3 Things to Take With You When an Agent is Showing Your Home

Posted by Allison Van Wig on Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 12:59 PM By Allison Van Wig / November 21, 2019 Comment

When you’re selling your home, you’ll have lots of people coming in and out - and you won’t be there. Your real estate agent will most likely tell you about taking things out of your home when there’s a showing, but here are three things you absolutely have to take.

3 Things to Take With You When an Agent is Showing Your Home

Your real estate agent has probably already talked to you about showings - when you’ll have them, who will bring visitors into your home and all the other basics - but he or she may not have mentioned all the things you need to take with you when you leave. Check out this list so you can make the best choices:

Prescription medication
Jewelry
Pets

Here’s a closer look at each.

#1. Prescription Medication

You should never leave any prescription medications in your home when you have a showing. That includes prescriptions that aren’t likely to be used recreationally - because even though people may not care about your Prilosec, there’s a lot of personal information on pill bottles. You don’t want that lying around for anyone to see.

#2. Jewelry

Valuable, irreplaceable jewelry needs to go in a box you’ll take with you when you have a showing in your home. While most people would never dream of swiping your heirloom necklace from your grandmother or the fabulous earrings someone special bought for you, there’s always a chance. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t leave anything portable that you wouldn’t walk away from in public behind.

#3. Pets

Your agent has probably already discussed taking your pets with you when you leave for showings, but it bears repeating: Take your four-legged, two-legged (and no-legged) family members with you. There are several reasons for this - and the most important is that your pet could escape if a prospective buyer leaves the door open. Second to that, you need to know that not everyone loves (or even likes) animals. Having pets in the home during a tour can destroy your chance of a sale. Even if you leave the dog in the backyard, you’re doing yourself a disservice - some people won’t go out there to explore the space simply because your pup is roaming around. (And please don’t think of locking your pets in a room for showings - people won’t buy a house unless they can see every room.)