Vendors typically look at the month of December as a writes off when it comes to selling your home. However deals continue to be transacted throughout the month and because the traditional market slow down at this time year vendors will sometimes be rewarded with a sale.

How do you combine the mad scramble of Christmas activities and the constant care and upkeep your home requires to successfully sell? Well simply put you put in double duty and will likely have to do twice the work. This is a major part of the reason vendors will take their homes off the market in December. The increased effort and stress of combining a sale with the holidays is exceptional.

It is best to be upfront with your realtor if you have one. Be clear about when you have family functions, and days you will be away. If you prefer to be home for showings then they should not be taking place during your families turkey dinner. I personally have had buyers call me on Christmas day trying to get a showing appointment for that same day. I was able to persuade that buyer to view the property at another time, but there are instances when a buyer will view a property on Christmas day.

If you are anything like me then your home is impeccably clean during the holiday season. Unexpected houseguests, impromptu visitors are all part of our holiday traditions. However a showing on short notice could have buyers seeing unwrapped gifts or a hastily tidied dinner mess. So extra care needs to be taken in order to present your home at its holiday best.

Finally don't allow the sale of your home to take over the holiday season. Limit the number of open houses you have. If there is a conflict with your schedule and a showing, put your schedule first and ask the potential buyer if they can see the property another time. Buyers looking for a home at this time of year understand that they are putting the seller out of there home during this festive season and should be willing to reschedule their appointment.

Ultimately a Christmas sale is very difficult; the best solution is to enjoy the holidays as you normally would. Taking that little extra care will allow both aspects of your life to flow smoothly together.

This article was originally published at Suite101.com