Rules for showing a house*:

1. Leave the house spotless, with no miscellaneous items laying about.
2. Confine pets to a closet or crate, or better yet, have them be absent when the buyers show up. Hide pet food and other pet-related items that may normally be in plain view
3. Be out of the house when the buyers arrive

*I’ve truncated this list to the rules that actually apply to us, because things like “Don’t leave poop on the floor” are not really an issue around here

Well, I think I botched a showing yesterday. I learned that when I’m on my own, 30 minutes is NOT enough time to prepare this house for a showing, even if I’ve picked up and straightened the night before and the morning of.

Actually, I had asked for 45 minutes, but by the time Central Showing Agency called the buyers’ agent to confirm and then called me back, my time slot had dwindled to 30 minutes.

I dashed home from work and furiously flew through the house cleaning, straightening, putting things away (darn the laundry, my ever-present foe), vacuuming, emptying the trash and the litter box.

When they showed up, I was still here. Caught. They could see me through the second floor window trying to throw the vacuum into the closet. I was frantic, out of breath (Dude.  I REALLY need one of those Dyson light-weight vacuums), and I could not find the cat.

They were very nice about it all and told me I didn’t have to leave during the showing because they might have questions anyway. Their agent made a comment about how clean and nice the house was. But as I was cruising through the kitchen trying to keep out of the way, I noticed some areas that I hadn’t gotten to… crumbs and random cooking supplies on the counter tops and stove (WTH? I don’t even cook, and I’m having issues with cooking ingredients?), miscellaneous pieces of vegetables on the floor from LB’s dinner the night before, a sticky spot on the wood where LB had spilled some juice (apparently I’m using the wrong cleaner because the sticky won’t go away no matter how many times I clean it), the dog food still out…

How embarrassing.

The couple was a young pair and I suspect they had a little one on the way, with the interest they took in LB’s room (and particularly her little dresses hanging in the closet). They were very nice and seemed to like the house so there’s a part of me that’s hoping they’ll come back a second time so I can show them that I’m not a complete moron. But for the most part I think I may have to chalk it up to a learning experience.

Note to self: Next time, insist on having an hour at home before the buyers show up.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 8:21 am and is filed under Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.