Tips for Showing Your Home

The exterior of your home often determines how buyers will view the interior, so:

Make sure your front entrance is clean and inviting.

Paint or replace your front door if it’s faded or worn.

Add some paint to shutters, trim and any other outside features showing signs of wear.

Add vibrant plants and put down some fresh mulch.

“How we live in a home and how we sell a home are often two different things.” Try to see your home with a fresh perspective and arrange each room to bring out its best attributes, including:

Keep windows and floors clean.

Replace faded wallpaper and glue any areas that have come away from the wall.

Repair worn woodwork.

Repaint scarred or dirty walls in a neutral color.

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.

Check and repair caulking in bathtubs and showers.

Try to see your home with a fresh perspective and arrange each room to bring out its best attributes, including:

Open draperies and curtains to let the light in during the showing.

Remove all unnecessary clutter from your attic, basement and closets to better display spacious rooms (consider storage or a garage sale to dispose of extraneous items).

Arrange all your rooms neatly and remove excess furniture. Keep fresh, clean towels in the bathroom. Use candles or air fresheners to make the room smell pleasant.

Strategically lighting your home, even during daytime showings, can create a cozy mood and highlight positive attributes of each room, so:

Avoid the use of overhead lighting that makes rooms look washed out and lifeless.

Be creative and arrange lamps to help smaller rooms seem larger, and large rooms seem more intimate.

Use lighting to highlight the “living areas” of your home, such as a pair of chairs near a fireplace, or a table in a breakfast area.

Clear all unnecessary objects from furniture throughout the house. Keep decorative objects on the furniture restricted to groups of 1, 3, or 5 items.

Clear all unnecessary objects from the kitchen countertops. If it hasn’t been used for three months…put it away!

Clear refrigerator fronts of messages, pictures, etc. (A sparse kitchen helps buyers mentally move their own things into your kitchen.)

In the bathroom, remove any unnecessary items from countertops, tubs, shower stalls and commode tops. Keep only your most needed cosmetics, brushes, perfumes, etc., in one small group on the counter. Coordinate towels to one or two colors only.

Rearrange or remove some of the furniture if necessary. As owners, many times we 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 certain pictures or object on walls. Patch and paint if necessary.

Review the house inside room by room. Paint any room needing paint, clean carpets or drapes that need it, clean windows.

Leave on certain lights during the day. During “showings” turn on all lights and lamps.

Have stereo FM on during the day for all viewings.

Lockbox–#1 Importance: “If we don’t have it, they won’t show it.”

Open windows to freshen rooms. Set tables with flowers and linens.

Trim landscaping to reveal architectural detail (bottom of windows, etc.). “If they can’t see it, we can’t sell it.”

Go around the perimeter of the house and move all garbage cans, discarded wood scraps, extra building materials, etc., into the garage.

Check gutters and/or roof for dry rot. Make sure they are swept and cleaned.

Look at all plants…prune bushes and trees. Keep plants from blocking windows. “You can’t sell a house if you can’t see it.” Plants are like children-they grow so fast!!

Weed and then bark all planting areas. Keep lawn freshly cut and fertilized. Remove any dead plants or shrubs.

Clear patios or decks of all small items, such as small planters, flower pots, charcoal, barbecues, toys, etc. (Put them in the garage).

Check paint condition of the house-especially the front door and trim. “Curb appeal really works!”

Do a “once over” cleaning – vacuum, sweep, and dust. Complete a final check for every room.

Try to look at your house “through the buyer’s eyes” as though you’ve never seen it or been there before. Any time or money spent on these items will bring you back more money in return, and hopefully a faster sale.

Fix broken fixtures.

Give every room a clear purpose.

Straighten and clean rugs.

Clean your vents and baseboards.

Organize countertops, cabinets, and closets.

Wash windows (inside and out).

Set a comortable temperature.

Be absent during showings. Many potential buyers don’t feel like they can speak freely when owners/ occupants are present. They tend to hurry away, or fail to ask their agent the questions they’d really like to ask. Your absence will put buyers at ease, and give them a chance to spend more time looking at your home, absorbing its advantages.

The television and/or radio should be turned OFF. Let the buyer’s agent and buyer talk, free of disturbances.

Be sure the kitchen sink is free of dishes and rooms are left uncluttered and trash baskets are empty.

If buyers drop by and aren’t accompanied by a real estate agent, it’s best not to show your home. Ask for their names and phone number; provide it to your agent to use for a follow-up.