Handling Viewings

Ensuring Viewings are Successful

Private viewings and open houses provide opportunities for buyers to view your property and get a sense of what it is like to live there. Ideally, you will want them to be impressed by what they see – and motivated to make an offer.

As your real estate agent, I ensure we maximize the potential of every viewing and open house. To accomplish that, we advise you on how best to prepare your property, we market it to qualified buyers, and then, at viewings, draw their attention to the great qualities of your house.

When it comes to scheduling, we coordinate with you to select days and times that are as convenient as possible. Obviously, we encourage you to be as flexible as you can, as that will enable more buyers to see your property. Weekends, in particular, are popular for viewings.

Don’t worry about all the details. We take care of all aspects of scheduling viewings, as well as planning and hosting open houses.

To Make the Best First Impression here are 3 Steps of  Must-Do’s Before Listing Your House for Sale

Step 1: Clean and declutter

It may sound obvious, but the importance of cleaning and decluttering cannot be overstated. Here are some ideas to make this process nearly painless.

 
  • Eliminate Clutter before Cleaning:  This is the time to purge your house of unwanted and unnecessary items.
  • Remove personal items such as family pictures
  • Deep Clean your House:  This step will probably involve the biggest time investment.  Pay special attention to kitchens and bathrooms.  Clean the inside and outside of your windows.
  • Organize closets, cabinets & draws:  Many potential buyers will open cabinets and closets because they want to see the storage space available in the home.  Clean and organized storage areas signal to buyers that you take care of your home.
Step 2: Make small repairs

Take care of these problems before you show the house for the first time. These are all fixes that you can do yourself.
  • Fix any leaking faucets and running toilets.
  • Replace caulking around tubs, showers and sinks.
  • Freshen up or repair grout as needed.
  • Repair walls and repaint them in a neutral color that will compliment your home.
  • Replace or repair damaged window screens.
  • Replace burned-out lightbulbs.
Step 3: Go for curb appeal

You want potential buyers to be charmed by the outside of your house so they look forward to coming inside. Extend your pumped-up spring cleaning to the outside of your house too.

 
  • Trim bushes, shrubs and trees.  Make sure vegetation isn’t touching your roof or siding.
  • Repair broken downspouts and gutters.
  • Weed any existing landscaping beds.  Apply new mulch, river rock and/or pea gravel where needed.
  • Clean and repair concrete areas, such as driveways or walkways.  Eliminate any oil and/or grease stains, and clean out any weeds coming up through the cracks.
  • Put out some pots of annual flowers to bring some color to the outside.
  • Freshen up your doorstep with a new Welcome mat and make sure the house numbers are easy to see.

Although we do most of the work, there are a few things you can do to make viewings of your home more successful:

  • Make sure your house is neat and clean.
  • Find a place to go, such as a park or shopping mall. Buyers are more comfortable if they can view the property without you there.
  • If possible, remove your pets. You can take them for a walk, or to a local pet sitting service or kennel.
  • Ensure the walkway leading up to your house is clear.

We realize viewings and open houses can be a little inconvenient. As your real estate agent, we will do our best to minimize the disruptions. We will focus on bringing in serious buyers, rather than those who are merely curious. This speeds up the process and increases the likelihood of a buyer seeing your property, becoming interested, and making an offer.

To sell your house quickly, and for the highest price possible, it is crucial that viewings and opening houses are done right. Want to learn more about our approach? Please submit the form below or call or email us today to schedule a no-obligation Personal Consultation.

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