Plan

A floor plan is not essential, but it is recommended.
It's possible to get plans drawn up professionally for around £100. Alternatively, you can go online and draw up your own.

Metropix is the market leader when it comes to preparing your own plans, which will cost you £7.50. The software is online (no downloads) and the site has a video tutorial to show you how to use it.

Your floor plan can then be added to your listing by uploading each individual floor as a picture to be displayed with your photos.

Property Misdescriptions Act (PMA) 1991

The PMA 1991 makes it an offence for an estate agent or developer to make false or misleading statements when marketing a property.

While it does not apply to private sellers the obligations that do apply are, in fact, very similar. This is because, in effect, the PMA 1991 takes the legal obligations of private sellers and applies them to estate agents and developers.