11 Tips for a Successful Open House
Here are 11 ideas to
help make your home more attractive to potential buyers:
1. The outside
must shine. You’d be surprised at how many
buyers “sell themselves” on your house on the basis of their first
impression as they drive up the street. It’s called curb appeal.
You can enhance curb appeal by making sure the lawn is mowed, the bushes are
trimmed, and the flower beds are freshly mulched. Spending a few
hundred dollars on fresh paint on the front of the house can return
thousands of dollars in sale price. Especially touch up the trim.
2. The inside
must look new. Again, paint is cheap.
Be your own worst critic. If you think a room could be brightened with
a fresh coat of paint, do it.
3. Make
cosmetic repairs. Windows that are cracked,
holes in the walls, and tiles that are chipped all send the wrong message to
a potential buyer. Things you may tend to overlook on a daily basis
are the things buyers seize on. The buyer is going to assume that if
there are many flaws that can be seen, then there may be even more serious
flaws that can’t be seen.
4. Let in as
much light as possible. Open all the
curtains. Turn on all the lights in the house (even in the middle of
the day) and increase the wattage in the light bulbs of all the lamps.
5. Get rid of
the clutter. Don’t just stash it somewhere,
get it off the premises. Remember, every room in the house has to be
available for inspection and every room needs to shout to a homebuyer,
“There’s plenty of room here for your stuff!”
6. Set the
dinner table as if you are getting ready for a dinner party.
Put out your best china and silverware. Put out
your best glasses. Don’t forget the candles or some other nice
centerpiece. In this room, and in every room, the idea is to show
potential buyers how they would live in your home… that it’s a place where
they will be happy to entertain their guests.
7. Kitchens and
bathrooms absolutely must be spotless.
Shelves and countertops must be clean and well organized. Also, assume
that people will be looking through your medicine cabinet. If there is
anything there you don’t want on public display, get rid of it. Same
for inside cabinets and drawers.
8. Remove some
of your possessions. Again, the idea is to
make your home look as roomy as possible. If the house is packed floor
to ceiling with your possessions, it makes it harder for potential buyers to
imagine how they would live in the house.
9. Put your
pets somewhere else. Dogs especially are a
problem and must be moved somewhere else, preferably to another part of
town. Seriously. Why? Because when strangers come into a
house, your dog may very well start barking. You don’t want the dog to
interfere with the buyer’s ability to see the house. But don’t ask
your neighbor to keep the dog during the open house, either. If your
dog senses there are strangers wandering through your house, it may start
barking from next door. That will make potential buyers think the
neighbors have a loud dog, and that could be a real turnoff.
10. Bad smells
kill deals. It is worth your money to make
sure your house is clean and odor free. Pet smells, stains on carpets,
cigarette smoke… things you don’t even notice anymore will attack the senses
of visitors. Use air fresheners if need be. The old standby is
to bake cookies or bread to send an inviting aroma throughout the house.
11. Leave.
Yes, you. I know it sounds a little
harsh, but as soon as I arrive to conduct your open house, you should pack
the kids in the car and go somewhere. We want potential buyers to
freely walk around your home and see everything they want to see without you
looking over their shoulders. Once you have prepared your home for the
open house, you can rely on me to handle the rest.
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