How to Prepare a Property for a Viewing?

Today, we’re going to talk about how to prepare a property for a viewing.

Now, one of the worst thing brokers do is that they come to the viewing at the time that the client is coming. How do we effectively prepare a property for a viewing? We’re going to give you some tips today.

Number one. Don’t be on time. Be ahead of time.

There’s a saying if you’re on time, you’re late. ‘Cause you don’t wanna be there when the client is just coming in. You have to be there 15 minutes, 20 at the most, probably 30 minutes would be good ahead of time. So that you can prepare your home, make sure it’s gonna be a good experience for your client, turn the lights on, you know, all of these things to make the client viewing very convenient, you gotta do it in the last 30 minutes or better yet, if you have to prepare it the night before, that would be a good thing. ‘Cause as they say, you don’t build a house during the rain. You build it during the sunny times so that when the rain comes, you are prepared. Same thing with the viewing, when the client is there already, you have to be prepared before it happens. Because that’s the time you should be showing them around not fixing things.

Number two. Don’t forget the 3 Cs.

First C: Clean. You have to make sure that your property is clean. You know, these first impressions you rarely get a second chance on those, you have to make sure the property is clean otherwise the client may have a negative impression of you on the property, even if it’s really a good property. Of course they know that property is built, you know, location’s good, but, it’s just nice to show the buyer that the owner is also taking care of the properties. So, number one’s clean.

Second C: Clutter. Now we’re not talking about dirt. We’re talking about those nitty-gritty stuff that are not dirt. It’s probably like little stuff that are just in the model unit or probably in the unit or probably in the house. You have to take those out at least temporarily or you know, you can always put them back. But it’s much more recommended to take out those little stuff. For example, ref magnets. If there are like, 70 ref magnets pasted on your refrigerator, it’s just so cluttered-looking. But if you have like, one nice one or probably there’s none and you can see the brand. Most especially if it’s a luxury brand it’s gonna look much nicer. Also, when you’re trying to do a viewing, it’s much better if you take out most of these things that customize the home to the owner. Because the buyer might think this will not be a perfect fit for them. For example, picture frames. It customizes the home to the owner.

Third C: Color. Normally, shades of white, gray and brown would do the trick. But sometimes it’s also nice to have striking colors just some sides of the house. Just so you can make it more attractive.

Number three: Lights, lights, lights.

Don’t forget to turn on the lights when you’re doing a viewing. They just open the property and then you know, the lights are turned off, and they do the viewing like that. What do you think will be the impression on the property when you do that? You have to turn the lights on. ‘Cause sometimes, when you’re looking at a property, if you haven’t turned the lights on there are like dark corners that you will find inside and this is gonna give a feeling that it’s not very positive to the buyer. So, one of the nice tips that we can give you is to turn the lights on.

Fourth and last, which I think is gonna be the most important tip for today, is to be prepared.

Some brokers they just open the house, they show the client and then that’s it. You have to be prepared when you’re doing a viewing. What do I mean by this? Let me expound. You have to be prepared by knowing the market values, possibly other property listings around the area, if you know how much they sold for, or what happened in the listing in the past few months, what schools are around the area, what commercial areas they can enjoy, what are the lot cuts, the unit sizes, what’s the floor area of your home, what are the finishes of the home. You have to be prepared with all these things. Otherwise, what good is a viewing? For me, being inside the viewing is being the professional that buyers expect. It’s quite important that you know that you’re giving more value to the buyer and the seller more than just doing a showing. That’s why you are a professional broker. It’s quite good that you know these things so that you can impart those values to your buyer.

That’s it for today. I hope this was able to give you more value. See you again.