Remember when Polaroid came out with their first camera and the world went crazy for Instant Photos? What about Instant Coffee? And don’t think real estate is any different. Ever had an “Instant Showing”? You know what we’re talking about. When an agent calls you and says: “I’ve got an interested buyer in town only for today and we’d like to show your home within the hour.” As sellers, we all try our best to be accommodating and we certainly do not want to miss any opportunity of a potential buyer. But just last night you had five little girls over for a birthday party sleep over and your house is a mess! So what do you do? Turn to the Gerken & Associates Seller Real Estate Blog and lookup “Instant Showings” and in 10 minutes or less you’ll be ready to walk out the door!
#1 Let There be Light – Turn on all the lights and open the curtains. Everything looks bigger and brighter when natural sunlight can come in.
#2 Make Your Beds – Don’t forget the kids beds too! (Here’s a tip: get oversized comforters while your home is on the market, that way you don’t even have to worry about getting the pillows or sheets tucked just right. Throw and go!)
#3 De-Clutter Like a Mad Person – Have an emergency tote handy so that you can grab and rake everything off your counter into the tote. Dirty laundry? Load it all in your laundry basket. Then load your tote and laundry basket into your car and drive away with it! You can sort back through those items when you return.
#4 Close the Toilet Lids – You may or may not have time to clean the toilet bowls. If there is no time…then don’t! Just shut all the lids!
#5 Take Out Trash – No one likes a stinky house. Trash bags go out too!
#6 Put Dishes in the Dishwasher – Ah! Lots of dirty dishes in the sink and no time to rinse? Stash them all in the dishwasher! (And here’s another tip: hit the “Rinse” cycle just before you leave the house. The buyers will see that your dishwasher works AND they won’t open it to see or smell your dirty dishes because it’s running!)
#7 Wipe Down Your Sinks & Counters – Grab a damp rag and quickly clean your surfaces. Don’t worry about making it sparkly – you only have a few minutes, but knocking off “today’s dirties” will do just fine!
There you have it! You are now ready for “Instant Showings”! 