Written by Christopher Silveri, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Let’s face it, shoveling snow and scraping ice stink. Sure, you might be a skier and love to head to the Adirondacks or the Catskills, but the prep work of getting there is still a pain. But you still go through the trouble of digging your car out of Mother Nature’s equivalent of a Denver Boot to hit the slopes. Why? Because the potential reward of a day with your friends and family far outweigh the minor inconvenience of carving your vehicle out of a block of slushy ice and snow. 
In that same spirit, I am here to implore you to keep your driveways and sidewalks clear during the winter months. It is hard for a potential buyer to make an offer on your home if they can’t get into your house. So when it snows or if the walkways get icy, please look at it from your potential buyer’s perspective. Keep the driveway and walkways clear. When someone is contemplating the largest financial investment of their lives, you don’t want to add more stress by making them navigate a literal slippery slope. The time you spend clearing your walkway is worth the potential of selling your home and moving on to the next chapter of your life.
With a clear pathway to the front door, it’s time to protect the inside of your home from its new visitors. You’ll want to purchase disposable booties (they’re very inexpensive) for potential buyers to put on their shoes when touring your home. Pro tip from a realtor, post a sign about slipping the booties on in a visible place. This will remind buyers to put them on and protect your flooring. If you want you can also keep a plastic shoe tray near the entrance. This allows anyone viewing the house to take off their shoes, avoiding an icy mess on your floors.
One last thing, a crucial winter maintenance task. If there is a fire hydrant near your property, please dig it and a path around it out. Safety for you and your neighborhood is important. In the event of a fire, firefighters will need to be able to access this in a quick and easy manner. The extra minutes it takes for firefighters to uncover that hydrant could be the difference between a small house fire and a larger disaster. With an unusual amount of traffic coming in and out of your home, you’ll be better safe than sorry.
