What to Expect When You're Expecting (A Showing)

Because you may only sell one house in your entire life, or at least do it so infrequently that everything changes in the years between sales, I thought it would be helpful to tell you what to expect when your house is being shown by a Buyer's Agent.

1. Your REALTOR will install a lockbox on your front door, either electronic or combination. A Buyer's Agent will bring the Buyers to your home and access the property via the lockbox. They will leave a business card to indicate that they have been in the property. In most cases your REALTOR will not be at the showing, only the Buyer and Buyer's Agent.



2. Buyer's Agents try to give a one hour window of when they will be at your property. However, sometimes they are running early or late. It's important to be as gracious as possible and allow the access to the home if at all feasible.



3. You should skeddadle on out of the house while Buyers are there. If you're home when they get there, let them in and then take a walk while they're in the house. I would suggest you leave the property, don't sit in the backyard while they're in the house. It makes them feel rushed.



4. You can expect the Buyer's Agent to leave the house as they find it. It the lights were on when they came (and they should be) they'll probably be on when you return. If the back door was unlocked, it will still be unlocked. Buyer's Agents don't know if you have additional showings necessitating the lights staying on, or if you leave your back door unlocked for family members.

I've written previously about staging and preparing your home for sale, but I wanted to give you a brief run down of the logistics of a showing while your house is on the market.