5 Must-Do’s When Preparing Your Home For Showings

When showing a house, it’s all in the details. At times, a potential buyer can make a quick negative opinion over the littlest things.

Stop and smell the flowers

Below are some tips to help set you up for a successful showing:

1. Declutter. One of the biggest challenges when a family is living in the home is clutter. More times than not, when a potential buyer walks in and sees a messy or cluttered house, the knee jerk reaction is, “Let’s go see the next house.” Buyers, at times, just can’t see past the clutter. The best solution is to grab some bins from any home improvement store or big box retailer, put the clutter in the bins, and remove during a showing.

This also applies to very personalized items, such as awards, pictures, or personal effects. These are things a buyer simply does not need to see. The pictures of your family are important to you, but a buyer wants to envision their family living in the house.

2. Most properties look better with lots of light. This is the reason when you see a broker hold an open house the window coverings are open, the lights are on, and the home is bright.

3. Remember, it’s all in the details. Another realtor pet peeve is leaving toilet seats up. Shut the top, it looks cleaner during showings.

4. Be aware of any odors lingering in the house. Take out the trash, vacuum, wash the kids’ dirty clothes. A welcoming smell, be it from fresh baked cookies (an old realtor favorite), or a clean smelling candle, can go a long way with a first impression. Be very mindful of possible pet odors and make sure you have none.

5. Neutral everything. If you love the accent bright red wall or the hot pink towels in the bathroom, that’s fantastic, a buyer may not. If it’s feasible, remove or paint any loud or bold colors neutral; it’s simply more appealing to a wider spectrum of buyers.

Let’s Get it Done

If you would like more information on how to prepare your home for showings, or want to sell your Oahu home faster, give me a call.