How winter sellers can prepare for snowy showings

Key insights

• Provide shoe covers or a boot drying rack so you can ensure snow and mud aren’t tracked through your home.
• Institute a new routine to quickly dry out coats, mittens and other items after you return from school and work.
• Pay close attention to your driveway and sidewalks to ensure they are free from snow and ice; add salt or sand to every walkway to ensure no one gets injured.

Selling your home any time of year can be stressful, but when you add snow and ice to the mix, everything gets a bit more complicated. Here are some tips and tricks to help you keep your home show-ready during these harsh winter months.

Focus on your floors

Whether you added lush new carpet or restored 90-year-old hardwood floors, you likely put a lot of work into your home’s flooring before you listed. Don’t waste your efforts by allowing your family members or incoming buyers to track in snow, ice or dirt. Protect your home by:

• Requesting your family and friends enter the home through the garage when your home is up for sale.
• Adding a boot rack or boot drying tray to your mudroom or your entrance from the garage.
• Asking all potential buyers to take their shoes off upon entering your home (add another boot rack inside the front entrance).

If you have a dog, be sure to wipe Bella’s paws off every time you let her in from outside.

Create an outerwear plan

Our next tip focuses more on your family than potential buyers. Most families tend to rotate coats, mittens, jackets and scarves, but when you’re selling your home you have to be more aware of potential clutter. While your home is on the market, make sure that every member of your family sticks to just one heavy jacket, one hat, one scarf, one set of mittens or gloves, and one pair of boots.

Then, institute this after-school or after-work routine:

• Put all wet items (except boots and shoes) into the dryer immediately.
• Set a timer for 30 minutes.
• When the timer goes off, remove outerwear from the dryer and hang it in the mudroom or coat closet.

This may seem like overkill, but if a last-minute showing pops up, you’ll have warm and dry outerwear to put on—and buyers won’t be turned off by a musty smell or a wet entryway or mudroom.

Last, add a coat rack to your front entryway so buyers can take off their outerwear before entering the house for a showing.

Clear and light your walkways

Buyers who slip and trip up your driveway will be less likely to appreciate what your home has to offer, so be sure to shovel or plow your driveway and sidewalks every time it snows. If swinging temperatures have created icy walkways, be sure to salt or sand them before every showing. You may also want to salt or sand before you leave home each morning, in case of last-minute showing requests that pop up during the day.

Next, consider lighting. If you didn’t install path lighting before the ground froze, talk with your REALTOR® about your options. At a minimum, keep your front door and garage lights on all night, rather than employing motion-sensor lights.

Keep a lookout for external issues

Homebuyers are going to be taking a close look at every nook and cranny of your home to see if it meets their needs and if there are any potential pitfalls. In the winter, this can include your roof and gutters to see if there are any indicators of ice dams or other signs of external damage.

There are ways to help prevent and fix ice dams, starting with cleaning your gutters properly. Still, it’s a good idea to watch the weather and keep your eyes peeled for melting snow and snow accumulations. That way, you can address issues as they come and prevent them from becoming problems.

Prepping to sell?

Buyers are out there, and they’re eager for new homes to go on the market. To discuss your options and the price you may be able to get at closing, get in touch with one of our 2,000+ local real estate experts today.