By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
TL;DR:
Access is the cheapest thing a seller controls and the one most often mishandled. Buyers tour in circuits, so a home requiring long notice gets skipped rather than rescheduled — and you never find out, because a showing that wasn't requested doesn't show up anywhere. Set a notice period you can actually honour, make weekday evenings available, and be out of the house. In Bayside specifically, tell buyers where to park before they arrive, since street parking varies enough to cost you a visit.
Why Access Decides More Than Sellers Expect
Buyers don't tour one home at a time. They line up four or five for a Saturday, or three on a weekday evening, and the agent builds the route around what can be confirmed.
A home requiring twenty-four hours' notice doesn't make Saturday's list on Friday afternoon. It isn't rejected — it's simply not included, and the seller hears nothing. That's what makes restricted access expensive in a way price reductions aren't: you can see a low offer, but you can't see a showing that was never booked.
Two hours' notice and a lockbox cost nothing and produce more traffic than most marketing does. If two hours isn't workable, four is better than a day, and a day is better than declining requests once the listing is live. The county-level showings post covers the framework in more detail.
Tell Buyers Where to Park
This sounds minor and it isn't, particularly in Bayside, where street parking varies considerably from block to block and some areas have restrictions at certain hours.
An agent who can't park within a reasonable distance may move the appointment along, and a buyer circling for ten minutes arrives in a worse frame of mind than one who pulled straight in. If you have a driveway, say it's available. If street parking is straightforward, say so. If there's a restriction on your block at particular times, say that too — the showing instructions are the place for it.
Same principle for anything else that would slow an arrival: a gate, a side entrance, a tricky lockbox position. Put it in the instructions rather than leaving it to be discovered.
What Buyers Do in an Older Bayside Home
Much of Bayside was built before 1960, which shapes what happens during a showing. Buyers look at systems more closely than they would in newer housing — the boiler, the electrical panel, the roof line from the street, signs of water in the basement.
Two practical implications. Make sure everything is genuinely accessible: the basement, the attic, the garage, the utility areas. A buyer who can't see a space assumes the worst about it, and an agent won't force a door.
And have the answers ready rather than leaving them to guesswork. A short list of your major systems with the years they were installed, left on the counter or provided to the agent, does more for buyer confidence than anything you can rearrange. That same list helps at the appraisal and reduces your taxable gain — the Bayside upgrades post covers why it's the highest-value thing a seller can prepare.
Compact Rooms Need Light and Space
Bayside's pre-war and mid-century rooms are often smaller than newer construction, and two things make them show well.
Light, first: every lamp on, every blind open, brighter bulbs throughout. It's the cheapest change with the largest effect on how a small room reads, in person and in photographs.
Then furniture. Removing about half of what's in a crowded room makes it feel larger, while emptying it entirely has the opposite effect — buyers lose the sense of scale. The staging post covers where the line sits.
Before each showing, the routine is short: lights on, blinds open, surfaces clear, beds made, bins out of sight, and pets secured or out of the house. Ten minutes, not an hour, if the house is kept in that state generally.
Be Out of the House
Sellers who stay for showings almost always cost themselves something. Buyers don't speak freely, don't linger, and don't open closets when the owner is standing there — and a buyer who doesn't linger doesn't fall for a house.
There's also a negotiating dimension. Casual remarks about why you're moving, how long you've been on the market, or what you'd accept give away position. If you must be present, stay in one place, let the agent lead, and answer only what you're asked.
For homes with cameras or smart doorbells, most listing agreements and industry practice require disclosing recording, and recording audio raises separate legal questions. Tell your agent what's installed and follow their guidance — it's not worth the exposure.
Living With It
The honest part: keeping a home show-ready while you live in it is tiring, and the first two or three weeks are the busiest because that's when accumulated buyer interest converges.
Two things make it sustainable. Decide before listing what notice period you can genuinely honour, and tell your agent — a reasonable window you'll keep beats a short one you'll decline. And have a plan for where you go, since improvising that each time is what wears people down.
If the burden is the deciding factor rather than a nuisance, moving out before listing is a legitimate choice, though an empty home shows worse than a furnished one unless it's staged.
A Worked Example
Consider a composite case — a Bayside colonial listed with a twenty-four-hour notice requirement because the sellers both worked from home.
Three showings in the first two weeks, which their agent thought was low for the price and the photographs. The feedback that mattered wasn't from buyers who came; it was from two agents who'd tried to add the house to a Saturday route and couldn't get confirmation in time.
They changed to two hours' notice with a lockbox, added a line about the driveway being available, and arranged to work from a café on weekends. Showings went to nine over the next ten days.
Nothing about the house or the price had changed.
Where to Start
Decide your notice period before the listing goes live and make sure it's one you'll actually honour. Add parking and access details to the showing instructions. Make every space in the house accessible, and leave a list of your major systems with their years. Keep the house in a state where a showing needs ten minutes of preparation rather than an hour. And plan where you'll go. For a starting read on value, try a quiet look at current figures, and the Bayside preparation guide puts the whole sequence in order.
The Honest Bottom Line
Access is free and it's the thing sellers most often restrict without realising what it costs. Buyers tour in circuits, and a home that can't be confirmed in time gets left off the route with no trace.
Two hours' notice, a lockbox, clear parking instructions, and being out of the house cover most of it. In an older Bayside home, add genuine access to every space and a list of what's been done and when. For anyone working through what a specific listing needs, with no pressure attached, that conversation is available whenever the timing suits.
This is general information, not legal advice. Listing agreement terms and recording requirements vary. Consult your agent and a licensed New York real estate attorney about your circumstances.
FAQs
How much notice should I require for showings?
As little as you can genuinely honour — two hours with a lockbox is ideal. Buyers tour in circuits, so a home requiring a day's notice gets left off a Saturday route rather than rescheduled, and you never learn it happened. If two hours isn't workable, four is better than a day. What matters most is setting a window you'll actually keep rather than a short one you'll decline.
Should I be home during showings?
No. Buyers don't speak freely, don't linger, and don't open closets when the owner is present, and a buyer who doesn't linger doesn't fall for a house. There's also a negotiating dimension — casual remarks about why you're moving or what you'd accept give away position. If you must be there, stay in one place and let the agent lead.
Do parking instructions really matter in Bayside?
More than they sound like they should. Street parking varies considerably from block to block and some areas have restrictions at certain hours, so an agent who can't park nearby may move the appointment along. Say whether the driveway is available, whether street parking is straightforward, and whether there's a restriction on your block at particular times. Put it in the showing instructions.
What do buyers look at most in older Bayside homes?
The systems — boiler, electrical panel, roof, and any sign of water in the basement — because they're estimating what they'll spend after closing. Make sure the basement, attic, garage, and utility areas are genuinely accessible, since a buyer who can't see a space assumes the worst. A short list of your major systems with the years they were installed does more for confidence than anything you can rearrange.
Can I record showings with my security cameras?
Tell your agent what's installed and follow their guidance. Most listing agreements and industry practice require disclosing that recording is taking place, and recording audio raises separate legal questions. It isn't worth the exposure to leave it undisclosed, and a buyer who discovers it afterward is unlikely to feel well disposed toward the transaction.
By Eric Berman, REALTOR® | The Eric Berman Team at Compass
Eric Berman | Long Island & Queens Associate Broker | Compass
1468 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY 11030
(917) 225-8596 | eric@ericbermanre.com | theericbermanteam.com
