The First Buyers Are Coming: How to Prepare Your House for a Viewing
Saturday, 10:15 a.m. The first prospective buyers will arrive in twenty minutes. The kitchen is tidy. The beds are made. Fresh flowers are in the living room. The owner is convinced: the house is ready.
Then the viewing begins.
After a few minutes, the prospective buyer asks:
“How old is the heating system?”
The owner thinks for a moment.
“About ten years. Maybe twelve.”
Next question:
“When was the roof last done?”
No precise answer.
In the cellar, the prospective buyer notices an old water stain.
“Where did that come from?”
“There was something once, but it’s not really a problem anymore.”
Later, the couple wants to know how high the ancillary costs are and whether plans from the last renovation are available.
These documents are not ready either.
The prospective buyers actually like the house.
Nevertheless, they leave the viewing with several unanswered questions.
The problem was not the house. The problem was the lack of preparation.
This example is fictional and represents typical situations during property viewings.
A viewing is more than tidying up
When preparing for a viewing, many owners first think of:
cleaning,
tidying up,
airing the rooms,
maintaining the garden.
That makes sense.
But a successful property viewing has two levels.
Emotion: Can I imagine living here?
Trust: Do I understand what I am buying?
Both should be prepared.
The Homeowners’ Association points out that the first emotional impression is often formed within the first few minutes of a viewing.
After that, however, the factual questions begin.
And that is exactly where a seller should be prepared.
1. Walk through your house once as if you were a buyer
Do not start with the vacuum cleaner.
Start at the front door.
Imagine you are seeing your property for the first time.
What do prospective buyers see?
Is the entrance area well maintained?
Does the lighting work?
Is the garden tidy?
Does the entrance hall look cluttered?
Are the rooms bright?
Can prospective buyers recognise the actual size of the rooms?
Owners get used to small things over the years.
A buyer sees them for the first time.
That is why it can be helpful to consciously look at the property through someone else’s eyes.
2. Fewer personal items can create more space
A property does not have to look like a hotel for a viewing.
It may look lived in.
However, too many personal items can make it harder for prospective buyers to imagine themselves in the rooms.
Very full surfaces, overloaded shelves and too much furniture in particular can make rooms appear smaller.
So the aim is not:
“The house must no longer have any personality.”
But rather:
“The buyer should be able to imagine that this could become their home.”
3. Use light and the sense of space deliberately
Open curtains and shutters.
Switch on lights in darker areas.
Air the rooms before the viewing.
Remove objects that unnecessarily narrow walkways.
Prospective buyers should be able to experience the rooms without obstacles.
With vacant properties, the opposite can become a problem: without furniture, some people find it harder to assess room sizes and possible uses.
Home staging can be an option here.
Whether the effort is worthwhile depends on the property, target group and sales strategy.
4. Do not repair everything in a rush
A loose door handle?
A defective light?
A cupboard door that sticks?
Small things like these can often be fixed with little effort.
Large investments are different.
Replacing an entire kitchen shortly before the sale or renovating the bathroom on suspicion is a different decision.
Investment costs do not automatically lead to a correspondingly higher sale price.
That is why small, obvious defects and larger renovation decisions should be considered separately.
5. Do not hide known defects
Back to our example.
The water stain in the cellar may in fact have been harmless.
But the answer:
“There was something once.”
does little to build trust.
A specific explanation would be better:
When did the problem occur?
What was the cause?
Was it repaired?
Is there an invoice or documentation?
Known relevant defects should not be cosmetically concealed.
Transparency is especially important when selling real estate.
A buyer who later feels that a problem was deliberately hidden has a much bigger trust issue than a buyer to whom a repaired defect was explained in a clear and understandable way.
6. Prepare the ten most likely buyer questions
During a viewing, owners or estate agents should be able to answer basic questions.
For example:
How old is the heating system?
When were the roof and façade last renovated?
What renovations have been carried out?
Approximately how high are the running costs?
Why is the property being sold?
When would the handover be possible?
Which fixtures and fittings will remain in the house?
Are there easements or special land register entries?
What larger investments may be upcoming?
Which documents are available?
In the case of condominium ownership, for example, questions about the renovation fund, regulations and planned communal refurbishments are also relevant.
No one has to know every technical figure by heart.
But relevant information should be available.
7. The sales dossier should work by now at the latest
Prospective buyers who seriously consider the property after the viewing want to review information.
That is why a good sales dossier should not only be created when the first purchase offer comes in.
Depending on the property, it may include, for example:
- floor plan
- area details
- plot information
- land register information
- renovation overview
- information on heating and building technology
- relevant permits
- building information
- energy information
- additional communal documents for condominium ownership
UBS describes sales documentation as a central element enabling prospective buyers to assess the property on a sound basis.
8. Let prospective buyers look around too
A poor viewing can sometimes feel like a sales presentation.
The seller explains without pause:
“We painted here in 2019.”
“You could put a cupboard here.”
“This room is actually much larger than it looks.”
However, prospective buyers also need time to experience the rooms for themselves.
A good estate agent knows the property, answers questions and highlights relevant advantages.
At the same time, they give buyers enough space to make their own decision.
9. Communicate the reasons for selling properly
Prospective buyers often ask:
“Why are you selling?”
There should be an honest but considered answer to this.
“We are moving to a smaller apartment after retirement.”
is different from:
“We urgently need to sell the house.”
The second sentence can immediately influence the negotiating position.
Prospective buyers do not need to know personal financial details.
An estate agent can help answer such questions factually without revealing unnecessary information about the owner’s negotiating position.
10. Not every visitor is automatically a serious buyer
A well-attended viewing feels positive.
But ten viewings do not mean ten potential buyers.
What matters is what happens afterwards.
That is why a professional sales strategy also includes qualifying and following up with prospective buyers.
Who is seriously interested?
Who needs additional documents?
Who would like a second viewing?
Who can, in principle, finance the purchase?
Who would like to submit an offer?
The viewing is not the end of the marketing process.
It is one step within the sales process.
11. After the viewing, the important part begins
Let us imagine our example differently.
The prospective buyers leave the house.
On the same day, they receive the missing technical information.
The estate agent follows up:
What did you like?
Which questions are still open?
Are you still interested?
Would you like documents for your bank?
Would you like a second viewing?
Now a viewing becomes a structured sales process.
This follow-up process is exactly the point that owners often underestimate when choosing an estate agent.
So do not ask an estate agent only: “Where do you advertise?”
Also ask:
How do you organise viewings?
Are they individual appointments or group viewings?
How do you qualify prospective buyers in advance?
Who conducts the viewing?
How do you record feedback?
When do you follow up?
When do you request proof of financing?
How do you deal with several prospective buyers at the same time?
This way, you are not only comparing marketing.
You are comparing the actual sales process.
Three estate agents – three possible viewing strategies
Let us assume three estate agents want to sell your house.
Agent A wants to bundle as many prospective buyers as possible into one viewing day.
Agent B relies on individually arranged private viewings.
Agent C wants to qualify prospective buyers first and only conduct viewings with a smaller group.
None of these strategies has to be automatically wrong.
The decisive factors are the property, demand, target group and pricing strategy.
But as an owner, you should know:
Which strategy is being proposed – and why?
It is precisely these differences that make estate agent offers comparable.
Where Makli comes in
With Makli, owners enter their property once.
Suitable estate agents can apply for the sales mandate with concrete offers.
When comparing, do not only look at:
Who charges the lowest commission?
or:
Who names the highest sale price?
Also ask:
How do you actually intend to sell my property?
This includes the phase between the listing and the purchase offer – and therefore, in particular, how prospective buyers and viewings are handled.
Makli sees itself as a decision-making and market access platform: owners receive different offers and decide for themselves which approach convinces them.
Checklist for the day before the first viewing
Check again:
- Is the property clean and tidy?
- Are the rooms bright and easily accessible?
- Have very personal or valuable items been put away?
- Do the lighting, doors and obvious small details work?
- Are known relevant defects properly documented?
- Are the most important technical details available?
- Are the sales dossier and relevant documents ready?
- Is it clear who will answer questions?
- Is the desired handover date roughly known?
- Has it been defined how prospective buyers will be looked after after the viewing?
Then your property is not only beautifully presented.
The entire sales process is prepared.
Conclusion: A good viewing does not sell – it creates the next step
The purpose of a viewing is not to put prospective buyers under pressure.
At the end, a potential buyer should think three things:
I can imagine living here.
I understand what I am buying.
My unanswered questions are being handled professionally.
That requires more than a tidy kitchen.
Presentation, information, transparency and follow-up belong together.
And that is exactly why, when choosing an estate agent, it is worth comparing not only price and commission, but also asking:
How do you guide a prospective buyer from the first enquiry through to the purchase offer?
Would you like to know how different estate agents would plan the marketing and viewings for your property? Enter your property on Makli free of charge. Suitable estate agents submit concrete offers – you compare pricing strategy, services, marketing and terms, and decide for yourself.
Sources: HEV Switzerland, “How the new home staging trend increases the sale price”, 15 July 2026. UBS Switzerland, “Sales documentation for your property”. In addition, a recent publication by ImmoScout24/HEV dated 1 September 2026 shows that organising and filtering prospective buyers and viewing appointments can make up a significant part of the administrative marketing process for sellers.