In an ideal world: homes would listed and sold within days. There would be no need to stage your home for weeks in a row and wait with bated breath beside the phone for the offers to arrive. In an ideal world. The simple reality of the housing situation is that not all homes sell immediately. Some can languish on the market for months. This is not a statement on the home itself, simply a statement that some homes take longer to sell and some don't. The difficulty arises when your home has been on the market for some time and the maintenance required to keep the home in a show-ready state for an extended period.

This can be the most difficult aspect of an extended home sale. In an ideal showing environment, a home is pristine at all times. There is almost no hint of human habitation in a perfectly staged home. We all know how difficult to maintain this can be, especially if you have kids and pets and a life. In all honesty, the best way to deal with this is to clean every day, as unappealing as that may sound. Ideally, you will have some notice before showings happen; but spur of the moment shows do happen. When these do happen it's definitely easier to only have to do a few minor cleaning tasks as opposed to having a major clean with time restraints on your hands.

If necessary, utilize a cleaning service before a show or day of shows. This will present a beautifully neat and tidy atmosphere for viewers to "get to know your house in." The cleaner a home is, the less negative distractions there are for your guests. If you have a few pets that tend to make a mess, it might be a good idea to keep them at a friend's place or a boarding facility, especially during the show times. Homes generally show better if there is no indication that there are pets in the home. There are a host of concerns connected with pets in the home that can bring down an asking price so best if Fido and Fluffy are elsewhere.