We get it, your house is beautiful and perfect just the way it is. You scrubbed it clean and bought one of those timed Febreeze air fresheners. There is a handful of chocolates on the table and the closet doors are all closed to hide any mess. Your house is now ready for an open house, right?
Wrong. Presenting your home to potential buyers with an open house is going to make a lasting first impression--make sure it's a good one.
Hosting an open house is a great way to let potential buyers see exactly how great your home would be for them. It is personal, interactive and powerful. Most people do not make offers on a house because of online listing photos or a referral alone. While these things establish an expectation, they are rarely what sells someone on a home. We will say it again and again until every seller hears us: open houses are important, so make sure you do them right!
Know that you are not in this alone. Your real estate agent will help set up, advertise and facilitate the open house. When Team Ken Richter hosts an open house, we even provide high-quality property feature sheets to any visitors to help make a lasting impression. We will also give you advice and guidance on how to prepare your home for the open house ahead of time.
Here are some things that you should do in preparation of your open house:
1). Stage the Property: Staging a property is kind of like editing an essay. You fix things that are wrong, remove things that are unneeded, clean up the formatting and make sure that what you have prepared is accessible to everyone. If the idea of staging overwhelms you, check out our Home Staging & Décor ideas tag on our blog for inspiration and how-to's.
2). Craft Good Smells: Nothing, absolutely NOTHING, is worse than walking into an open house and the property stinks. Bad smells can make even the nicest home feel disgusting. Open windows to let in fresh air if the weather is nice, add essential oil to your mopping bucket water, light some Yankee candles--do whatever you must to make your home smell good. Just make sure you don't go overboard! Step outside of the home for a minute then go back in. If a scent knocks the wind out of you, you've got a problem.
3). Go the Extra Mile: Prepare some coffee for your guests, bring out a trey of fresh cookies or fruit, give them a clear space for their shoes and jackets--do whatever you can to make them feel at home. After all, hopefully it will be their home soon.
Good luck!
Posted by Ken Richter on
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