Scheduling showings
Buyer agents expect to book a showing quickly. Put a phone number and email on your listing that you actually answer, and reply the same day if you can. Decide in advance:
- Which days and times you can accommodate, and how much notice you need.
- Whether you will be home or step out during agent showings.
- Whether you will use a lockbox, and who gets the code.
- How you will handle buyers who call without an agent: ask for their name and contact details and, if they are financing, whether they are pre-approved.
- Whether and when you will hold open houses.
A shared calendar or a simple log of every showing (date, agent, buyer name, feedback) makes follow-up easier and gives you a record.
Security basics
- Lock away valuables, prescription medications, keys, mail with personal information, and important papers.
- Take down anything you don't want photographed, such as family photos or documents on the fridge.
- Get a name and phone number before any showing, and ask to see a buyer agent's identification or confirm their license with the Idaho Real Estate Commission's online license lookup.
- For showings without an agent, have a second adult at home.
- Check doors and windows after every showing and open house.
What to say and what not to say
Let buyers look. Most buyers want to talk freely with their agent, so give them space. When they ask questions, answer honestly, and when you don't know, say so rather than guess.
- Do point buyers to your seller property disclosure. Your written answers there should match what you say in person.
- Do not misrepresent the home's condition, square footage, permits or history. A seller who willfully or negligently fails the Idaho disclosure duties is liable for the buyer's actual damages (Idaho Code § 55-2517).
- Do not reveal your bottom line, why you must sell quickly, or how many other showings you've had, unless you want the buyer to use it.
- Do not describe the neighborhood in terms of who lives there or who the home suits. Fair housing law prohibits any statement or ad that indicates a preference or limitation based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin (42 U.S.C. § 3604(c)). Describe the house and its features instead.
Working with buyer agents
Most buyers who see your home will have an agent. That agent represents the buyer. Idaho law says no one is represented by a brokerage without a separate written agreement (Idaho Code § 54-2084), so you are not their client, though every brokerage owes customers honesty, good faith and disclosure of adverse material facts it knows about (§ 54-2086).
Under the National Association of REALTORS® settlement practice changes effective August 17, 2024, MLS participants working with buyers must have a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home. Agents may also ask whether you will pay any of their compensation. Commissions are not set by law and are negotiable. Offers of compensation cannot appear on the MLS, but you can agree to pay something in writing, or respond to a request for it inside an offer.
Reading an offer: the key terms
The Idaho REALTORS® forms may only be used by active REALTOR® members, so an offer written by a buyer's agent will usually be on their purchase and sale agreement. Read the whole form, not just the price.
| Term | What to check |
|---|---|
| Price and financing | Cash or loan type, down payment, and whether a lender letter is attached |
| Earnest money | Amount, form, and who holds it (usually a named title or escrow company) |
| Inspection contingency | How many days the buyer has to inspect and object, and what happens if you don't agree on repairs |
| Appraisal and financing contingencies | What happens if the appraisal is low or the loan isn't approved, and the deadlines |
| Seller-paid costs | Any closing-cost credit or buyer-agent compensation the buyer asks you to pay |
| Title and closing | Which title or escrow company, who pays for title insurance and closing fees, and the closing date |
| Possession | When the buyer gets the keys |
| Included items | Appliances, window coverings and other items that stay or go |
| Deadlines | Every date, and whether days are calendar or business days |
| Representation confirmation | Idaho purchase agreements include a confirmation of each brokerage's relationship to buyer and seller (Idaho Code § 54-2085) |
To counter, respond in writing and set a deadline for the buyer's reply. A counteroffer rejects the original offer, so be sure you want to change terms before you send one. Once both sides sign the same final terms, you have a contract; track each deadline from that date.
Remember the disclosure clock: the Idaho seller disclosure form is due within 10 days of accepting the offer (§ 55-2509), and for pre-1978 homes the lead disclosure must be done before the buyer is bound. See /idaho/sell-by-owner/seller-disclosures/.
From accepted offer to closing, and when to get help
Send the signed agreement to the title or escrow company named in it. It will open escrow, receive the earnest money, search title, work with the buyer's lender, prepare settlement figures, and record the deed at closing. When a broker receives earnest money and the parties instruct it to, the money can go directly to a title, escrow or trust company (Idaho Code § 54-2041).
Get professional help when:
- The buyer has no agent and you need a contract written.
- An offer includes terms you don't understand, such as a contingency on the buyer selling another home, seller financing, or a rent-back.
- You receive a repair request, an appraisal problem or a request to extend a deadline.
- There is anything unusual about title: an estate, a trust, a divorce, liens or boundary issues.
- You and the buyer disagree about the earnest money.
An Idaho real estate attorney can review or draft the contract. A licensed broker can also review offers for a fee, and a flat-fee brokerage may offer contract help as part of or on top of its listing service. For the full process, see /idaho/sell-by-owner/.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Read the actual purchase agreement and forms you sign, and consult an Idaho attorney for your situation.
This guide is general information about how selling works in Idaho, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws, forms and customs change; read the actual documents you are asked to sign, and talk to an attorney or tax professional about your situation.
