Listing your house for sale is only one piece of the puzzle. The real challenge is keeping your house show ready at all times, making sure it’s looking like a model home so buyers instantly fall in love with it!

First impressions are everything, so make it count! Keep the grass freshly cut, the trees and shrubs also need to be cut. Keep up with your flower beds, make sure those beautiful plants don’t die! Don’t let weeds overtake the flowerbeds either. It may be best to get a landscaper on a schedule so you don’t have to worry about the upkeep, especially if the home is vacant.

This should go without saying, but it’s extremely important your house isn’t dirty for showings. Keep dirty dishes out of the sink, floors are vacuumed or mopped, limit items on countertops, if you have kids make sure toys are picked up and put away, and don’t leave any trash laying around. Pretend JJ Watt is coming to visit you at your house!

Make the showing experience a good one for the agent and their buyer. Before you leave for showings, make sure every light in the house in turned on, blinds are open for natural light, and all the interior doors are open. You can leave closet doors closed. Sometimes agents are showing multiple houses to a buyer at once so it’s likely they will arrive at your house at the same time. Make it easy for them to see your house by doing this. Lighting is extremely important, remember first impressions?

Keep the house smelling good, especially if you have pets. Head on over to the nearest Walmart and pick up some air fresheners that plug into the wall, some candles, or a diffuser. Keep the air fresheners in the common areas like living room, bedrooms, and bathrooms. A house that smells amazing will make a delightful showing experience.

You don’t have to do this, but if you have a thing for baking some goodies, consider leaving a plate of cookies out on the counter with a nice little note for the buyers and their agent. I have been on the buyers side when the sellers left us some cookies, and it left a great impression on our buyer. And yes, they made the sellers an offer!

Place some brochures, flyers, and update sheets on the counter for the buyers and their agent to easily find. If you spent a lot of money on your house for upgrades, show it off! It shows the buyers that you took care of the house and made upgrades that they don’t have to.

Well I hope this article was of value to you today. Keeping the house show ready can make or break any potential offers that could come your way. So do your best at this! Pretend your favorite actor or musician or even sports player is coming to visit you. Make the buyers showing experience a memorable one and watch buyers fall in love with your house. The offers will start flowing in!