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You've cleaned everything until finishes are starting to rub off. You've done all those nitpicky touch-ups you never got around to before. And now it's show time!<\/p>\n\n
The first few days are the most important.<\/strong> Buyers who have been looking for the right home, are caught up with the market and just seeing new properties as they come on the market will be by to see your home within the first few days through the first weekend it's on the market. After that, it'll tend to be new buyers coming into the market. So the first few days through the first weekend is the time to pull out all the stops and do what you can to make sure it's easy for buyers to see your home and that it looks perfect when they do stop by.<\/p>\n\n Clear out.<\/strong> Buyers and their agents prefer to look at a home themselves without the sellers present. It gives them more space and time to picture themselves in the house. For that first few days through the weekend, see if you can arrange to be generally gone from the house from 9am until 8 or 9pm Monday-Friday, 9-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. Of course, kids, pets, family, mobility and working from home are all examples of where it may make sense to limit showing times or have showings by appointment - specifics that we'd work out and plan for before going on the market.<\/p>\n\n Let there be light.<\/strong> For buyers looking at your home over the course of say half an hour, there can never be too much light. Agents are pretty good about turning light switches on and off when needed, but don't typically fiddle with turning on each lamp you may have. They also don't always turn on lights in the middle of a gray day when that little bit of extra light really helps. For that first week or so, leave ALL your lights on from 9am until at least 9pm. It'll be a few extra bucks on your electric bill, but money very well spent.<\/p>\n\n Open up.<\/strong> Keep things as light as possible by opening all the curtains and blinds. Serious buyers will do so anyways to see what they can see outside all the windows, even if the view isn't all that great. Perfectly clean windows also make SUCH a difference. Everything outside becomes more vivid and your home seems more connected with its surroundings, so break out the Windex as needed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n