4 Steps for a Great Showing

“If your house shows well, it will sell well.”

It’s a pretty basic sentiment, but one that get the point across very clearly. And it’s universal: when you’re selling your car, you wouldn’t leave the old McDonald’s bags in, would you? It would need to be cleaned up, vacuumed, detailed, and made pristine. After all, people will be coming around to gaze on it with judging eyes, so why give them something to look for?

When you’re showing a home, it is the same way: aesthetics are everything. So, here are a few basic tips that will make your property look like it came out of a magazine.

1.       Cut the clutter

While some parts of your home may have a very important sentimental value to you, it isn’t a good idea to expect a buyer to feel the same way. Art projects your kids made in school, the old stamp collection, bundles of extra clothes lying in your closets, these are all things that you might feel make your house look like a home, but to the outside observer it just looks like a mess. Similarly, many people don’t think to store away any unnecessary furniture, but just keeping the essentials in a room can really expand the space physically and visually.

2.       Don’t forget about the garage

Believe it or not, this is one part of the house that tends to slip the minds of many sellers. Because the garage is essentially just a large storage room, people tend to write it off because, well, they’re just storing stuff in there. But it’s still an important part of every house, and should be treated as such. Park the cars down by a neighbor’s house, but the power tools in some boxes and drop them off in the attic for a day – you don’t need to turn your garage into an empty shell, but even the most simple tidying up can work wonders when your home is being shown.

3.       Keep it conservative

It is important to keep your own personal tastes dialed back when you are preparing your home to be shown. You can’t expect a potential buyer to love all the uniqueness of your personal style, so keeping the décor conservative for a day is the best way to impress anyone.

4.       Mow, edge, trim, tidy

The front yard is your first chance to make a great first impression on a buyer. Remember those azalea bushes you were going to get around to trimming? Or the pile of leaves you’ve been meaning to bag up and toss out? This is your chance to catch up on all the exterior maintenance that has been put off in the past, and create a clean, carefully kept front yard that will impress absolutely everyone.

There is a lot more to successfully showing a home, but following these simple steps will get you off on the right foot, and on your way to making a big sale.