Step 1: Send the checklist when the listing goes live
Don't wait for the morning of the first showing. Walk the seller through the list at the listing appointment or the day the listing goes live, when they're already thinking about showings, and send it in writing so everyone in the house sees it. Then send a short reminder with the time of each showing, so they can plan to be out.
You do
- Walking the seller through the checklist
Hand off
- Sending the checklist in writing
- A reminder with the time before each showing
Step 2: Get the seller out of the house, and take the pets
Buyers explore a house they have to themselves. They open closets, talk openly with their agent, and picture their own things in the rooms. A seller in the kitchen, or hiding in the backyard, makes them hurry, and running into the seller in the yard leaves a bad last impression. The pets go too. Even buyers who love dogs can't see every room with one in it, and strangers walking through the house are hard on the pet.
You do
- Telling the seller why they need to leave
Hand off
- Confirming each showing time with the seller
Step 3: Turn on every light, and open every blind
Bright rooms look cleaner and bigger, in person as much as in the photos. Ask the seller to turn on every light, lamps included, and open every blind and curtain before they leave. A clean, light smell helps too, like fresh-baked cookies. Take out the trash, and clean the litter box.
You do
- A walk-through with the seller before the first showing
Hand off
- Putting the lights, the blinds, and the trash in each reminder
Step 4: Put away valuables and medications
Buyers and their agents rarely touch a seller's things, but there's no reason to leave temptation out. Ask the seller to put away jewelry, cash, small electronics, spare keys, mail with personal details, and prescription medications, including the ones in the bathroom cabinet.
You do
- Answering the seller's questions about who comes into the house
Hand off
- Keeping the list in every reminder
Step 5: Turn off the audio on the cameras
A doorbell or security camera that records sound doesn't help the seller. A good buyer's agent tells their buyer the house may be listening, and the buyer stops talking, so the seller hears nothing useful, and feeling watched makes buyers uncomfortable. Ask the seller to turn off audio recording before showings. If the cameras record video, say so in the showing instructions.
You do
- Telling the seller why the audio goes off
Hand off
- Adding a camera note to the showing instructions
Step 6: Make the house easy to walk through
Open the interior doors, clear the hallways and the stairs, and turn on the lights in the closets and the garage. Think twice about a note asking buyers to take off their shoes: some buyers can't bend down to do it, and a request they can't meet can end the showing before it starts. Shoe covers at the door work for everyone.
You do
- Agreeing with the seller on any house rules for buyers
Hand off
- Putting those rules in the showing instructions
Where Reddy fits
Tell Reddy in chat how you prepare a seller for showings, and it saves that as a playbook it follows when that work comes up. When you ask, Reddy writes the checklist email to your seller as a draft in your own mailbox, and you review it and send it.
The talk with the seller stays with you, and Reddy doesn't send the email for you.