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Your house is on the market and you’ve entrusted your real estate agent to come up with the perfect asking price and a sound marketing plan.

And it’s worked!

The showing requests are rolling in, with numerous people interested in viewing your home.

While you’ve been doing a lot of work on your house since the start of the home-selling process, it’s not over yet. In fact, you’re now entering the most important part.

Eye-popping listing photos and a well-written listing description are enough intrigue potential buyers. But a home that lives up to the photos and description will make buyers interested and get your house sold — if you put forth the effort to make a good first impression.

Get your home show ready and ensure a positive viewing experience for prospective buyers by following these eight tips:

1. Clean Up!

Yes, it’s common sense, but it’s worth mentioning. You don’t need to hire a cleaning service for each and every showing, but make sure to take out the trash, do dishes, make the beds and tidy up.

2. Remove Personal Items, Photos, etc.

Family photos and knickknacks are part of what makes a house a home. But your house soon won’t be your home, so take down or hide personal items so potential buyers can picture themselves making the house their home.

3. Let There Be Light

The brighter your home is, the more inviting it appears. Open all curtains and blinds — natural light is the best light — and turn on the lights in all of the rooms.

4. Skip the Scents

You might love your new French Vanilla candle, but others may not. Avoid any scents or fragrances that could turn off others.

5. Comfortable Settings

Make sure your home is temperature appropriate for the current season.

6. Take Out the Pets

Be sure to remove any pets from the premises. Not everyone is a dog or a cat person, and an overzealous animal could make potential buyers uneasy.

7. Don’t Engage

First and foremost, make sure to be out of the home well before the showing is scheduled to begin. Also, depending on your market, leave the showing to only the buyer’s agent and potential buyer. In many markets the listing agent isn’t present either..

8. Make Your Home Easy to Show

Declining a showing request is turning down an opportunity to sell your home, so it’s important to be as flexible as possible when putting your home on the market.

Of course, emergencies happen. And some days just simply won’t fit into your schedule.

One option, if you’re working with a real estate agent using ShowingTime products and services, is to have them set listing rules and restrictions for your home. This way, you can block out times the home is unavailable to show, negating some pointless back and forth and allowing you to play a bigger role in the scheduling process.

In addition, sellers can have more insight on their home’s activity and see feedback from potential buyers by downloading the ShowingTime mobile app.


Are you a seller looking for a real estate agent? Read one couple’s story on how choosing a real estate agent utilizing the ShowingTime Appointment Center reduced their stress.