Showing Your Home

You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression.

The exterior of your home often affects the attitude buyers take inside, so curb appeal is key:

  • Make sure that your front door and porch area are clean and inviting. Remove any clutter.
  • Paint or replace your front door if it's faded or worn out.
  • Add some paint to shutters, trim and any other outside features showing signs of wear.
  • Put down some fresh mulch and add colorful plants.
  • Have the lawn freshly cut as we take marketing photos and you initially hit the market
  • Clear patios or decks of planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys, etc. (Put them in the garage).

Selling Your Home and Living In It are Two Very Different Things

Try to see your home from a buyer's perspective (it is hard after you've lived in it for awhile!) and arrange each room to bring out its best features, including:

  • Painting is one of the least expensive ways to increase your value and find a buyer faster. It is worth it almost everytime.
  • Flooring is also typically worth replacing if it is necessary. We can help you decide.
  • Have the windows washed. 
  • Repair any worn out woodwork.
  • Steam clean carpeting or replace it, if necessary.
  • Repair loose knobs, sticking doors and windows, warped cabinet drawers, broken light switches and other minor flaws. The little things are important to a buyer's first impression of your home and the maintenance of it.
  • Check and repair caulking in bathtubs and showers. Every buyer checks the bathrooms!

A Few Showing Tips

  • Turn every light in your house on, including the one over the stove. Open curtains and blinds to let the light in during all showings. You want your home to appear light and bright. 
  • Remove all clutter from rooms, your basement and closets to better display spacious rooms and spaces (consider storage or a garage sale to dispose of extraneous items).
  • Pick up area rugs and show off the floors, especially if hardwood. Remove all rugs from bathrooms and kitchens.
  • In the bathrooms, remove items from countertops, tubs, showers and toilets. Keep only your most needed cosmetics, brushes, perfumes, etc., in one small group on the counter. Coordinate towels to one or two colors only.
  • Put the hamper away.
  • Hide pet bowls and any indication of a pet.
  • Clear all extra objects from furniture throughout the house. 
  • Clear everything from the kitchen countertops. If it hasn't been used…put it away!
  • Clear the refrigerator of messages, pictures, magnets, etc. (This helps buyers mentally move their own things into your kitchen.)
  • Rearrange or remove furniture if necessary. As owners, we typically have too much furniture in a room. This is wonderful for our personal enjoyment, but when it comes to selling, we need to thin out as much as possible to make rooms appear larger.
  • Take down or rearrange pictures or object on walls. 
  • Lockbox--#1 Importance: "If we don't have it, they won't show it."

Ten Minute Showing Drill

Occasionally you will receive a quick showing request. You'll want to have a plan so that you can be ready quickly and not miss the showing. This checklist will help you be prepared for the inevitable:

  1. Sight: Turn on every light in the house (day and night) and open every curtain and blind.
  2. Odors: Heat a frozen pastry slowly in the oven or heat a pan on the stove and then drop in a few drops of vanilla.
  3. Kitchen: Wipe kitchen counters, place dirty dishes in dishwasher.
  4. Bathrooms: Wipe counters, flush and close toilets.
  5. Living/Family Rooms: Hide magazines, newspapers, and games; remove clutter.
  6. Bedrooms: Straighten beds. Hide clutter under bed (not in closet).
  7. Exterior: Put away toys and clutter. Keep walk clear.
  8. Children & Pets: They are a distraction, so send them outside and/or take them with you.
  9. Goodbye: This is the most important thing you can do to help sell your home! You must leave so that buyers can get emotionally connected to your home. They cannot become emotional about "their new home" if you are still in it. It makes the showing terribly uncomfortable for them when the seller is home.