Prepare For A Showing
Prepare Your Home For A Showing
Simple Tips for Preparing your Home for Showing. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Prepare your home for a Showing.
Use these simple and effective tips and suggestions to prepare your home for it's showing, and make a great first impression.
- Hide all valuables including money, passports, jewelry, electronics and prescription medication. Password protect all computers.
- Remove clutter and clear off counters.
Throw out stacks of newspapers and magazines and stow away most of your small decorative items. Put excess furniture in storage, and remove out of season clothing items that are cramping closet space. Don't forget to clean out the garage too.
- Wash your windows and screens. This will help you get more light into the interior of the home.
- Keep everything extra clean. A clean house will make a strong first impression and send a message to buyers that the home has been well-cared for. Wash fingerprints from light switch plates, mop and wax floors, and clean the oven and refrigerator. Polish door knobs and address numbers. It is worth hiring a cleaning service if you can afford it.
- Get rid of smells. Clean carpeting and drapes to eliminate cooking odors, smoke and pet smells. Open windows to air out the house. Potpourri or scented candles will help.
- Brighten your rooms. Put high wattage bulbs in light fixtures to brighten up rooms and basements. Replace any burned out bulbs in closets. Clean the walls, or better yet brush on a fresh coat of neutral color paint.
- Don't disregard minor repairs. Small problems such as sticky doors, torn screens, cracked caulking or dripping faucets may seem trivial, but they will give buyers the impression that the house is not well maintained.
- Tidy your yard. Cut the grass, rake the leaves and add new mulch, trim the bushes, edge the walkways, and clean the gutters. For added curb appeal, place a pot of brightly colored flowers near the entry way.
- Patch holes. Repair any holes in your driveway and reapply sealant.
- Add a touch of color in the living room. A colored afghan or throw on the couch will jazz up a dull room. Buy new accent pillows for the sofa.
- Add centerpieces to your tables. Use brightly colored fruit or flowers.
- Make bathrooms feel luxurious. Put away those old towels and toothbrushes. When buyers enter your bathroom, they should feel pampered. Add a new shower curtain, new towels and fancy guest soaps. Make sure your personal toiletry items are out of sight. Put the toilet seat down.
- Send your pets to a neighbor or take them outside. If that's not possible, crate them or confine them to one room (ideally in the basement), and let the showing agent know where they'll be to eliminate surprises.
- Above all...leave the house. It is best if you are not at home. It is awkward for prospective buyers to look in your closets and express their opinions of your house with you there.