Happy Home Sales During the Happy Holidays!
The holiday season is upon us, again. Time for hustling, bustling and all-things-merry. So, how do you contend with having your home on the market during the holiday season? First of all, relax. The holidays can be stressful enough, don’t be anxious about your home’s marketability during this time of year. Your holidays need not be compromised because you choose to keep your home available for showings. Here are a few tips to ease your concerns about how you can maintain a show-worthy home throughout the holiday season:
- Communication is key: Let your realtor know if slight changes need to be made to your showing schedule. It is better to communicate this up front and make adjustments than to risk unproductive showings. Slight changes can be easily accommodated by buyers. For instance, if your home is available to show between the hours of 9am and 8pm on the weekends, consider bumping your morning hours up a bit, from 9am to 12pm. Those three extra hours may be just what you need to accomplish holiday errands, while not compromising buyers ability to see your home;
- Holiday decorations: Have fun, you can still get in the spirit even though your home is on the market. Helpful hints: Be mindful to safeguard visiting buyers from tripping over decorations or wiring, both inside and outside your home. Make sure your decorations truly enhance the beauty of your home and don’t allow them to obscure valuable selling features like those lovely views buyers clearly need to appreciate. Don’t hide fine architectural details or allow your decorations to remain in place too long, once the holiday has passed;
- Holiday House Guests: If you have guests staying with you, ask for their cooperation in maintaining an orderly guest room and keeping that guest bathroom buyer friendly. Nobody needs to walk on egg shells however, explaining how to be a polite and accommodating resident when buyers are walking through will go a long way;
- Holiday Showings Indicate a Cooperative Seller: It isn’t easy juggling the holidays, family and friends, along with maintaining a show-worthy home. Buyers will appreciate you accommodating their desire to see your home during the season. If you cannot leave the house entirely, greet them with a smile and share a sugar cookie or two. Your willingness to open your home to buyers during a time when everyone is exceptionally busy will bode well for you and make you stand out from competing homeowners who suspend showings during the season;
- Party Time: If you are planning to host family dinners or larger parties, consider asking your agent to end showings in the early afternoon the day of the event so you’ll have time to prepare for the event. If your party is going to run a bit late, arrange for showings later the following day, to assure you’ll have plenty of time to get your home spic and span before the first potential buyers arrive. The holidays are a wonderful time of the year and with a bit of extra care and cooperation, you can enjoy successful showings throughout the holiday season!
Copyright 2012: Valerie Anne Martinetti
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