Showing Your Home

You have the sign in your yard and buyers like your home from the street. Now you have to prepare your home for showings. First of all though, a couple of rules.

Rule number 1: ABSOLUTELY NEVER ALLOW ANYONE INSIDE YOUR HOME WITHOUT THEIR REALTOR! I say again, never let anyone inside your home without a Realtor. If a Realtor has called for an appointment she will normally be escorting the buyer as they look at houses. Sometimes, however, Realtors will meet clients at the property. In these circumstances, it may be someone the Realtor has never met. It happens quite often but a Professional Realtor will ask some questions and also want some sort of identification before entering your home.

Rule number 2: If you are selling your own home, never admit a prospective client who shows up at the door to see your home. ALWAYS require that prospective buyers make an appointment before letting them in. Just tell them the house is not ready. It is also wise to find a reason to call the party back to verify their phone number. If you have caller ID and their number is blocked, ask questions.

Rule number 3: Before allowing a Realtor or her clients in your home, ask the Realtor for her business card. If she doesn't have any cards with her make her show her license or some other formal identification papers. Don't assume the well dressed person is the Realtor. If you are not home during the showing, a professional Realtor will always leave a business card. Your listing Realtor should pick up these cards in order to get some feedback of your home from the showing Realtor.

Rule number 4: Have your listing agent put an electronic lock box on your door for access when you are not home. These boxes record every access and who (or at least whose combination key) opened it. They can also be programmed to prevent access at certain times of the day. For example, you may want to restrict showings to between 9am and 7pm which is certainly reasonable. Simply code the box to prevent access before or after those times.

Preparing Your Home for Showings:

The first rule of thumb in preparing your home for sale is to de-personalize it. Pack all personal items such as family pictures, diplomas, etc. If you are a collector, pack it up. A collection of roosters in your home may be of interest to you but some people hate them.

Never leave valuables around where they can be seen. If you have a jar of coins in your home, take them to the bank and cash out. A prospective buyer today can be breaking in tomorrow.

If your rooms are overcrowded, pack up some of the furniture. You want to show the home, not your possessions.

If you have a purple room with pink elephants, paint it. Don't spend a lot of money remodeling. What you think is an improvement may not be to a prospective buyer. Repainting walls is a very inexpensive way to 'freshen' your home. You should keep it neutral in color but not necessarily sterile white. Remember you are not painting to decorate, you are painting to sell.

Don't store things in your garage - clean it out instead. A move is a great time to discard things you haven't used in the past ten years. I have known people who have had boxes unopened in the attic from a move that occurred 15 years earlier. If you haven't needed it in the last 15 years, you probably will never need it - toss it or have a great yard sale.

Empty closets of stored items. Buyers like to see the size of closets but have difficulty if they are stuffed with unused items.

Same with attics and basements. Since you are planning on moving, pack these items and get them out of the house.

Pets! Not much you can do about them except to try to get them out of the house when it is being shown. For dogs, take them for a walk. Cats have a mind of their own and usually stay out of the way. Try not to lock pets in a room and prevent access by the buyers. That room may be the one that sells your home. Try to remove animal odors and hair as much as possible. Some people are very allergic to cats and their very presence is a turnoff. Large dogs can be caged but don't place the cages in the Kitchen.

One of the greatest innovations of recent years has been the POD system where a storage container is delivered to your house. It is easy to pack boxes and place them in these pods. The same goes for large items that you cannot fit into your car to take to a storage unit. Once you have everything you don't need packed in the POD it is hauled away and stored until you move.

Become Invisible:

If your home is being shown by a Realtor, try to leave the house until they are finished their tour. Buyers like to discuss features of the house with their Realtor and they prefer to do it out of earshot of the Seller. It is OK if two or three Realtors show your home at the same time, but not recommended. If another Realtor is in your home, the other Realtor will usually wait outside until the other party is finished.

If you are selling your own home, just the opposite is true. NEVER let prospective buyers look around your home unescorted. If you live alone it is wise to have someone in the house with you such as a neighbor, friend or relative. Trust no one!