Do You Want a Successful Open House? Follow These Tips
Open houses are an excellent way to sell your home, but they can be challenging if you haven’t done one before.
Open houses give buyers a chance to see your home in person and get a sense of what it feels like to live there. They can also be a great way to gather feedback from buyers about your home, which can help you determine any issues they have that need to be addressed before putting it on the market.
Here are some tips for doing an open house right and making it successful
Successful Open House Tips
Get The Word Out
Make sure that everyone interested in seeing your home knows when it will be open. Letting everyone know ahead of time will help ensure that you get a good turnout at the open house. Print flyers or make signs in your yard and local businesses like coffee shops or grocery stores.
You can also use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to share information about the open house. If you’re worried about giving away too much information about your home, contact a real estate agent for advice on how to proceed.
Clean and declutter
The first thing people notice when walking into a home is how clean it looks — or doesn’t look! When preparing for an open house, take time to deep clean everything. For example, floors, bathrooms, and kitchen counters should be spotless, and dusting should be done around light switches and door handles. Clutter can distract potential buyers from seeing what they need to see to make an informed decision.
Light up your home
Lighting makes all the difference in making a room look more spacious and inviting — especially when it comes to open houses where several groups of people may visit at once (or even just one group).
Ensure lamps are switched on and bright lights aren’t left off (like over kitchen islands). If possible, put up additional lighting so that rooms appear brighter than usual — especially bathrooms and kitchens where natural light isn’t always ideal for viewing potential buyers’ reactions to these spaces.
Make any necessary repairs
You don’t want prospective buyers to see an item that needs fixing or replacing. If something could make a buyer walk away from your home because it’s not up to their standards, fix it before the open house. This means fixing leaky faucets, loose handles, peeling paint, or anything else that might be an eyesore or a safety issue.
Put away personal items
It’s natural to want to show off your favorite items to visitors, but resist the temptation as much as possible! Open houses are about presenting your property for sale as neutrally as possible.
Personal items like family photos or plants can make it feel less like an open house and more like your home. If there’s no way to remove these items without disrupting traffic flow through the house, consider putting them away in a closet or another room.
Consider hiring a stager
Staging is when you arrange furniture and accessories in specific ways so buyers can imagine living in your home.
A stager can help make your home look its best by making minor changes, like moving furniture around, adding fresh flowers, and arranging books in groups on shelves instead of being scattered haphazardly throughout rooms.
A professional stager can advise you on how to stage each room according to its size and layout and what colors work best with your decorating style and budget.
Set up a table for food and drink
This isn’t just for show — providing snacks, and drinks can help break the ice with potential buyers. It also helps them feel comfortable while mingling with each other instead of standing awkwardly while waiting for others to arrive.
It’s a good idea to have both hot and cold drinks and snacks like cookies or crackers. The more welcoming you make your home feel, the better impression it will make on potential buyers who might be interested in making an offer.
Be friendly and professional with guests
The goal of an open house is not only to sell your home but also to make it seem like a place where people would want to live. You want people leaving your open house with a positive view of you and the property.
To do this, be friendly toward all guests — even those who aren’t interested in buying. Please don’t be pushy or rude toward anyone who visits during your open house; instead, try making small talk or asking them about their lives outside of real estate transactions.
Give as much information as you can about the property
This is your chance to let potential buyers know everything they need about your home — from its history (when was it built? What was its original purpose?) to its current condition.
You may not have time during an open house to give buyers a full tour of each room, but you can still offer some helpful information on each room’s features and amenities.
Be accessible after the open house
Please ensure you’re available after your open house ends so buyers can contact you with questions about your home before making an offer. Of course, you don’t have to be available 24/7, but if someone wants more information about buying your place, let them know that you’ll get back to them within a reasonable timeframe.
Get Started Planning and Have a Successful Open House
Open houses give potential buyers a chance to see your home in its best light, and they allow you to answer their questions in person. But there’s more involved than simply opening your door and waiting for people to come through. We hope our ten tips for a successful open house make your open house a huge success.
Do You Need Help With a Move?
If you are selling your home and moving to another, whether a larger or smaller home, a condo, an apartment, senior citizen housing or another, we are here to help you.
Our complete line of moving services is affordable, reliable and efficient. We offer everything you need to move from supplies, storage, packing, unpacking, senior and veteran discounts and much more. So, do not hesitate and contact Charles Moving and Storage today to learn more about us and our moving services.