You may love your home and have many happy memories associated with it. Perhaps you have lived there for several years and raised your family in it. Sellers most often have emotional attachments to their homes. Though you may feel that you are the most qualified to show a buyer your home, I always advise you to leave the house while it is shown, sometimes it’s awkward for the buyers to meet or see the sellers. To ensure the best showing possible, make your home inviting and welcoming by creating mood lighting, adjusting the temperature, and adding decorative touches. (Remember step #1)

SIGHT SOUND TASTE AND TOUCH SMELL IS PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO THE EMOTIONAL DECISION TO BUY A HOME ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVE EXTERIOR
• Driveway clear
• Lawn and shrubs, freshly trimmed
• Remove and re-arrange the furniture to create space
• Turn on all the lights
• Open the curtains
• Light a fire in the fireplace when appropriate

Each showing could be the one that sells your house. Try to be the harshest critic. Would you buy your house? Buyers experience your home through their senses.

You control their experience. • Close the windows on the roadside • Turn off the TV • Turn off all appliances • Fix squeaks in floors, stairs, hinges • Play soft music • Vacate the house (you, children, and pets should leave for every showing) • No matter what the season, keep the house between 68 and 72 F • A beautiful bowl of fruit in a spotless kitchen will make them salivate • Fresh flowers in the entryway • Run a dehumidifier in the basement • Pet odors must be gone • Smoke odors…ditto • Food odors- careful what you cook. Garlic, fish, onion odors can linger for a couple of days • Air fresheners- buyers perceive these as cover-ups • Trash cans, disposals, compactors- clean, deodorize, add baking soda