Tips for Showing your House

If you're thinking about selling your house/condo by owner, here are a few tips to help you get your home ready for taking photos and for showings:

1. Make Space

Your home will show better if your rooms look spacious and tidy. If you have some extra furniture and clutter, now's the time to think about ways to clear it out. Perhaps you can take this opportunity to get rid of a few things at a yard sale, a charity, or your local consignment store. Or consider renting some storage space to clear out items temporarily.

Once you've made more space in your home, try moving furniture around to open up space and to draw attention to features in your home that you'd like to accentuate. For example, move big furniture away from large windows or sliding glass doors. Arrange furniture around a fireplace in a way that makes it look like a cozy place to sit and relax.

2. Clean

Cleaning is probably the first thing you think of when planning to show your home. While your home is on the market, you'll need to clean quite a bit to keep your house looking tidy. But in addition to vacuuming, dusting and scrubbing, there are a few extra things that can help make your rooms look stunning.

In the kitchen, clear clutter from your countertops, refrigerator and walls. In your bathroom clear off your sink counter and tub/shower. In other rooms, try to minimize the amount of 'stuff' sitting around - clothes, magazines, knick-knacks, toys, etc. All this 'extra' cleaning will help give people a good first-impression when they visit your home.

3. Spruce Up Outside

If you have a yard, try to keep it looking good while your property is on the market. Keep your grass cut regularly and trim any overgrown bushes. While some people might find your house using fsbo-iowa.com, some will also drive past your house and decide whether they want to schedule a showing just by viewing the exterior. To a potential buyer, an attractive exterior says a lot about what the inside of your home might look like.

4. Extra Touches

When potential buyers visit your home, they want to be able to picture themselves living there. A few extra touches will make your home feel warm and welcoming.

• Before a showing replace your regular bathroom towels with neatly hung, matched towels. Try hanging a towel over the tub for a 'spa' look.
• Create a warm aroma in your home. Buy a roll of chocolate chip cookie dough, and bake a couple cookies in the oven right before a showing. (Note: Do not use air fresheners before a showing. The fragrance is obvious, and may be irritating to some people.)
• Play some light music during a showing. Some foot-tapping jazz or showtunes played softly in the background can add something to the overall impression of your house when people first walk in.
• Turn on all the lights in your house. During the day, this helps illuminate all the areas of your house. At night it helps make your house look homey to people passing by.

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Are you getting ready to show your home, or have you had successful showings?
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