How home showings work when you list in Delaware or Maryland

When your home is listed on Bright MLS, buyers’ agents see how to request a showing. We use ShowingTime, an online scheduling service, for our listings. Here is the usual flow:

1. A buyer’s agent requests a date and time.
2. You get a notice by text, email or the app.
3. You approve it, decline it, or suggest another time.
4. The buyer’s agent gets the confirmation and the access instructions.

You stay in control. We set it up around your life: times that are always off-limits, how much notice you need, and who gets the requests (you, us, or both).

Most listings use a lockbox, so agents can get in without you handing over a key each time. Electronic lockboxes generally record which agent opened them and when. Only licensed agents with a confirmed appointment get the access instructions. If you’d rather be called before every visit, we can set that up.

A short routine makes each showing easier:

• Put away valuables, mail, and prescription medicines.
• Turn on the lights and open the blinds.
• Set the heat or air to a comfortable level.
• Make the beds, clear the counters, and take out the trash.
• Plan for pets: take them with you or crate them, and tell us so we can note it for agents.

Sellers usually leave during showings. Buyers speak more openly and stay longer when the owner isn’t there. The buyer’s agent stays with the buyers the whole time.

If you have cameras in the home, tell us before the first showing. Rules on recording, especially audio, vary, so ask your attorney before you record anyone.

After each showing, ShowingTime asks the buyer’s agent for feedback. Not every agent answers, but most patterns show up within a few weeks:

• comments about price compared with other homes they’ve seen,
• comments about condition or updates,
• comments about layout, light or the lot.

We share the feedback with you as it comes in, and we look at it together with the number of showings and online views. If several buyers mention the same thing, we talk about a fix or a price change. Feedback is about the home. We never ask about, and never pass along, anything about who the buyers are.

Buyers expect the seller’s disclosure early. In Delaware, sellers of most homes complete the Seller’s Disclosure of Real Property Condition Report before the buyer makes an offer. In Maryland, sellers of most homes give either a property condition disclosure or a disclaimer statement (Real Property §10-702). We help you get the right form ready before showings start.

If the home is rented, tenants are entitled to notice before entry, as their lease and the law require. Fewer, well-planned showings work best. See selling a rental with tenants.

If the home is vacant, keep the utilities on and the insurance current, and we check the home after showings. See how we sell a home, step by step for the full process.