If you’ve already listed your home, right now is the time to decide whether or not you want to hold an open house.
Holding an open house can be the best way to get as many prospective buyers in your home at one time. It’s an informal, pressure-free way for visitors to see your home and hopefully fall in love with it.
If you decide to hold an open house, here are some tips to make it as successful as possible:
Sanitize and completely declutter your home. Clean your house better than you’ve ever cleaned it before. Make sure you pay attention to places that you normally don’t such as baseboards, corners, ceiling fans, cupboards, and closets. Remove all clutter from the house, especially in the closets. People visiting an open house will open the cupboards and closets to see inside. Wash the inside and outside of your windows, and don’t forget to clean up your yard.
Stage your home. We cannot stress enough how important home staging is. If you aren’t comfortable with staging your home yourself, hire a home stager. Home staging is more than just decluttering and cleaning. Home staging is arranging and decorating your home in the most appealing way possible that allows potential buyers to see themselves living in your home. Staging includes everything from removing personal knick-knacks and photos to the smell of your home.
Promote your home. If you have a good real estate agent, they should be able to help you promote your home in as many ways as possible. However, you can also promote your open house by placing signs around the neighborhood and community, handing out flyers, and using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Also, don’t underestimate the power of “old” email marketing!
Leave your home, and take your pets with you. Your real estate agent can be in charge of the tours. Let them do their job. If you’re not there, visitors will feel more comfortable touring the home and asking questions. Also, not everyone is going to love your pooch as much as you do. Remove all signs of any pets living in your home, if necessary, and don’t forget to take your pet with you during the open house.
