If you list your South Carolina house on the market to sell, you hope for lots of showings. You also understand if you still reside in the home, real estate agents expect you to vacate the premises when they are hosting scheduled tours. This can sometimes be inconvenient for home owners. However, when your goal is to move your house on and off the market as swiftly as possible, you should be willing to cooperate for showings. You should also make sure your home is show-ready, every time.
There are three specific steps you can take to instantly make your home show-ready, even if you weren’t expecting a showing on a particular day. While there are many other ways to boost your home’s ”showability,” these key tips are quick and easy to implement at a moment’s notice.
Set bath linens aside that help make your home show-ready
When a real estate agent is bringing prospective buyers through your home, you want it to look as nice as possible. Invest in a new set of bath towels for display purposes only. White is the best color choice – think of hotels. Keep this set of display towels in a safe place so that family members do not use them. When a showing is scheduled, swap out your everyday hand towels and bath towels hanging in each bathroom for a set of display-only white towels that you have purchased for showings.
White linens give a bathroom a clean, fresh look. Of course, you’ll also want to make sure that the room itself is clean and that the air is fresh. A small green plant or flower can add the finishing touch.
Save potent meals for your new home
As long as your house is on the market and agents are scheduling showings, it’s imperative that you try your best to keep your home free of bad odors. You might love the smell of things like garlic or Mexican food, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who tours your home will feel the same. Potent food odors can become quite malodorous after an hour or two. Bad odors have a subliminal effect on home buyers.
Therefore, try to make lots of salads, sandwiches and other meals that do not carry heavy aromas while your house is up for sale. You’ll have plenty of time to make your favorite meals when you move into your own, new home. In the meantime, keep the air in your current home fresh and odor-free for showings. And, remember that this tip doesn’t only apply to food but also to litter boxes, heavy perfumes or aftershave, laundry products and more.
Create printed fact sheets about your house and make them available to buyers
Another way to instantly make your home show-ready is to choose a conspicuous location, such as a table just inside the front door, a kitchen island or coffee table, where you can leave printed fact sheets for buyers. Make sure that your sheets highlight special features in your home, such as walk-in closets, Jacuzzi tubs, updated fixtures or lighting, and more.
Also, include information to answer basic questions about the home, such as how much square footage there is, how many acres of land, when it was built, property taxes or anything else the average buyer might want to know.
When your home is ready to show, it is ready to sell
No one wants to make an offer on a dirty, cluttered, run-down house that smells bad. Hide your messes, clear the air and spruce up your bathrooms with display towels to make your home show-ready and to increase the chances of getting offers.