Showing Your Home

So you’ve done your homework and your house is on the market – now what?  Well, soon people will want to see your home, to walk through and check it over.  What should you do to prepare for their inevitable arrival?

Home showings are a chance for you to present your house in its best light, to allow others to see the potential you’ve always known was there.  People you’ve never met will be entering your home, walking through your bedroom, scrutinizing every aspect of your house.  It can be a little unsettling, but nonetheless, it is a necessity and it’s a great opportunity for you to showcase your home’s outstanding features.

Odds are that by this point you’ve already fixed what needs fixing and cleaned the place up a bit.  What you’re doing now is detail work – making sure your “t”s are crossed and your “i”s dotted.  This is when actual people will be inspecting your home and you want it to shine.

Make certain all your clutter is out of sight, including mail, shoes, anything that might be out of place.  You’re striving for perfection and though you’ll never attain it, the harder you try, the better your home will look for the effort.  You don’t want your house to be too crowded with furniture or the like or the buyer may think the home is too small.  At the same time, not enough furniture can give the impression of rooms being too large or too expensive to furnish properly.  All things in moderation – do what looks best to you then ask a friend for their advice.

Given the proper weather, open your windows before a showing.  This not only allows in fresh air, it helps remove odors you may not even notice – but your visitors surely will.  A light breeze rustling the curtains also adds a nice country flair to any room and open windows allows for more light.  A well-lit room shows better than a dank, dark one.  During the times of the year that you cannot open the windows, make sure the air is fresh and clean by using a store-bought room freshener or carpet freshener, but be careful not to overdo it.  Too much floral scent can be overpowering and have negative effects.  If you smoke, try to avoid doing so in the house on the day of the showing.

If you have pets, try to find some way to keep them out of the home during the showing.  For prospective buyers who have no pets of their own, it may sour them to think that a “smelly old dog” lived in the home they are interested in, particularly if they can smell the animal.  And for those buyers who love pets, you still shouldn’t leave your pets in the home because you just cannot count on your pet behaving properly and you don’t want to take any chances on ruining the possible sale.

Homebuyers often prefer that the homeowner not be home when they come to see the house.  The reason being that they feel like intruders in your home and not having you there allows them to breathe a little more comfortably.  This is why it’s best to have a trusted real estate agent show your home for you.  The buyer will feel much more at ease with a professional agent to show them the home and answer their questions.  Just be sure you’ve discussed all the key selling points with your agent before the showing.

Following these guidelines can help facilitate the sale of your home.  Most of all, use common sense and try viewing your home as the buyer might – you’ll likely see all the little things before they do.

 

 

Jim Miller is a full time full service licensed Realtor® in the Southern New Hampshire area with Bean Group and has over 20 years of experience in buying and selling New Hampshire Real Estate

Contact Jim at 603-801-3987

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Showing Your Home

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