How To Have A Perfect Showing

I really like that 10th one.  But you have me laughing with the thought of a Taxidermist-Stager.

Great tips told with humor. It is important to treat your showing guest like any other guest, keep the heat or air on, get rid of odors and squeeky clean!

Yes!  I have definitlely noticed that super clean home can even take a precedence over high-end amenities.  I've shown homes that truly were nicer than others that my buyers saw that same day, but the ones that they often liked "better" ended up being the clean ones.  Remember what we used to always be told?  "You can't undo a bad first impression."

All good points spoken with a sense of humor! 

Thanks for the chuckles. 

Your post is all so true - but I'm chuckling because 2 of your points remind me of my neighbors. One keeps his house at a "comfortable" 60 degrees. When he comes to my house he complains because it's too hot and I tell him "Then take off that fleece vest and jacket you wear all the time!" 

The other is extremely proud of his hunting trophies - I haven't counted them, but the number of dead animals staring down from his living room walls is astounding. Now that he's old he doesn't want to kill things - but he still loves telling stories of all his Canadian and Alaskan hunts - along with stories of hunting in Idaho Falls. I've just learned to tune him out. 

Great tips , thankx !!!

I love this list Sheila. I had a friend that had deer heads and fish mounted on her walls. Her husband loved it and it was a constant fight. She won after about 10 years.

Sheila,  I like the way you presented the essential things that must be done to a home, in order to find a strong buyer in the least amount of time. The tone of the article is perfect! 

And the key works perfectly in the lock

...list the perfect house?? We love those listings that are close to perfect and show so well! Buyers love them too.

And the seller turns on all the lamps for ambiance😉

Good ideas that we all know about if we have been in the business for any period of time.  Sellers need to be aware of these things too.  The taxidermist one hits home for a previous seller.  I also love the comment (#23) about getting the dogs out after a showing I had last week with 2 dogs in kennels in the living room constantly barking and growling during our entire showing.  Even if the house would have been immaculate that would have ruined the atmosphere in the home.  Not surprisingly, the home was a disaster also.  And how many of us have either not been able to open a poorly working lock (#38) or have heard from other agents not being able to get into listings when the locks aren't working right.  Especially here in the winter, when people will give up after being outside messing with a lock long enough.  Great post!

Thanks for the chuckle on this one, taxidermist!  Great post and good way to get folks moving!

Larry and Sheila

Thanks for sharing an outstanding post.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Bill beat me to it. My comment was the same as his... "In a perfect world....." But there is nothing wrong with perfection being the goal! :)

Hi Sheila and Larry... a terrific post. Love your #8 and #9. I once showed a home that had dead animal heads in a bonus room of about 30 feet by 20 feet, every 3 feet or so. And the worst part was I was with a client who was a vegetarian. You can't imagine how fast she ran out of that room!  After I politely suggested to the listing agent that maybe they cull down the animal heads, which would make the home more sellable, the seller decided to start sending me the nastiest emails ever accusing me of being a gun hater! I finally had to ask that agent and her broker to make sure their client never contacted me again unless he wanted me to file a harrassment complaint with the local police department. What don't we experience in this business?

Great reminder to agents as well as sellers. Lawrence "Larry" & Sheila Agranoff. Call 631-805-4400 (c) 

Having the pictures on the MLS look like the house....such an important point. We can use a professional photographer, but you don't want the buyers to walk in and be immediately disappointed, right? 

I've had buyers get really upset when the house doesn't look the the photos in the MLS

This is excellent advice for home sellers and their listing agents. I will schedule a reblog.