Getting Your Home Ready to Sell

Preparing Your Home for a Showing

You’ve repaired. You’ve painted. You’ve cleaned. Now it’s time to open your doors to prospective buyers. Whether you’re preparing for an open house or a private showing, here’s how to show your home at its best.

		Be a “motivated” seller.
		Appeal to the senses.
		See to your guests' comfort.
		Prepare information for buyers.
		Team up with a real estate agent.

Be a “motivated” seller.

Do what you can to give your home the same characteristics as a model home—organized, clean and uncluttered. See Tips for Getting a Higher Price for Your Home for additional recommendations.

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Appeal to the senses.

If your house has the rooms, space, location and amenities a buyer is looking for, then the buying decision usually becomes an emotional one. In other words, buyers will choose the home that “feels perfect”—a place where they can live and be happy. To foster that feeling:

• Dress up your front porch with flowers.
• Greet your visitors with the scent of fresh flowers or the aroma of freshly-baked bread or cookies.
• Have pleasant music playing softly in the background.
• Give the impression of spaciousness and airiness—remove bulky furniture, open the curtains and turn on extra lights. Also make sure your entryway and foyer are clean and uncluttered.
• Display colour photos of outdoor views during different seasons near the front and back doors.
• Place family photographs tastefully here and there, but don't overdo it.
• Add warmth whenever possible. Light a fire and candles (only if you’re having an open house), turn on lamps as well as overhead lights. Close curtains at night.

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See to your guests' comfort.

• Prepare a spot for coats and footwear, and arrange seating to help guests with their shoes/boots.
• Try not to be home when a showing occurs—most people feel more comfortable when they can walk around the house themselves and tend to spend more time looking at a home when the owner isn’t present.

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Prepare information for buyers.

Whether you're using a real estate agent or selling your house on your own, it's a good idea to find and/or prepare the following information for potential buyers:

• The total amount of your home's heating, hydro, water and tax costs for the past year
• Size of your home in square feet or metres, plus the dimensions of all the rooms listed
• Renovations, including what was changed and when
• Photographs of your home in other seasons that show it off to good advantage (these are also good to use in your listing)
• Names and addresses of schools in the area

If you have buyers who have made formal offers, the following information will be items they will want or request for closing:

• A legal description of the lot as well as the municipal address
• Ensure a copy of the survey is available for buyers who make a formal offer
• Existing instruction books for the furnace, air conditioner, water softener, appliances, etc. if they are to be included with the home
• Any valid warranties that can be transferred over to the new owners

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Team up with a real estate agent.

An experienced agent can provide a wealth of suggestions for getting your home ready to sell. Sometimes it may feel like more work, but it’s all to get the maximum dollar value for your home.