[So You're Prepared] Five Times Sellers Need to Leave the House

As you’re getting ready to list your home, and talking every day with your agent about pricing, and cleaning up, and decluttering (or just shoving everything extra into boxes and closets - look, we’re the last to judge), you should be prepared for the 5 times through this process that you’ll need to be prepared to vacate the house.

This is especially important if:

• Anyone works or does school from home, or is at home regularly during business hours

• There are pets that need to be kenneled

Also: no one is judging you if there’s some sports equipment or laundry or kitchen stuff out during showings or later appointments. But as much as possible (and specifically for the media day, the tidier and more pristine the house can be, the better.)

Media Day

Media day is usually 3-7 days prior to listing day, and it’s when we converge on your house with our 3D camera, drone; the works. (The 3D camera does a 360-degree rotation at every stop, so we’re used to ducking into bathrooms and behind countertops to stay out of its shot.) We’ve found that with two cameras going constantly, it’s easier on both you and our crew if you’re able to be away for this appointment. 

Showings & Open Houses

It’s important that prospective buyers have the time and space to walk through the house and talk through pros and cons against their needs.  Depending on how long your home is on the market, there might be just a couple showing appointments; or you might have one or two dozen over the course of weeks. Individual appointments typically range from 30 minutes to an hour; and open houses are often two hours long.

***If you have any audio recording devices (security systems, Ring doorbells, etc), please refer to RCW 9.73.040 and consult with your legal counsel to decide if you need to disable that function during showings and appointments. 

Inspection

The inspection typically takes place 1-4 days after going under contract; a licensed professional will go through the house from crawlspace to rooftop and provide a detailed written report to their client. The inspection often takes 3-4 hours, and sometimes the buyer will stop by for the last half hour or so, to go over the major findings.

Appraisal

Much faster than an inspection, this appointment is to gather information to verify the value of the home for a buyer’s mortgage. Some appraisals are just a few minutes long, or up to an hour+.

Final Walk-through

At some point 0-5 days prior to closing, the buyer’s agent will set an appointment for their clients to walk through the home one final time prior to closing. This allows them to ensure that any negotiated repairs were completed. Typically, buyers are envisioning their furniture in the space, flipping the light switches to see what they control, and being excited that this will be their house in a matter of days.

Annnnd that’s all! We recognize that especially if you work from home, it can be inconvenient to get everyone out of the house and away for hours. Once a house is under contract, we find that these weeks go pretty quickly, so keep reminding yourself that soon it’ll be all over - and you’ll be on to the next home!

By Tiffany Holden, managing broker at Muljat Group. Photo courtesy Radley Muller Photography; a prior CGNW listing.