How to Prepare Yourself for Showing and Selling a House
Posted on 22/11/2016
You have decided when to sell and you have chosen an estate agent, now it is time for the final step, the viewing and the actual sell.
Firstly you will have initial discussions with the broker and a shooting of the apartment or house and the gathering of information about the place so that you’ll have something to show the possible buyers. The broker will put out the ad on home pages, their own website and advertise your home to potential buyers who has been interested in similar homes in the past.
When this is done, you will have the stakeholders you need for the tour to begin. In connection with the initial discussions about the apartment or house, it is your responsibility to inform the broker about any flaws such as leakage in the bathroom etc. Though, you don’t need inform brokers or buyers about things that can be accepted within reasonable limits, such as the apartment becomes colder than normal during winters or that the neighbor have parties a little too often.
Before the showings you should be listening to what the broker has to say about how to prepare your house for display. They often have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t and can see your apartment in an objective manner. You might love your collection of big paintings, but they may be too personal for the common man and you might have to take them down. Also when you are about to photograph your place, you should remove all the things that might affect the view negatively. Remove storage units and “unnecessary furniture” and expensive things like an original antique vase, to reduce the risk of you being robbed.
Make sure not to have any distractions on the display, this includes radio, television and also pets. And try not to hide any flaws, repair them instead, it will work better for you in the long run. Try and keep the rooms as empty as possible so that the possible buyer can use their own imagination while looking at the place. Obviously, a thorough cleaning is very important, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms because those are the rooms that speculators examine most carefully. Make sure everything is lit up; it will give everything a better look if you turn on all lights, even if it’s sunny outside. If you have already moved out and taken all the furniture with you, it may be an idea to set up some furniture so that the place won’t feel too empty and to help the buyers get an idea if it is possible to have a bed at the north wall, or where the TV should be placed. Some brokers usually put out scented candles or advocate that you should make coffee and bake cinnamon rolls. It can be positive with some coffee scent, but on the other hand it could feel a bit artificial. In addition, a seller could suspect you for trying to hide a bad smell like mold. Candles though are not that bad. Avoid new fragrances but feel free to serve coffee to visitors if you want. Also, take out the trash in good time and ventilate the apartment just before the viewing.
One tip is to go on one, or a couple of views of other houses that are for sale in the same format as your own. Then you can get great tips on how you can design your own home for the viewing. When your place is ready for viewing, it is the agent’s turn to make sure that the display will be well attended with inspired speculators. Make sure not to be present at the show yourself, because then you might destroy some of the impressions that the buyers have. Maybe they feel that you belong here more than they do.
