This may be the most anxiety sparking point of the entire process of listing a home, allowing other people into your home to look around. Breathe, if you have kept your home nice and neat after staging, photos and floor plan you are on the right track. Keeping a home looking like it is staged is not an easy task, wiping down the countertops after a meal, making sure the kids toys are stashed away in an orderly fashion, not have dirty laundry hanging from the ceiling fan, all things that can take 15-20 minutes to clean before you leave the home. Below are some tips and ideas on how to handle showings to keep your calm. Looking for a more in-depth home showing prep list? Click here.
Let us set clear boundaries and goals. How many hours of notice would you like? What time of day would showings be allowed? What is your plan of attack when a showing confirmation comes through? These are all great and valid questions to ask and to have answers for before the home is listed. I would recommend that a quick list of quick cleaning and organizing be done as part of a morning routine, having two boys, two dogs and a knack for making amazing food at home I have a few recommendations.
Walk through your home and take notes on what areas will need to the most attention (playroom) and what areas can be kept clean by a simple wipe down (the room that no one goes into), once you have a decent list, jot down a time to check on these areas and do a quick once over, leave the vacuuming as the last item on the list. I find that a two-hour notice is usually sufficient as long as everyone is on board with the cleaning regulations.
This will disrupt life, there is no sugar coating this. Keeping the home clean and ready for showings is tough, having to leave your home for a few hours and find something to do is tougher (especially now) and toughest of all is the unknown.
The unknown is a tricky area in real estate, waiting for feedback from prospective Buyers, wondering if an offer will come in, did you turn off the stove after cooking liver and onions for breakfast? All of these questions flood your mind, then the big one, what could I have done better to ensure that someone will offer on my home? If you have done the step by step process laid out by your favorite Realtor (me, of course) there will be nothing left to do other than maybe have an adult beverage and bask in the glory of the amazing work you have poured into getting your home ready for prospective Buyers to walk through and connect with the home.
Keep a positive attitude, the Buyers are out there.
