How Do I Prepare My Home for Showings?

By Seychelle Van Poole

Seychelle is a specialist in meeting the needs of sellers and buyers, and serves as the Team Director for Van Poole Properties Group. Being named Top 30 Under 30 by the National Association of Realtors for 2011, Seychelle is an expert negotiator, marketing and sales analyst, and is dedicated to making the buying and selling process stress-free and enjoyable.

Are you looking to sell your home this summer? While we’re still in a strong seller’s market, there is a widening gap between homes that are ready for the market and those that aren’t. If you want your home to be a winner on the open market this summer, you probably need to make your home as ready and attractive to buyers as possible. It’s proven that the more showings you have, the more likely you are to have a faster sale and net a higher price. That’s why today, I’m sharing three ways you can get your house ready for showings this summer:

1. Take care of minor repairs upfront. Right now, buyers’ number one concern is higher interest rates and affordability. As a result, they want to put as much money into their monthly payment regularly, leaving them with less money they can put into repairs and updates than they could have a few years ago. This means taking care of cosmetic repairs upfront is a good idea even in a normal market, but higher interest rates mean taking care of repairs is more important than ever.

2. Do some staging. Think about a model home: it’s clean, and standardized, everything has a place, and it’s ready for the buyers to move in, just like the homes on HGTV. Your goal should be to get as close to that image as possible. Your home likely has a lot of personalized touches, like odd furniture, family photos, or maybe even an off-colored wall. I recommend trying to depersonalize your home as much as possible so prospective buyers can picture themselves living in it. Plus, by packing everything away, you’ll make moving easier once you sell your house. To quickly prepare your home for a showing, consider this pro tip: quickly clear clutter by throwing items into a big bin and putting it into the trunk of your car, hiding them from plain sight. This simple trick can help you get your house ready before your potential buyers show up. This way, you and your buyers won’t be disrupted.

3. Have a plan for children and pets. Your showings probably won’t go smoothly if your dog or young children are running around all over the house. Instead, work with your agent to schedule showings within blocks of time or when your home is ready for buyers. I recommend putting dogs in kennels or just taking them out with you if you can. You can also send them to doggie daycare just for the short time when you’ll be having showings. While moving your pets around might be a little work, it is so much better than walking through a home with a dog barking at you the entire time. You’re trying to have buyers visualize themselves in your home to pay you the most amount of money possible.

If you want a detailed plan about how we can help our sellers get ready for the home showings and get top dollar, or do some home repairs before you hit the market, call or email me. We are happy to share it with you, and we’d love to help you navigate this crazy housing market.