Real Estate 101 -- Showing Your Home
Aug 5, 2007
Author: Family Realty LLC

Showing your home


So, you’ve decided to place your home for sale. You’ve cleaned it from top to bottom, priced it at what you feel is a fair price. You’ve planted flowers and painted so your prospective buyers get that “WOW” first impression, what else can you do?

You can make it easy for your prospects to see everything and to focus on the house and imagine themselves living there. Here’s how:

▪ Your house should always be available for show, even though it may occasionally be inconvenient to you. Most agents try to give as much notice as possible before showing your property. However, this is sometimes impossible and completley unavoidable. If you refuse to let the agent show the home at that time, they may skip your house altogether. Each showing has the possibility to sell your home.

▪ When an agent is showing your house, try not to be there. Some people are reluctant to leave their house with strangers, but staying can be a big mistake. Homebuyers will feel like intruders when they visit, and may not be as receptive toward viewing your home. They might not ask enough questions or even stay long enough to get a “feel” for the house. In addition, when owners are present, they present other distractions, such as TV and children. If you cannot leave, make yourself as inconspicuous as possible- step outside, go to the park, take a drive, etc.
Your goal is to sell your house, so you want these visitors to focus on the house and only the house. No matter how cute your baby or new puppy is, you don’t want them to notice. And you certainly don’t want them to feel as if they are interrupting your favorite show by being in the living room.

▪ When you leave, try taking the animals with you. Not only are they an inviting distraction to animal lovers, they are a complete deterrent for non-animal lovers. Most people don’t want to walk in and have your dog jumping on them. Some people are so afraid of dogs that they won’t even enter the house if one is present. The solution to this is NOT to simply put the dogs in the backyard or garage. Your prospects are going to want to look at the house at every angle- including the backyard and garage. It doesn’t matter that they’re the most friendly, non-aggressive pets in the universe. Some people are afraid and nothing you can say will change that.

▪ Remove clutter-remove your collections. You’ve probably spent a great deal of time and effort in arranging your collections for the most decorative effect. You’re proud of them, and have always been pleased to see people appreciate them. Now is not the time. You’re going to move, so start packing by outing your beautiful collections into storage. When your buyers are focused on looking at every item in your collection, they are not focused on seeing how your house can become their home.

Ask your Realtor® what else you can do to make your home as inviting as possible, he or she should be able to offer you tips and advice.