Make your house easy to show : Rooftop Views

Rooftop Views

Make your house easy to show

Ki Gray is the broker for Escapesomewhere Austin Real Estate in Austin Texas. He gives the following ideas for Sellers to make their home easier to show.

Many Sellers ask for advice on how to sell their homes. There is the standard good advice... Hire a professional stager to make the home be on the level of a model home. Paint the house. Or install granite in the kitchen to have a little more upgrades than the one down the street for sale. Hire a cleaning service. You can do all kinds of things on the level of presentation. One thing I think many people overlook is making the home accessible and making the showing experience a pleasant one. This is some advice I commonly give Sellers:

1. Try to be inviting to everyone who calls on the house.

It is definitely inconvenient for people to be romping through their daily lives, but it is unfortunately part of selling a home. When someone calls to see the home, I advise something like: "Sure, we were heading to the park, so feel free to look around." Jjust let the potential Buyers feel like they are not bothersome. This helps set the mood of the home being inviting instead of starting off the showing with a feeling of intrusion.

2. Try to leave when the home is being shown (and take any distracting animals).

This seems kind of obvious, but many Sellers still seem to stick around despite the advice. Buyers just do not feel comfortable if someone is there, and they usually rush through the home without spending some time looking at where their furniture will go or how big the closets are. In addition, if they have dogs or animals that would be distracting during the showing experience (i.e. barking or jumping), try to take them with you, or if you are at work, keep them in the backyard. Let the Buyer concentrate on the home.

3. Don't let Sellers give a personal tour of their home.

It is hard for some Sellers to resist sharing their personal experiences, but when it comes down to it, Buyers should daydream about the overall home being theirs, not concentrate on some upgraded sink faucet the Seller installed last week. You want the people to become interested in the home on a personal level, thinking of how they will go about their daily lives in it rather than notice every detail. Noticing every detail will come later.

4. List the house with the easiest showing instructions.

List with easy showing instructions so that the home is accessible without much effort. Sometimes Sellers will need to make appointments due to certain situations like the elderly or newborns. But if possible, have the Buyers phone / leave a message and head to the home. Our MLS system calls it "Call 1st - Go". This makes it possible for anyone to come by, even if they were just driving by and admiring the home. It allows these drive-by people to come in, and the more people that come through, the more chance it will sell.

5. Check on the house cleanliness.

Many Buyers will say that they can imagine beyond a mess, but most cannot. Messy homes end up being distracting from what the home is offering. It is definitely hard to keep a model home look while trying to live in it, but it helps sell the home. A cleaning service can be a good investment.

In summary, you want as many people looking at your listing as possible and the showing experience to be as comfortable for the Buyers as possible. So, try to make the showing access as easy as possible and keep distractions (like animals, messiness, & even the Sellers presence) to a minimum.