Private Home Showing Checklist

Showings are where a private sale is won. Photos get buyers interested; a well-run showing turns that interest into an offer. Doing it yourself means you control the schedule, you know the home better than any agent could, and you can answer questions on the spot. It also means you are responsible for preparation and for your own safety. This guide covers both, and ends with a checklist you can print and keep by the door.

Private showings versus open houses

A private showing is one buyer, or one household, at a booked time. An open house is a set window, usually a weekend afternoon, when anyone can walk in. Most private sellers use both.

• Private showings attract more serious buyers, give you a conversation with each one, and are easier to keep safe. They take more of your time because each one is a separate appointment.
• Open houses reach neighbours, curious passers-by and buyers who have not booked anything. Some of them become offers; many are browsing. They are efficient, and they create the feeling that a home is in demand, but they need more preparation and more attention to security.

On HouseUp, buyers request showings through your listing and you accept or suggest another time from your inbox. You can also schedule open houses from your dashboard; they appear on your listing and buyers can RSVP so you know roughly who is coming.

Before you book: screening buyers

An agent's first job with a new buyer is to find out whether they can actually buy. Do the same before you spend an evening preparing your home.

• Ask whether they are pre-approved. A buyer with a mortgage pre-approval has already been through a lender's checks. It is a fair, normal question. A buyer who is not yet pre-approved is not necessarily a waste of time, but you should know.
• Ask about their timing. “When are you hoping to move?” sorts buyers who are ready from buyers who are a year away.
• Ask whether they have a home to sell first. It affects how firm any offer can be.
• Ask whether they are working with an agent. If they are, the agent may contact you about commission. Decide your answer in advance; our savings guide explains the choice.
• Get a full name and a phone number. Keep the conversation on HouseUp messages for a record, and confirm the booking by text or call so you have a number that works.

Keep it friendly. You are not interrogating anyone, just having the conversation any seller would have. Our guide on handling buyer inquiries covers the messaging side in more detail.

Safety when strangers visit

You are inviting people you do not know into your home. The risk is low, and a few simple habits make it lower.

• Never show alone if you can avoid it. Have a partner, friend or neighbour in the house. If you must be alone, tell someone who is coming and when, and check in afterwards.
• Confirm identity before they arrive. A real name, a working phone number and ideally a short call. Trust your instincts; you are allowed to decline a showing.
• Put valuables and medication away. Jewellery, cash, prescription drugs, passports, laptops, keys, mail with account numbers. Lock them in a drawer, a safe or your car.
• Remove personal information from view. Calendars showing when you are away, family photos with names, children's schedules, documents on the counter.
• Let visitors lead through the house, and stay behind them. You keep sight of them and are never cornered in a room.
• Keep your phone on you, charged and unlocked.
• Do not discuss your own schedule, where you are moving, or when the house is empty.
• Pets. Take them out or crate them. It is safer for the pet and more comfortable for buyers.
• After every showing, check doors and windows. Occasionally a visitor unlocks one to come back later. Walk the house before you leave it.

Preparing the home for a showing

Buyers notice everything, and they notice smell and light first. Aim for the home to feel bright, clean, quiet and a little empty.

• Clean and declutter to the same standard as photo day. If it has been a while, see preparing your home for photos; the list is the same.
• Air it out. Open windows for twenty minutes, then close them before the buyer arrives. Avoid strong air fresheners and cooking smells; a neutral, fresh home beats a scented one.
• Lights on, blinds open, in every room, even in daylight.
• Set the temperature to comfortable. A cold house in winter or a hot one in summer sends buyers out early.
• Clear surfaces and make beds. Close closet doors and the lid of the toilet.
• Make the entrance welcoming. Swept step, clear hallway, somewhere to put shoes, a doormat.
• Turn off the television and loud appliances. Quiet background music is optional; silence is fine.
• Put out a simple information sheet: address, price, size, lot, taxes, included appliances, age of roof, furnace and windows, and your contact details. Buyers take it home and it keeps your home in the running.
• Have documents ready to show if asked: a recent survey if you have one, utility bills, condo documents, renovation permits and receipts. Keep originals put away; show copies.
• Fewer people in the house is better. Send the kids to a friend's and take the dog for a walk if you have a helper to host.

During the showing

• Greet, then give space. Welcome them, offer the information sheet, point out anything they should not miss, and let them explore. Hovering makes buyers uncomfortable and quiet.
• Be ready for questions, and answer honestly. Age of the roof, cost of heating, why you are selling, what the neighbours are like. If you do not know, say so and follow up.
• Mention what the photos cannot show. Morning light in the kitchen, how quiet the street is at night, the park two minutes away.
• Do not oversell, and do not apologise. Let the home do the work. Pointing out flaws before they ask invites negotiation; hiding known problems is a mistake of a different kind, because disclosure rules exist in every province and a lawyer or your provincial regulator can tell you what applies.
• Do not negotiate at the door. If a buyer asks whether you would take less, say you are happy to look at any written offer. Price talk belongs in an offer, not in a hallway.
• Watch the time. Twenty to forty minutes is typical. Serious buyers may ask to come back; that is a good sign.
• Ask for feedback as they leave. “What did you think?” The answers tell you how your price and presentation are landing.

Running an open house

An open house is a showing with more people and less control. Everything above applies, plus:

• Schedule it on HouseUp from your dashboard so it appears on your listing with the date and time, and buyers can RSVP. Put the date on your lawn sign if you have one.
• Pick a weekend afternoon, two or three hours. Avoid long weekends and major local events.
• Have at least two hosts. One at the door, one moving through the house. Three is better for a large home.
• Use a sign-in sheet. Name, phone and email. It is a reasonable security measure and gives you a list to follow up with. People who refuse to sign in can be politely declined.
• Lock away everything you would lock away for a showing, and close doors to rooms you do not want visited.
• Have information sheets and a few floor plans on the kitchen counter.
• Expect neighbours. Be gracious; they talk, and they often know someone who is looking.
• Walk the house afterwards, check windows and doors, and count anything you were worried about.

After the showing

• Send a short message that evening. Thank them, offer to answer any questions, and mention the next open house or that you are available for a second visit. Buyers who are interested will reply.
• Record feedback. Keep a note of what each visitor said. Patterns tell you whether to adjust price, presentation or the description.
• Lock up, restore the home, and bring the valuables back out when you are sure the house is empty.
• If an offer is coming, read understanding offers and conditions before it arrives, so the conversation starts on your terms.

The printable checklist

Print this page, or copy the lists below, and keep it by the door.

The day before

• Confirm the booking by phone or text; note the name and number.
• Arrange a second person to be present.
• Deep clean, declutter, make beds.
• Fix anything small that is broken.
• Print information sheets.
• Put copies of documents in a folder; originals away.

One hour before

• Valuables, medication, mail, keys and electronics locked away.
• Personal information and calendars out of sight.
• Windows open to air out, then closed.
• Every light on, every blind open.
• Temperature comfortable.
• Television off, dishwasher and laundry not running.
• Pets out or crated; litter boxes cleaned.
• Entrance swept, doormat down, space for shoes.
• Toilet lids down, towels fresh, counters clear.
• Phone charged and in your pocket.

During

• Greet, hand over the sheet, give space.
• Stay behind visitors; never get cornered.
• Answer honestly; no price talk at the door.
• Ask for feedback as they leave.

After

• Check every door and window.
• Send a thank-you message.
• Write down feedback.
• Put valuables back.

Run a few showings this way and they stop feeling like a performance and start feeling like what they are: showing a home you know well to someone who might love it. Showing requests and open houses are managed from your HouseUp dashboard; if you have not listed yet, start your listing.