Your house is perfectly priced and is now active on the
market. Yay! Now we are ready to schedule showings. Showing your home is arguably the most
important part of the selling process. Consider the following carefully as you
prepare your home for buyers to tour:
- First impressions mean a lot and often prospective buyers make a
decision almost immediately.
- Curb appeal is important since many buyers search by themselves
and then call agents about a property they have only seen from the street. Keep yards and vegetation mowed and trimmed.
- Fresh paint on your house’s exterior and interior is one of the easiest
and best improvements you can make to enhance that first impression. It makes
your house look bright and clean. If you paint, use whites, creams, or neutral
colors on the interior and exterior colors that will blend with the
neighborhood. If you don’t paint everything, at least paint the places that
need it most.
- Get rid of clutter. Clutter is not solely as seen on an episode of Hoarders. Clutter can be anything from too much décor,
too much furniture, too many pictures on the mantle, too many toys in the
corner, etc. Buyers do not need to see that you have outgrown the space. They will immediately assume they too will
outgrow the house.
- Don’t cook fish prior to showing your home. Not that you need an air
freshener, but you don’t want that first impression to be a bad odor.
- Keep pets out of the house when showing, especially dogs, since many people
are afraid of dogs.
- Open blinds and curtains to let as much natural lighting in as possible so
rooms are bright and inviting.
- If your house is shown by an agent it is best that you are away. If you
cannot leave, remain in a separate part of the house and allow your agent to
work for you. Refrain from attempting to point out special features, or
initiating small talk. Do not follow them around. Buyers are uncomfortable in
the presence of sellers and it could spoil their tour. Take the dog for a walk
or go outside. Trust the skills of the agent to present your house for you.
Prior to showing, discuss with your agent everything you would like to convey
to the buyer. It is in your best interests.
- Be flexible. Your house could be shown at any time. Agents do everything
possible to arrive within a certain schedule, but sometimes, with Atlanta traffic, this is just not
possible. So too, they may call with a short notice of 2 hours or so which means your house
should be ready for viewing at any given time. This eliminates the need for
panic and will help reduce your stress level.