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CHECKLIST

HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOME 

Preparing your home for photography involves a mix of cleaning, organizing, and staging to ensure the space looks its best in photos. Here’s a detailed preparation checklist

KITCHEN

  • Remove all items from refrigerator door

  • Store food in cabinets

  • De-clutter counters, stove

  • Stow small appliances

  • Hide soaps, cleaning items

  • Hide dish towels, sponges

  • Clear sink of dishes

  • Put away draining rack

  • Organize items on open shelves

  • Place bowl of fruit on counter

Living Room

  • Declutter all surfaces (coffee tables, shelves)

  • Hide remote controls, chargers, and personal items

  • Fluff and neatly arrange pillows and cushions

  • Fold or remove throw blankets

  • Remove excess furniture to make the space feel open

  • Hide visible cords and cables

  • Dust all surfaces, including TV screens and shelves

  • Open blinds and curtains to let in natural light

  • Turn off ceiling fans and TVs

  • Add minimal, tasteful décor (like a plant or neutral centerpiece)

BATHROOMS

BEDROOM

  • Clear countertops of all personal items (toothbrushes, razors, etc.)

  • Remove used towels, robes, and bath mats

  • Hang clean, neatly folded towels (white or neutral is best)

  • Close toilet lids

  • Clean mirrors, sinks, countertops, and shower doors

  • Remove shampoos, soaps, and loofahs from showers and tubs

  • Empty trash bins

  • Hide plungers, toilet brushes, and cleaning supplies

  • Ensure all lightbulbs are working and bright

  • Add minimal, fresh décor (like a small plant or candle)

  • Make all beds neatly with smooth, wrinkle-free bedding

  • Remove personal items (clothing, shoes, laundry baskets, )

  • Clear off nightstands and dressers (keep décor minimal)

  • Turn off the ceiling fans and TVs

  • Hide cords and chargers

  • Open blinds or curtains for natural light

  • Straighten pillows and fluff comforters

  • Tuck away any items under the bed that are visible

  • Dust all surfaces, including lamps and frames

  • Remove clutter from floors and corners

EXTERIORS

  • Remove cars from driveway

  • Close all windows

  • Sweep walkways

  • Pickup leaves, sticks and branches

  • Put toys, bicycles away

  • Store seasonal décor

  • Stow garden tools, supplies

  • Remove all hoses

  • Straighten and arrange deck furniture

  • Clean pool area

COMMON AREAS

  • Remove personal items/photos

  • Remove all visible clutter

  • Open shades/blinds

  • Replace burned out light bulbs

  • Tidy up or put away all children’s toys

  • Empty waste baskets

  • Hide pet dishes/toys/beds

  • Vacuum carpets

  • Sweep hard floors

  • Remove newspapers, mail

  • Turn on all lights

  • Turn off all ceiling fans

Why Preparing Your Home for Photos Matters

 

Preparing your home for photography is essential because first impressions matter, especially online.

Most buyers begin their home search online, and high-quality, well-staged photos can instantly make your property stand out.

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A clean, decluttered, and well-lit home:

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  • Looks more spacious and inviting

  • Helps buyers focus on the features, not the distractions

  • Creates an emotional connection, encouraging more showings

  • It can help your home sell faster and for a better price

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Simply put, the better your home looks in photos, the more attention and potential offers it will attract.

Home Exterior

PDF CHECKLIST

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Terms & Conditions

Rights:  All photos and rights relating to them, including copyright and ownership rights of the media in which the photos are stored, remain the sole and exclusive property of REALESTATETOUR Media Group. This license provides the client with the limited right to reproduce, publicly display, and distribute the photos only for promotional or advertising purposes directly related to the sale of the property. Photos used for any purpose not directly related to the sale of the property must be with the expressed permission of the photographer and the payment of additional fees unless otherwise agreed to in writing.

Photos may be uploaded to any MLS listing service solely for the promotion of the property. 

 

Creation: The manner and method of creating any photographs is solely at the discretion of REALESTATETOUR Media Group. The client has no right to control the photograph’s manner and method of performance. REALESTATETOUR Media Group will do its best to: (a) ensure that the photos conform to the client’s specifications; and (b) submit all photos to the client in publishable quality, on or before the applicable deadlines.

 

DeliveryREALESTATETOUR will deliver photographs in JPEG format, at a resolution determined by MLS requirements. REALESTATETOUR Media Group will retain and archive photos for a period of 30 days.

 

Fees: All fees and expenses payable are in US dollars. Invoices have to be paid before downloading the images. Fees are to be paid regardless of whether the client makes actual use of the photos. If full payment has not been received within fifteen (15) days all rights are revoked and images will be removed from the client portal.

 

Cancellation PolicyWe ask for at least a 24-hour notice for confirmed shoot appointments to avoid needing to charge a cancellation fee.  We charge $25 for cancellation requests received within 24 hours of confirmed shoot appointments.Of course, our goal is to make every attempt to avoid charging a cancellation fee!  After all, we're in the photography business and not the fee collection business.

However, confirmed shoot appointments take up income-generating time on a photographer's schedule and short notice cancellation can adversely affect a photographer’s schedule so we ask all our clients to be courteous and contact us via phone, email or text as quickly as possible more than 24 hours before an appointment to cancel or reschedule a shoot.

 

Drone restriction discount: A partial discount will be applied to the total package cost if the photographer is not able to conduct aerial photography due to a “no-fly” zone restriction.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. We provide this notice to explain our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the Realestatetour website.

 

The only personal information we collect is name, phone and email address. Your credit card information will also be collected if that form of payment is used to make your purchase but, that data is handled with care and only used to process your transaction and is not stored in our database.

 

We use the personal information collected from you to facilitate taking your listing photographs, communicating with you regarding your photographs and other related products and services, and processing any transaction you may do with Realestatetour Media. Such personal information as we collect is not used for any other purpose and is not shared.

 

We never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above.

Copyright © 2025 Realestatetour.co

 A Media Production LLC.

Haverhill Real Estate Photography and Videos Media Group, East Coast New England and Beyond 

Realestatetour  Media Company

All Rights Reserved

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