Yay! You have done all the hard work, hopefully, you have listened to your agent, you have agreed on a price to market your home, made all suggested updates and you have cleaned and staged your home!

Now it is time to go over how to prepare your house for a showing to make buyers fall in love with it. 

Today, I will discuss a key event in your home selling process - the showing.  I will guide you through the things you must do to prepare your home for a showing. 

Technicalities

Let’s go over some technicalities first, buyers typically see multiple properties at the same time. Please be patient and understanding the fact that they might be running a few minutes behind or ahead of the schedule. I tell my clients that if the showing is scheduled for 5. They should leave the house by 4:45 and not be back sooner than 5:30.

First things first, do not be present during the showings. This will make sure that the event goes smoothly. And to avoid stress, take your pets with you when you leave the house. Hide your pets’ stuff such as food, litter, or beds. Clean up after them immediately and wash their areas regularly.

Second most important thing to do is to hide your valuables. Hide prescriptions, jewelry, weapons and personal items. Store your personal stuff in a storage unit, as necessary. After all, you don’t know everyone who comes into the showing so it is better to be safe than sorry.

Third, you need to make sure that the showing is comfortable for the potential buyers. Implement temperature controls in your home. Get a thermostat and set it to an intuitive setting that adapts the temperature to the climate. My suggestion is to always stay in  69-72 degree range. You want to present your buyers with a nice and comfortable feeling.

Fourth, you need to prep your home according to the COVID protocols in your area. For this, your agent should provide booties, hand sanitizer, gloves and masks. Request that your home will be viewed with masks on. 

And finally appeal to the 5 senses. First impressions count, especially for the homeownership process. You need to prepare your home from top to bottom and ensure that every inch is presentable. Present your house in a way that connects to the buyers’ sense of belonging and home. 

Appeal to the Five Senses

Here are the ways for you to do this:

Sight

Decluttering is a crucial task you must do. Clutter is a huge turn-off for buyers because it shows poor maintenance and a crowded look at your space. When you declutter, you make your home more spacious, open, and clean.

After decluttering, clean everything. From the dishes in the sink to the lawn, make sure that everything is clean and tidy. Make sure that everything from your gate or fence to the lawn to driveway and all walking paths are clean, tidy and debris-free. Trim your lawn and consider adding some potted flowers or vegetable plants to boost the sense of abundance in your property. Make sure the stairs are clear and that all shoes, coats, hats, and mail are put out of sight.

To add a more inviting ambience to your home, turn on all the lights and open all doors. You should also ensure that your home has clean, functional windows so potential buyers can enjoy nice, refreshing air that flows through the home.

Another task to appeal to the eyes of potential buyers is organization. Especially in your closets and cabinets. These are the things that buyers will open up to see how well they can put their items in those areas. They want to see how much storage room they will have in your house. 

And all rooms should also be organized. Fluff your pillows, fold and store all blankets and make sure all shoes are stored neatly in the closet. In particular, you need to show your bedrooms as comfy. Messy and unmade beds are a turnoff for buyers.

Smell

Aside from dirt and mess, another negative point for home buyers is an unpleasant smell. If a buyer smells something upsetting, they may turn back around and walk out of the house. Worse, they may even tell their social circle about their negative experience so this will impact your home-selling success.  You definitely don’t want it to happen to you.

To avoid this issue, have your home inspected by a home inspector then call a local professional cleaning company to address the issues.

Take out all the garbage every day. Remove all indoor and outdoor waste, including old and unused items. 

If you do have intentional fragrances in your home, keep them as neutral as possible. That includes any candles, air fresheners, or your cooking. And you also need to ensure that your bathroom smells fresh.

I hope that you have gotten rid of all musty smells during your preparations and that you have resolved the source of the issue.

Taste

Similarly, you need to be careful of the tastes of the people who want to buy your home.  Be mindful of what you are cooking at your home right before showing. Strong flavors might be too much for some people. 

Avoid strong-smelling foods: Keep your meal prep simple and avoid foods that leave long-lasting odors.

Touch

Buyers will be touchy with what they want to buy. That’s true with anything and more so with homes. That makes cleaning surfaces a must. Wipe, sweep and scrub extra hard all surfaces in your home - from the kitchen to the bathroom. Make sure that you remove all stains, grease, grime, crumbs, spills, and dirt. For this, you need to invest in a professional cleaning service, 

Don't forget the floors of your home. Clean and vacuum all rugs and carpets. And keep your floors smooth and shiny but still safe enough that no one is in danger of slipping when walking or running upon them.

And the final thing for you to consider is the sound of your house. Any disturbing sounds such as cracks or moving doors can spook buyers. To avoid this, pay attention to what types of sounds your house makes. Is the furnace loud? Is the bathroom fan making squeaky sounds? Does the floor crack? To remove these unpleasant sounds, call your local handyman to do the necessary repairs to the parts of your home where the sounds come from. Most of these spooky sounds just come from things that are in disrepair.

Conclusion

Here’s the exclusive Nex-Gen offer - If you list with us, you get a complimentary cleaning before we list your house.

Are you thinking of selling your home? If so, at what stage are you now? Book a FREE consultation with me here.