Marketing & Showing Your Home

Marketing Your Home

Your agent will use a variety of tactics to get buyers exposed to and interested in your home. Some of the primary things your agent will do are outlined below.

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• Home Listing. Before your home officially hits the market, your real estate agent will create your online profile. This includes all the details about your home for buyers to see. A well-crafted online profile can really make your home stand out from the crowd.

• Multiple Listing Service. The biggest tool in the real estate agent’s arsenal is the MLS. This is a private database used by licensed agents to find homes for buyers. If you work with a real estate agent, they will get your home listing on the MLS and syndicated to all of the popular home search websites.

• Yard Sign. Your real estate agent will make sure you have a visible sign on your front yard to let potential buyers know that your home is for sale. It’s a great way to attract house hunters out actively looking in your neighborhood.

• Flyers and Direct Mail. Your agent may create property flyers to market your home. These flyers can be attached to a yard sign or left at open houses and showings to highlight the key information about your property. It’s a great way to stay top of mind with interested buyers.

• Some agents create video tours of your home to allow buyers to see what your home has to offer before they visit your home in person. Remember, your home’s first showing is online so it’s critical to make the best impression possible.

• Social Media. Many real estate agents will share your property on their social media pages and with their network of buyer’s agents and other professionals. This is a great way to generate a lot of additional exposure for your property.

 

Preparing For Home Showings And Open Houses

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Be Ready  

If every space isn’t sparkling, clean again or have a professional come in. The key to readying your house for showings is all the deep cleaning, which you’ve already done, and advance planning to make it easier to keep it “buyer ready” day-to-day. Here are some things that can help you stay prepared. 

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Keep Children And Pets Out Of Sight  

Make care arrangements for children and pets ahead of time for showings and open houses. If possible, have someone watch your children, preferably off the premises. If you are unable to have your pets off the property, consider crating them. Then they won’t be in the way and there won’t be a chance that someone will inadvertently let them out the door. Better yet, set up a secure corner or space for their crates. Dress it up with new bedding and a few toys in coordinating colors. Be sure water bowls are sparkling. If necessary, buy new ones and, yes, make sure they blend with the color scheme.  

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Don’t Forget About The Details  

If you don’t have a place to keep dirty laundry, decide ahead of time where you’ll stash your gym clothes or your child’s soccer uniform. Decide where you can keep toiletries out of sight during showings. If you can, purchase a new set of towels for each bathroom and only bring them out when buyers are coming through or for an open house.  

 

Right before a showing, give fixtures and faucets a quick once-over to renew the shine. Make sure counters and sinks are clean. Be sure the view from any doorway is attractive, especially powder rooms and small bathrooms since some buyers might not actually go into the room. Make sure what they can see is bright and appealing. Don’t forget what’s reflected in the mirror too.   

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Make sure to open the shades and turn on the lights (even during the day) before a showing. General advice is to make everything light and bright, but also let common sense be your guide. If the lights in your kitchen can be as bright as an operating room, you might want to bring them down a bit.