Selling your home is an exciting time, however, you have a mountain of preparations that need to be done before you sell it. One of the most important of these is preparing for your open house. Preparing for the open house is more than sticking a sign in your yard and opening the door. When you have a real estate broker, you will not have to know all of the details; however, there are still many things you can do to help out. Alternatively, if you are managing your open house without a broker, then there is no need to worry because you can use these proven tactics, and it will make your open house more successful.
Here are the best tips to make your open house go smoothly:
Table of Contents
1. Make Needed Repairs
The biggest mistake many open house presenters make is to show their home while work remains to be completed. The last thing a buyer wants is to have more work to do after they move to a new address. Many buyers have no handyman skills; therefore, if they want the repair done, then they will have to pay contractors potentially high amounts to hire them. For most home buyers, buying an unfinished home is like buying a used car that is a lemon — they usually won’t don’t do it!
2. Stage Your Home
The definition of the word extrapolation is to be able to see the end result of something before it is finished. However, when most potential buyers visit your home, they have zero ability to recognize the same future vision which you possess for your house. Staging is a tactic which helps them overcome their limited imagination. By placing furniture and decorations in the home temporarily, you paint a picture of your property’s potential value for them. This drastically increases the possibility of creating a bidding war between buyers.
3. Get The Word Out About Your Open House
Don’t leave it solely up to your broker to advertise the house. You can do a lot of promotion yourself that will do wonders to increase attendance on open house day. The method that will get you the greatest result is to announce your open house by passing flyers out to all of the surrounding neighbors. Also, be sure to post flyers everywhere that you can, such as libraries, grocery stores, and the post office.
4. Schedule Your Open House Properly
A key to a successful open house is to have it at the best time of the day and week. Most people have found that holding the open house on a Sunday afternoon usually gets the best results.
5. Make Your House Smell Good
The fastest way to turn off a potential home buyer is to show a house that smells bad. You should open all the windows before the open house. This will let the stale air out and fresh air in. Also, to bring a pleasing smell to the house, be sure to put a couple caps of vanilla extract in the oven, and bake it at approximately 300 degrees for about an hour.
6. Pest Control
Pest control is probably the biggest thing that is overlooked when planning an open house; however, it is among the top necessities before you allow buyers to enter your home. If there are any signs of rats or mice, then most buyers will run for the hills. Additionally, evidence of insects, such as bed bugs or roaches, will strike fear in buyers. Unwise sellers might think that they can hide the presence of unwanted pests from a buyer, but it can result in a costly lawsuit. Therefore, your best course of action is to call Turner Pest Control in Jacksonville, FL, so an expert can evaluate the situation for you.
In conclusion, preparing properly for an open house can make your house sell more quickly. Remember, you only get one shot at showing a buyer your house for the first time. If you sell your house fast, then you’ll be glad that you took the necessary steps to do it right.
About Carson Derrow
