It’s important to prepare your home for a showing because first impressions matter, and you only get one. In this blog, Glenn Swick of Swick Realty in Quincy, IL covers five tips that will help you prepare your home for a successful showing.
First impressions matter.
Spend some time walking around the outside of your home, especially the front. Look for eyesores like peeling paint, over grown gardens, or patchy grass. Correct the items that jump out to the eye and consider adding some inexpensive, colorful potted flowers and a fresh doormat. Your home should feel welcoming and appeal to potential buyers.
De-clutter and stage your home.
De-cluttering and creating open spaces will help potential buyers imagining themselves moving in and living amongst their own items. Pack away personal items and highlight your home’s best features – the ones you fell in love with when you chose this home.
Clean the windows to bring in the natural light and add brighter bulbs for evening showings. A clean, welcoming home helps buyers see themselves living there.
Pay attention to the details.
When it comes to a buyer having doubts about homeowner maintenance, all the staging in the world won’t help when they discover a loose door knob, a window that won’t open, or a drawer that sticks. Take the time to fix these small items to help ease any doubts might have when viewing your home.
Price your home accurately.
We’re long past the height of the post-Covid buying frenzy. Work with an experienced real estate agent to analyze local market trends and set a competitive price. Overpricing your home can turn potential buyers away, but the right price can get a faster offer and sometimes at a higher price point.
Use a real estate broker with a marketing plan.
A sign in the lawn, a post here and there on social media and waiting for calls to come in is not a strategy. While photos and viewing online are a great start, open houses are where the true impact lies for buyers.
Almost all buyers start their search online so be sure your home is visible on all the primary real estate portals. Avoid temporary exclusive marketing with only the listing broker or a private listing network to test the market – you’re marketing to a select few rather than the entire market this way. When the listing office keeps your sale in-house, it benefits them more than you.
Following these guidelines and working with a reputable broker who can provide references will help you with a faster sale at the best price possible.
At Swick Realty, we value you as a person with needs, feelings, and dreams; not as a transaction or just another paycheck. We firmly believe in acting as a true fiduciary, meaning we always place your goals and needs far above our own personal gain.
We take the sale of your biggest investment just as seriously as you do, and we measure our success by seeing you at the closing table knowing we lived up to our promise: treating you better than you expected.
Ready to sell your home?
Give Glenn at Swick Realty a call today at 217-653-9910. Located in Quincy, Illinois and licensed in Illinois and Missouri.