Stress and the holidays!

Buying and selling real estate is stressful for you as well as your clients during the holidays. You want to remain professional but also impart some holiday cheer and help your client through the whole process. Here are some tips for them.

. Decorate but in a simple way. You want the home to look festive but not cluttered, so the buyer can really see the house. Decorating the front door is always welcoming as well as adding some real greens and fruit placed in a couple of festive bowls will scent the home in a natural way. Once again, less is more. A bowl of ornaments in one color scheme coordinated with place settings on the table makes for a nice display.

It may be easier for your family to keep their homemade and precious decorations stored away and instead concentrate on a certain theme and color scheme they'd like to use and decorate accordingly.

Showings are another area that can cause stress for yourself and your clients. Try to have the family pick one or two days that work best for them and cluster the showings if at all possible. This leaves time for them to spend hosting a party or attending a holiday event. Communicate all this before the holidays so you have a plan in place when the days become hectic and busy. Also, encourage them to do all the necessary repairs and updates before the holidays, which eliminates a lot of the stress.

As realtors, we also have our own stress to deal with. You probably have one or more listings that you need to nurture during this holiday season. Set realistic expectations on what you can accomplish during the holidays and prioritize what is most important to you to accomplish. It's okay if you don't attend every holiday party. Instead set aside time to spend with family and friends and it's okay to turn off your phone. There is always tomorrow.