What To Do On Showing Day

The truth is, the best thing for you to do on showing day is to not be home. That's right. Your Realtor® is the best qualified person to show your home. While you may think you know the home best, it is the Realtor®'s job to know the client best, and to know what they are looking for in a home. So on the days your home is being shown, kick back and relax at a friends, go for a drive and a shopping trip, or whatever it takes to get you out of the house.

It's really before the showing day that your work comes in. One of these is to share all you know about your home with your Realtor. The more they know about the home, the better they can sell it. Don't hide your home's flaws from the Realtor. Sooner or later these will come up anyway. It's best if your Realtor knows everything, the good and the bad. This way they can effectively understate the bad and promote the good. Alternatively, they may even be able to provide creative solutions to what you perceive as problems with the home, or know about a niche market of buyers that actually wants those features in a home.

The other major job for you is to clean up. Making sure you home is clean is very important. Clean better than you normally would. I'm not implying you are a sloppy cleaner, it's just that a home being shown for sale needs to be completely clean, top to bottom, with no corner or crevice forgotten. Don't forget about cupboards or closets, as buyers almost always open these up to have a look. Consider getting drapes and carpets professionally cleaned.

Along with cleaning comes de-cluttering. It is imperative that you remove clutter from your home. More than tidying up, this implies maybe even getting rid of some of your decorations. If you are the type to have lots of little figurines or a vase collection, choose maybe one, then put the rest in storage. Since spare rooms and storage spaces can sometimes be key selling features, so don't just cram everything in there. Consider renting storage space. Since you will be moving anyway, having some of your things packed up before the house even sells could make things a lot easier when it's actually time to move. Hopefully these tips will help you have a successful showing, and help your home sell fast.

This article was written on behalf of Chicago Home Estates, your Chicago real estate team. Visit their website if you're consider buying Chicago homes and condos.