Strategic Check List: Selling a home part 3-Making your home available to show
The ideal situation for maximizing the showing of your property is for it to be vacant and staged professionally.
I have done that in the past to sell my own homes and I know it really helps to get more people on your property and under contract sooner. Also, you do not have to worry about making your bed every day, hiding the coffee pot in the garage and refraining from kimchee and eggs for breakfast. Plus, no matter what instructions you put on the MLS, there is always some agent that thinks you will not mind if they knock on the door around 9 pm on Wednesday night and show their clients your house. This of course, is the night you are doing laundry and eating pizza in the living room in your pajamas.
I also think that you mentally let go and move on from the property if you do not live in it. This makes you less emotional during negotiations because it does not feel as much like your home anymore. It also sets the stage for the next buyer to mentally move in.
Creating a complete blank slate for the buyer to image their perfect life unfolding is what you want to happen. They don't want to see the way you really live; they want to believe that if they buy this house they will stop leaving unfolded underwear in the living room for weeks. That their books will be in alphabetical order if they had those built in bookcases. You get the point; they need to be able to be delusional about the life they will live in their new home. Having no evidence of you actually being in the house helps keep the delusion of having the possibility of a perfect life more real.
I know that it is not always practical to move out and stage your house but getting your home as close to that ideal is important. Keep the clutter to a minimum and do not require a 24 hour advance notice to show your house. Provide dedicated hours every day that a buyer’s agent can show the house without having to call you or the listing agent. I know that if I have to call 3 days in advance and can only see the property between 5 pm and 6pm I probably will not put the home on the top of the list of property to show my clients. Many buyers are extremely busy and need to see a property on short notice. If you have regular visiting hours for your home it easier for an agent to do a last minute showing, more showings help sell your house.
If you have pets see if they can stay with a friend or have them boarded. Strangers’ coming in and out of the house is very upsetting for most pets. For pet owners, believe it or not, many people do not like pets and will decide not to buy your house because they do not like Fluffy or Fido. I have seen a cat box spoil the interest in a house more than once. I also know agents that won’t go into a house with a dog in it. Don't limit your potential buyer pool when it is better for everyone to have pets safely sheltered elsewhere.
Highly recommended dog boarding here in the bay area http://www.planetpooch.com/
I recommend VCA Hemingway Cat Hospital for cat boarding in the bay area http://www.vcahospitals.com/hemingway-cat
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