Planning A Successful Open House
Without a successful open house, your home could languish for weeks or months on the market. With preparation and proper staging, an open house could help sell your house sooner. The following tips, presented by real estate expert David Quinn, can help ensure that your open house goes off without a hitch!
Prepping Your Home
Where do you begin? First, set aside a budget for prep and staging. Once you have an idea of the maximum you’re willing to spend, it’s time to get to work.
⦁ Declutter
Begin by going through basements, closets, and other piles in your home to eliminate clutter. Pay close attention to dust collectors and space wasters. Hold a garage sale for items in good condition to increase your staging budget.
⦁ Depersonalize
The more you can make your home a blank canvas, the better. Pack up all your photos, any décor with names on it, and religious or political items.
⦁ Deodorize
Do a “smell check.” Does your house have any stale or lingering odors? If you have a pet, you might want to invite a friend to check for you.
⦁ Deep Clean
Get rid of stains, organize your garage, and clean your gutters. Go through everything in your home, inside and out, to make it as clean as possible. It’s especially important to focus on areas that will be noticed by guests. Create a system to keep it neat while it’s on the market. For example, attractive storage containers can turn a child’s room into a neutral bedroom.
⦁ Remove “Off-Limits” Areas
Bankrate recommends that visitors be able to view your entire home. An “off-limits” area can hurt resale.
Staging
Next, it’s time to stage your home to attract buyers. Here are some areas you should invest in:
⦁ Damaged and Out-Of-Date Items
Torn linoleum and outdated appliances will keep a prospective buyer away. Even your own furniture, if damaged, can make your home look bad. Repair anything that comes with the house. Meanwhile, your own items can be covered up or taken out of the room during showings. Also replace minor problems, like blown light bulbs or cracked outlet covers.
⦁ Curb Appeal
In addition to making the outside look neat by, for example, power washing your house, add some curb appeal. You can invest in an attractive mailbox, a small garden, or update the front door’s fixtures. A potted plant or wreath in the front looks nice as well. Learn how to create curb appeal on a budget with these tips from Handyman.
⦁ Small Investments
You can easily make your home look fresher with small investments: new bathroom fixtures, fresh curtains, and attractive new lamps. You can also buy throw pillows and chair covers to give your home a more sophisticated look.
⦁ Paint
It’s well worth the investment to paint your home if it is due or if you have a loud color in any room. Neutral palettes will attract more buyers.
The Open House
Now it’s time to prepare for the day of your open house.
⦁ Scheduling Your Event
Picking the right date is very important. The Balance recommends working with your real estate agent to schedule your open house.
⦁ Don’t Be There
Make sure you, your family, and your pets are out of the house for the length of the event.
⦁ Make It Special
By now, your home should have plenty of appeal for visitors, but you can go the extra distance. For example, set out simple drinks and snacks that appeal to your ideal buyer. You can also decorate your dining room with attractive place settings and play soft, instrumental music to create ambiance.
A successful open house can be a great way to attract prospective buyers to your home. A little hard work and careful planning can ensure that visitors see the beauty of your home and increase the odds of a sale.
David Quinn - Vendor Advocate specialises in helping people find the right agent to help sell their home. Connect with David today! 03 8669 2033
Thanks to Harry Cline for writing the article - Harry Cline - harry@newcaregiver.org