Maybe you have chosen to sell your home via a “Hybrid” Estate Agent without their viewing service or that your chosen Estate Agent simply is unavailable at the time of the viewing. Don’t panic !  In your favour you have the advantage of intimate knowledge of both your home and the area, which I will come back to shortly.

Providing you have followed the tips in Home Staging – Can You Afford Not To? and also ‘WHIFFS’ AND ‘BUTS’ your home is ready to go and to be honest that is about 80% of the job done – the purchaser is going to be buying your home and not you.

Before the arrival of your viewing decide if you would like the potential purchasers to take of their shoes before they enter your home, strange I know, but if they get a muddy foot print on your carpet they will be treading on egg shells and not really paying attention to your home and the extra cleaning may play on your mind as you show them around.

If you have a houseful of family and you are able to, open the door and shoo them out, for the purchaser this solves the issue of apologising every time they enter a room – feeling awkward is not associated with buying a house.

Time to turn on all the lights in the house, the more the better (open the curtains and blinds too) and turn off the T.V’s, music players, dishwashers and washing machines – Tranquillity and calmness are great selling aids when it comes to property.

Now it’s your turn, be dressed in smart/casual clothes, not over the top but something that you feel comfortable in – Your house is the memory you want to leave your viewers with and not the Stormtrooper dressing gown you were wearing (it does happen!).

Knock Knock or Ding Dong (depends if you have a doorbell I guess)

OK they are here … deep breath and open the door with a smile, after introductions you may ask the purchaser to remove their shoes (if that is what you intend) and invite them in.

Time to take charge – Personally I would start upstairs as this is the area where people generally just sleep (if you live on one level, if you can save the living room until last) and is the only section of the property that you need to say what room it is, Master Bedroom, Bedroom 2 , 3 etc.. At any time within the first few minutes you can open yourself up to answering questions on your forte – the property and the area.

Listen to what the viewers are saying as they look around,  you may pick up on questions that you can answer such as local schools, hospitals, shopping and access to certain roads – again it is something you know about and keeps you in your comfort zone.

Back downstairs – if possible the last two rooms I would show are the kitchen and living room, generally the central hubs of any home and the place where most people feel relaxed. When in the living room linger there as long as is comfortable – this is a great place to answer any questions they may have, all you need to do is ask if they have any.

If you have an outside space, invite the viewer to have a wander by themselves (you can catch your breath elsewhere, just keep an eye out for when they have finished), one of the first things they will do is look up and stare at the roof – don’t worry it’s still there, this is just an area of contemplation and thought for the purchaser. As they walk back to the door, welcome them back inside and again ask them if they have any questions about the area (they have seen the property, but may ask about the benefits of the surrounding area).

That’s it, job done, now all you have to do is phone the family to get them back home … or pour a glass of wine and relax for 20 minutes …. and then phone them!