Open House

Protecting Your Privacy While Your Home Is On The Market

Selling your home can cause potential anxiety about your personal privacy. With your doors open to a nearly constant stream of strangers through your home, you may worry that your personal information is at risk. Protecting your personal information is a top priority. Here are a few tips for protecting your privacy while your home is on the market.

Some realtor allow buyers to walk through the property on their own. If you are concerned with allowing strangers to tour your home unaccompanied, let your agent know ahead of time.

Remove Your Mail And Financial Information

Don’t leave mail sitting out. You don’t want your personal information made public, and you would be surprised what thieves can use to steal your identity. Also remove all checkbooks and banks statements and place them in a secure filing cabinet or lockbox.

Remove Personal Effects

From diplomas to wedding photos, don’t provide potential buyers with any personal information about yourself or your family. Depersonalizing is also an important part of successfully staging your home for sale, so removing these things will allow you to accomplish two things at once.

Don’t Leave Your Computer On During Showing

A professional identity thief can access personal information from your computer in only a few moments, so shut your computer off before buyers arrive.

Top Ten Home Showing Tips

Showing your home is essential in the real estate business. After all, who would purchase a property sight unseen? When a potential buyer stops in, here are ten recommended tips to follow when showing your home:

Tip # 1: Welcome Your Buyers

If you are still living in the home while it’s being shown, graciously greet your potential home buyers and invite them to look around. Make sure that you instruct them to take their time and to ask any questions that they may have. It may be a good idea if you leave the home for a short time to allow the buyer to look without feeling restricted by your presence. A potential buyer is less likely to voice any concerns in front of the current owner, which is why it’s better to leave your buyers with the REALTOR® and announce that you will be returning in 30 minutes. This should allow plenty of time for your potential buyer to speak candidly with the REALTOR®.

Tip # 2: Be Flexible

Many home buyers are on a tight schedule, whether it be work, school or other commitments. Time is tough to come by, so try to be flexible about allowing potential buyers to tour your home. If you are still living on the premises, it’s especially important that you be ready for last-minute visits.

Tip # 3: Climate Control

When a buyer comes into your home, they do not want to feel cold in the winter or overly stuffy in the summer. If you know that your REALTOR® is bringing a potential buyer to tour the home, make sure that the temperature is comfortable. Otherwise, your buyer may not spend as much time in the home as necessary in order to form an accurate opinion. The last thing you want is a buyer who’s in a hurry to leave.

Tip # 4: Quick Cleaning

If you have enough time before the buyer shows up, run the vacuum over the floors and make sure that any clutter is cleaned up. A clean home appears larger, while a cluttered one gives the appearance of being too small. If you really want to impress your potential buyers, place a plate of freshly baked cookies on the dining room table. When they walk into your home, they will be greeted by the wonderful smell.

Tip # 5: Animal Control

If you have pets, remove them from the home temporarily or place them in a contained space, such as a kennel, exercise pen or carrier. This will allow buyers to tour the home without being distracted by a nervous animal which could result in a nervous buyer.

Tip # 6: Light The Way

Your home should appear open and bright, even if it’s a winter day, so open the curtains and turn on the lights throughout the home. Buyers will not likely be drawn to a dark, dimly-lit house.

Tip # 7: Educate Your Buyers

When someone is looking for a home, they are looking for more than the perfect floor plan. If you have recently had the home appraised or inspected, place copies of each report on the dining room table. Purchasing a home is a big step, and buyers will be drawn to a home that has everything out on the table, so to speak.

Tip # 8: Communicate With Your REALTOR®

If you want certain aspects to be pointed out during the home tour, tell your REALTOR® what they are. For instance, good neighbors are a big plus to any home, but it’s not something that potential home buyers will see simply by looking at the rooms in your house. If you have wonderful neighbors, ask your REALTOR® to point this out. If you live in a family-oriented neighborhood, let it be known.

Tip # 9: Curb Appeal

An important part of showing your home is making sure that the outside looks just as appealing as the inside. When a potential buyer drives up, you want them to be eager to see what else is in store for them. You can do this by paying close attention to your curb appeal. In addition to having a freshly cut lawn and properly maintained flower beds (if applicable), the outside of your home should be free of any clutter and any shrubs should be groomed.

Tip # 10: Ask For Feedback

Once the potential buyer has completed their tour, invite their feedback by placing comment cards in the home. The information provided could be potentially helpful during your next home showing, and it will make the potential buyer feel as though you value their opinion.

Should You Show An Empty Home?

If you have already moved out of the house you are selling, you generally have two choices. You can do home staging-either on your own or by hiring a professional-or you can let the house be shown empty. There are pros and cons to both, although many will lean toward the staging option. Consider the possible benefits of showing an empty home, however, before you spend money and time on staging.

A Blank Slate

When a buyer comes into an empty home, it is easier to visualize their own items in the home. They can picture just where their couch will fit, where to wall mount the big screen TV, and which wall will best showcase their favorite painting. The blank slate that is provided by an empty home lets the imagination of the buyer take over, allowing them to see the house as they would make it and not as you have made it.

A Cost Savings

Professional home staging can be expensive. So can renting furniture on your own. Leaving the home empty saves you all of those potential costs, and if it means the house takes a little longer to sell, you have still come out on top in the money department. Especially if you are on a tight budget, home staging might be a cost you just can’t afford.

Less To Worry About

There is nothing to steal or damage in an empty home, so you don’t have to worry about anything being ruined during an open house or a showing. You can also rest easy knowing that there is no real reason for anyone to break into a home that is standing empty.

While many experts will recommend home staging as a method of making the home more attractive to buyers, it isn’t always a necessity to get your home sold. Consider the possible benefits of an empty home, and then make a choice as to whether or not staging is right for you. Remember that you can always bring staging in if you are having no luck selling the home while it is empty.

For staging referrals or if you have questions, give us a call at 775-432-6300.

Do you want to go to Open Houses?

Do you drive neighborhoods on Saturday and Sunday afternoons looking for open houses?

Did you know you can see which homes are open right here on our website?

All agents have the opportunity to post their open homes when they put a home up on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). When they do, we know about it immediately!

For your convenience, we provide this information for you. On the menu bar, put your cursor over “Home Search” and click on “Open Homes.” Or, just click here. It is that easy! If you see a home of interest, call or email us. We can help you make that home your next place.