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FSBO seller checklist

The showing-day checklist: get your Queens home show-ready.

Buyers form their impression in the first minutes and spend the rest of the visit confirming it. This checklist covers the week-before prep, a room-by-room pass, the documents serious buyers always ask for, and the safety basics — with checkboxes you can tick off on your phone as you walk the house.

Median days on market: 74 days — realtor.com, Sept 2026
Well-priced Queens homes: Selling at ~98% of asking — realtor.com
Best pre-listing ROI: Cleaning, paint, lighting — not renovations
This series: Worksheet 2 of 4 for FSBO sellers

Updated October 2026 · Queens, NY

The week before

The highest-return work before a showing costs the least: cleaning, decluttering, and fixing everything visibly broken. Buyers cannot see past deferred maintenance, and every visible flaw becomes a discount they invent in their heads — always larger than the repair would have cost you.

Worksheet A — Week-before prep

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Deep-cleaned everything, or booked cleaners.Buyers can’t see past grime; every dirty corner becomes a discount in their head. Decluttered and depersonalized: counters clear, closets half-empty, family photos stored. Fixed everything visibly broken: drips, cracked switch plates, sticky doors, scuffed entry. Touched up paint in neutral tones everywhere it shows. Replaced dim or mismatched bulbs with bright matching ones, in every room.Lighting is what photographs. Curb and entry handled: swept, trimmed, clean doormat, working doorbell. Booked a photographer — or planned a bright midday shoot for listing photos. Assembled the paperwork packet (see below).

The paperwork packet buyers ask for

Serious buyers ask for paper. Having it ready signals an organized seller and keeps momentum alive after the showing — nothing deflates a hot buyer like “I’ll get you the tax bill next week.” Keep one folder, physical or digital, and bring it to every showing.

Worksheet C — Paperwork packet

Assemble once; reuse for every showing.

Most recent property tax bill. Last 12 months of utility averages (gas, electric, water). Co-op / condo: monthly charges, sublet policy, flip tax, recent assessments. Alteration and renovation history with dates. Property Condition Disclosure Statement — or a note on the $500 credit option.NY Real Property Law §462. Floor plan, if you have one. List of recent upgrades with approximate dates.

During the showing

Your job during a showing is to be available and then be quiet. Answer questions honestly, point out the practical things (taxes, commute, parking, what stays), and let buyers talk to each other — that is when they sell themselves on the home.

Worksheet D — Showing-day routine

Run this list 30 minutes before every showing.

Every light on, curtains open, comfortable temperature. Valuables, medications, sensitive documents, and mail locked away. Pets out of the home (or secured and silent). Me or a trusted person present — but not hovering.Buyers won’t speak freely with the seller on their shoulder. One-page info sheet on the counter: price, taxes, monthly costs, highlights. Phone on silent; full attention on the buyer.

Safety basics

You are inviting strangers into your home. A few habits keep showings safe without making buyers uncomfortable — legitimate buyers will not mind a careful seller.

Worksheet E — Safety habits

Showings scheduled in daylight when possible; someone knows my showing schedule. Phone on me, not on the counter. Avoiding solo late-day showings when I can; a friend present otherwise. Nothing of value visible or accessible anywhere in the home. Trusting my instincts — I can end a showing that feels wrong.

Questions, answered.

Should I be present at my own showings?

Yes, if you’re FSBO — there’s no agent to stand in. Be warm, be brief, then get out of the way: buyers won’t speak freely with the seller hovering. Answer questions honestly and let them linger.

Open house or private showings?

Both have a place. An open house creates energy and urgency in the first two weeks; private showings suit serious buyers later. Either way, the checklist is the same — the home doesn’t know the format.

Do I need to stage the home?

For most Queens homes, no. Clean, decluttered, bright, and neutral beats rented furniture. Spend the staging budget on paint and photography instead — unless the home is vacant, where a few key pieces help buyers read the scale.

How should I handle feedback?

Write it down the same day, look for patterns across showings, and separate taste (“didn’t like the paint”) from signal (“worried about the water pressure”). Three showings mentioning the same thing is data — act on it.

General information only

General information only — not legal, financial, or appraisal advice. These worksheets organize your own research; they are not a substitute for professional advice. New York real estate contracts, disclosures, taxes, and fair-housing rules depend on your situation: have a licensed New York real estate attorney review your contract and disclosures before you sign anything, consult a licensed appraiser for valuation questions, and talk to a tax professional about tax consequences.

Sources

realtor.com Queens market data, September 2026 — days on market, sale-to-list ratio
NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers — showing and search behavior
listhomesforsale.com — FSBO paperwork checklist (sell-by-owner/checklist/)

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