How Do I Prepare My Home for Showings?

By Mike Gray

When it comes to providing peerless customer service and fulfilling the needs of his clients, if Michael Gray tells you that “the sky’s the limit,” he’s not kidding. Formerly an airline pilot, where attention to detail and focus are crucial and following a process is absolutely necessary to achieve proper results, Mike learned early in his real estate career how well those skills transfer and how important they are to the buyers and sellers with whom he works.

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, 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 down as they can to lower their monthly payments. This means that if you take care of repairs upfront, buyers will be more interested in your house and might even be willing to pay a premium. Taking care of cosmetic repairs upfront is a good idea even in a normal market, but higher interest rates mean this step is more important than ever.

2. Do some staging. Think about a model home: It’s clean, standardized, and impersonal. 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 your property. Plus, by packing everything away, you’ll make moving easier once you sell your house.

3. Have a plan for children and pets. Your showings probably won’t go smoothly if your dog or young children are running around. Instead, work with your agent to create a showing schedule with blocks of time when your home is ready for buyers. This way, you and your buyers won’t be disrupted. I recommend putting dogs in kennels just for the short time when you’ll be having showings. While moving your pets around might be a little work, it’s worth it to keep your house in pristine condition when buyers are viewing it.

If you want a detailed showing plan or list of repairs to make before you list your home, please call or email me. I’d love to help you navigate this housing market!