Everything you have done to your home up until a potential buyer arrives is a dress rehearsal. When you prepare for the showing appointment, try to create ambience that helps the buyer imagine what it would feel like to live there. The following are tips to make your home more hospitable for the showing.
- Leave on the lights and open curtains, drapes, blinds, and shutters to make the home bright, light, and engaging.
- Never disconnect utilities. Your property should be show-able even after dusk. Lights should be able to be turned on even in vacant properties. The temperature should be comfortable.
- Make your home smell pleasant: have a pot of potpourri brewing on the stove, bake a loaf of frozen bread or refrigerator cookies, or place several cinnamon sticks in a low heat oven right before a showing.
- Leave soft music on even when you leave the premises. Turn off the TV because it will compete for the buyer's attention.
- Restrain pets when the property is shown. Perhaps your overly friendly pup could visit a neighbor's back yard during a showing.
- When possible, leave the home when it is being shown. If you can't leave the premises, you and your kids should retreat to the backyard or garage. This allows the buyer the freedom to really look around.
- Avoid the temptation to verbally show the house yourself. Leave that to the professional . . . the REALTOR®. Let the showing agent field questions or contact your listing agent for particulars.
Learn more about getting your house ready to sell.