Seattle Area Home Selling Guide: Preparing for Showings

Preparing for Showings

While your Seattle Area Real Estate Team Broker does the bulk of the work when it comes to marketing, as a seller you can support your broker and help yourself in several ways. Keep your home as clean, neat and odor-free as possible while it’s on the market. This may mean that you have to give up cooking your favorite dish and even bribe your kids to make their beds and take out the trash every day. Your broker will review your property with you to create a specific list of ways to best ready it for showings. Here are some generic elements to plan and prepare for:

• Make your home as available as possible to buyers, no matter how inconvenient it is for you and your family. Your home won’t sell if no one can see it. Requiring brokers to make appointments with lengthy notice will only make it less likely for them to be able to show it to their buyers.
• Plan to leave the home when buyers are there, as studies have shown that buyers linger and look more carefully when the homeowners aren’t present.
• Plan to lock up your pets or take them away when buyers are visiting, especially during an open house when multiple visitors are expected.

Showing Your Home

• Open shades and curtains to let in light.
• Turn on enough lights so the home is well-lit and bright.
• Remove clutter from tables and bookshelves—neatness makes rooms seem larger.
• Put away items in the yard such as tools, toys, or equipment.
• Light a fire in the fireplace to create a cozy atmosphere.
• Utilize candles, diffusers, or other elements to add homey or fresh scents throughout the home.
• Keep radios and TVs off, or set them to a low volume.
• Keep money, valuables, and prescription drugs out of sight.