How to show your home 101

Now for my official first blog I would like to address an issue that is of deep concern to me in Real Estate. I understand that the act of cleaning up your home for showings can be quite daunting, however, it really does save Realtors and their clients the trouble of finding a nearby receptacle to vomit in.

Buyers and Sellers today are more educated on the process of Buying, Selling and real estate in general compared to 20 years ago thanks to channels such as HGTV and other talk shows and local cable shows. However even with the knowledge that sellers have today, it never ceases to amaze me on how nasty their homes are during showings with my Buyers. I have encountered such things as, Food left out from dinner (1 week old dinner or at least that's what it looks like), clothes on the floor, dirty underwear soaking in the sink, dog crap on the floor, and I think the nastiest thing I've ever seen was a woman's dirty pad left aloof  somewhere in the bathroom. You'd think that knowing they have an appointment for showings these people would at least clean shit up! So for those of you planning to list your home, either with an agent (hopefully) or without, be sure to follow some LOGICAL and simple rules:

1) Clean your kitchen! (no need to hide every single appliance) but at least make sure your appliances are clean, counters are wiped and that it smells like a kitchen and not like a cats' litter box.

2) DE-CLUTTER! PLEASE!!  we want to be able to walk through all the rooms of your house otherwise, please contact the HOARDERS show.

3) Please ensure you don't leave things like dirty clothes (least of all dirty underwear and smelly socks) lying around.

4) It would be nice to shovel your snow or at least clear a path for people to get into your home. How many times have I gone with my clients to showings and have to climb over snow that is in excess of 3 to 4 feet. It's nice that you use your entrance to the garage but the rest of the world doesn't. This goes for summer as well, keeping your front and backyard lawn nice and trimmed would be beneficial to potential buyers. No one wants to feel like they are going to have to pass through a jungle of weeds and grass to see your home.

I can go on and on, and I probably will definitely come back to this subject in the near future. I hope you have gathered valuable info on how to show your home....101.

cheers!