You have put your home on the market, now what? Well, its time to hold your house open. An Open House the first weekend of your home being on the market is one of the best things you can do to get more exposure and more buyer interest. An open house is for prospective buyers to view your home with no appointment necessary during the allotted time that you have set up for your open house. Know when you are having an open house, you want to make sure your home is cozy and inviting for prospective buyers to be able to see themselves living in your home. If you are working with a Real Estate Agent, they can help you get your home ready and be sure to allow them to use their expertise to make sure they navigate the open house and find the perfect buyer for your home. Here are a few tips to help you get your house ready for an open house.
Declutter your house.
One of the first steps to prepping your open house is to declutter your home. Get all the trash out, especially the junk that people can see as soon as they walk in your house. You will want to make sure to clear off your kitchen counters and remove any small appliances. You can tuck those small appliances away in your pantry or cabinets. Remove any items lying around on your bathroom counters that make it look unappealing to the eye. Basically, remove anything that will make your home look crowded.
Clean, Clean, Clean.
Once you have decluttered your house, it is time to make sure it is spotless and clean. If you don’t have time to clean feel free to hire a cleaning service. If you don’t hire a cleaning service, you want to make sure that you dust and scrub every inch of your home. This includes power washing the outside of your house, your driveway, and walk-way areas. You want your home to be as appealing on the outside as it is on the inside. Don’t forget to neutralize any orders that may be in your home, especially if you have pets.
Curb Appeal
Take some time to clean up your front yard. Your front yard is the first thing a potential buyer sees, you wan to make sure it looks clean and presentable. Pull any weeds, trim the grass, prune your bushes, and water your plants.
Spruce up your house.
One of the first things to do when sprucing up your home is to remove your family photos because buyers need to see a neutral house so that they can envision their own family living in your house. You may want to replace those photos with some generic inexpensive framed art that you can find at Home Goods, Marshalls, or TJ Maxx. While you are there pick up some new towels for the bathrooms and maybe some nice pieces for the kitchen and entrance. Also, you can set your dining room table with your best china and use some creative decorating skills to stage your dining table. Don’t forget to grab some softly scented candles for the day of the open house.
Plan on not being home.
If you are working with a Real Estate Agent, allow them to do what they do best and host your open house. It is best if you are not at the open house as prospective buyers will be more comfortable asking your agents questions and getting to know your house without you being present. Also, if you have pets make sure they are not in the house during the open house.
Now that you have some tips to help you get ready for your open house, it is time to get your open house marketed so that potential buyers know your house will be ready for viewing. If you are working with a Real Estate Agent, then you will have no worries. Your Real Estate Agent will make sure your home is marketed to potential buyers to get the most foot traffic possible. Once you have your open house be sure to touch base with your Real Estate Agent to see how it went and get any feedback that they received from potential buyers that could help sell your home. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your agent if there were any interested potential buyers so that you are prepared once the offers start rolling in.
