Preparing your home for a showing

How to Prepare for a Home Showing

Just because you have decided to sell a home, that doesn’t mean it’s ready to hit the market quite yet. To sell for the highest dollar amount in the shortest amount of time, it’ll have to impress buyers and—in most cases—that means the home will need to show well.
Home showings are a critical part of the home selling process. A showing invites buyers inside and lets them imagine living in the home. Usually after touring a few homes, buyers will be ready to place an offer. Shouldn’t your listing be the one that shows best?
When you’re getting a home ready to sell, whether you’re the home owner or the real estate working in your clients’ best interests, here is how to prepare for a home showing as efficiently as possible:

Clean

First things first, hire professionals to deep clean the home. Baseboards, cabinet shelves, switchplates… all of these things should be sparkling and spotless before any potential buyers set foot inside.

Assess

Sellers and their agent should walk through the home together. Real estate agents will be able to identify anything that might be a red flag to buyers, so you can put it on a fix-it list to tackle later.

Repair

What’s broken in the home? If it’s relatively easy to fix (meaning you don’t have to remodel), do it! Spending a few hundred dollars now could save you thousands in time on the market and contract negotiations later.

Declutter

Homes that look roomy and spacious—rather than small and cluttered—show best. To get this look, the current owners may need to remove some clutter and store it offsite in a storage unit or elsewhere. Make sure closets aren’t overflowing, and counters are clear!

Stage

Staging goes above and beyond cleaning and decluttering, using interior design tips and tricks to make a home more inviting to a range of personality types and tastes. Some agents have home staging expertise and others may work with stagers in your area. Here are 8 DIY home staging tips, 5 Feng Shui home staging tips and 5 funny staging fails to get you started.

Polish

Now that you’ve done what you can inside the home, polish the outside for instant curb appeal. Clean the windows, repaint the front door and freshen the flower beds. Here are some quick changes you can make in just one weekend!

A note about pets:

Lots of people have pets, but unfortunately not everyone likes them. If there are pets in your home, try to minimize their impact so they (and their fur and their scents) are not top-of-mind when buyers come to visit. Keep pet beds clean and out of sight, the yard picked up and toys stashed in cute baskets or containers in closets. If you think steam cleaning the couch or curtains will freshen things up, go for it!
What’s your #1 home showing tip for home sellers?
*Source- Point 2