What to Do During a Showing When Selling Your Lake Nona Home

By Aileen Torres | Keller Williams Advantage III Realty | August 2026

Your home is on the market. A buyer has scheduled a showing. Now what?

Most sellers know to clean and stage before listing. But what actually happens during a showing, and how you handle it, can make the difference between a buyer who writes an offer and one who walks away without a second thought.

Here is exactly what I tell my Lake Nona sellers to do before, during, and after every showing.

The Single Most Important Thing: Leave the House

I cannot say this clearly enough. Get out of the house for every showing.

It feels uncomfortable to leave strangers in your home. I understand that. But buyers need privacy to talk openly with their agent, to open cabinets and closets without feeling watched, and to stand in the kitchen and actually imagine cooking dinner there.

When sellers are present, buyers rush. They feel like guests instead of potential owners. They do not say what they are really thinking. They leave faster. And they are far less likely to submit an offer.

Go to a coffee shop. Take a walk in the park. Run an errand. Just go. Give buyers the space to fall in love with your home without an audience.

What to Do the 30 Minutes Before a Showing

You do not need to do a full deep clean before every showing. But a quick walkthrough makes a noticeable difference. Here is your 30-minute pre-showing checklist:

• Turn on every light in the house, including closets and pantries. Bright homes feel larger and more welcoming.
• Set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature. A home that is too hot or too cold is memorable for the wrong reasons.
• Open blinds and curtains to let in natural light, especially in rooms with a view or pool access.
• Tidy the kitchen counters and wipe down bathroom surfaces. These two areas are what buyers inspect most carefully.
• Put away personal clutter: mail, shoes by the door, chargers on the nightstand. Buyers are trying to see their life in your home, not yours.
• Take out the trash and address any pet-related odors.
• Grab the pets and go.

How to Handle Last-Minute Showing Requests

Here is the thing about last-minute showings: the buyers requesting them are often the most motivated.

A buyer who calls their agent and says they need to see a house today is not casually browsing. They may have lost another home. They may have just arrived in town. They may be ready to write an offer today if the house is right.

Accept same-day showings whenever you possibly can. The temporary inconvenience of dropping everything is worth it. Declined showings do not come back around. That buyer moves on to the next home.

The best way to handle this is to keep your home consistently close to showing-ready. That way, a 30-minute heads-up is enough to get out the door without panic. We talk through how to do that as part of the listing preparation process.

What to Do With Pets During a Showing

Take them with you if at all possible.

Even the friendliest dog can alarm a buyer who is not an animal person. A cat that jumps on every surface may distract buyers from actually looking at your home. A dog barking in a crate for the duration of the showing creates stress that buyers associate with the property itself.

If you cannot take pets with you, crate them in a quiet room and put a note on the door for the showing agent. Make sure the yard is clear of pet waste before any showing. Buyers always walk the yard, and what they find out there shapes how they feel about the whole property.

Pet odors are also worth addressing honestly. I will tell you if there is an odor issue because a buyer's agent absolutely will notice it, and it will show up in feedback.

How to Get Useful Feedback After a Showing

Not every showing comes with feedback. Buyer's agents do not always respond, and sometimes buyers do not have much to say. But when feedback does come in, it is worth reading carefully.

Your agent should follow up after every showing, typically within 24 hours. Common feedback themes that are worth paying attention to:

• "Priced too high for the square footage" means your price is out of line with comparable sales, not just one buyer's opinion.
• "Loved the home but needs too much work" often means buyers want a credit or a price reduction to account for deferred maintenance.
• "Yard needs attention" or "felt dark inside" are presentation issues you can fix quickly.
• "Not the right fit" is usually not actionable. Some buyers are just looking for something different.

If you are hearing the same theme from multiple showing feedbacks, that is a signal worth acting on. One buyer's opinion is noise. Three buyers saying the same thing is a pattern.

The Emotional Side of Showings

Showings can feel invasive. It is your home. Strangers are walking through it, opening your closets, judging your choices. I want to acknowledge that because it is real.

Here is what helps: remember that what they are evaluating is not you. They are evaluating whether this property fits their life and their budget. The feedback they give, even when it is blunt, is market information, not a personal critique.

The sellers who handle this process with the least stress are the ones who have a clear plan before their home ever goes on the market. They know their pricing strategy. They know what they are going to do when an offer comes in. They are not just hoping. They are executing.

For more on how to prepare your home before the first showing, read how to prepare for showings when selling in Lake Nona and how to stage your Lake Nona home to sell faster. And if you want to understand what buyers are thinking when they walk through your door, read what Lake Nona buyers look for in a home in 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Aileen Torres | Keller Williams Advantage III Realty | (407) 434-1213 | aileenhomes.com