You and your daughter were on the right track with spiffing things up on the surface. If the realtor had said that these things needed to be done, I bet you would have met with less resistance from hubby.
I’ve always read people like to see places ‘empty’ but me personally I don’t mind. To me, having some stuff in the house helps in judging would my stuff fit. My house was empty when they took the photos, and I’m a visual person. Like, if I have a king-size bed, seeing a king-size bed in the space tells me ‘yup, mine will fit’. Without that, I might think it will fit based on measurements, but maybe not. Hopefully that makes sense.
Y’all keep posting! I’m making notes for if/when I have to sell.
“I’ve always read people like to see places ‘empty’ but me personally I don’t mind. To me, having some stuff in the house helps in judging would my stuff fit.”
Ditto here. But that’s exactly why as a seller an empty room looks bigger. Or if you just have a couple pieces of furniture, it will look bigger. I’m pretty bad at visualizing, even if I measure it still seems like they will be extra space if the room is empty. I must not be the only one because Realtors have indicated that as well. Remove as much Furniture as possible!