Selling your home means making it as attractive as possible – after all, no one will part with that amount of money if they haven’t fallen in love with the place. One way to get a lot of viewers is to hold an open house, but since this is one big event, you need to do it as well as possible. You may only get one chance to impress these potential buyers – so here’s how to do it.
1. Make it exclusive
When setting your open house up, take bookings for viewers at certain timeslots. It doesn’t matter whether you really fill up the whole day, or whether you have everyone coming in the morning. It creates a sense of urgency and makes them feel like they should put in an offer quickly to beat everyone else.
2. Talk to everyone
Couple and realtor visiting house
Don’t take details or schedule follow-up calls. Instead, talk to your prospective buyers face to face. They will have questions to ask, and so will you. If you have a big crowd, try to speak to everyone for at least a few moments and do the rest by phone – but say as much in person as possible to make the biggest impression.
3. Lock the door
This may seem like an odd suggestion if your home is “open”, but it’s essential for good traffic management. You will always know who is inside your home and you will be able to greet them at the door. For this, it’s a great idea to tag-team. One of you greets new visitors and starts them off on their tour, the other chats to them after they finish looking around. This ensures you don’t have to interrupt an important conversation.
4. Create an information pack
Put together a stack of information about the local area such as attractions, local schools, groups, and so on. If it makes your area look good, include it. You can ask your agent through OpenAgent to grab this information or show you how to present it. Set up this information in the logical end place of the tour, such as the living room or dining room, so viewers can browse through it at their own pace.
5. Bake some cookies
The best way to get that homely smell is to bake some fresh cookies, so long as you are good at it. Be sure to clean up everything afterwards, and have the cookies out for visitors to nibble on in the kitchen. If the smell starts to fade away during the day, you can top it up with a scented candle or air freshener.
6. Keep the house tidy
If you have your home in selling shape, the last thing you want is for so many visitors to mess it all up again. Ask visitors to leave their shoes at the door to protect your flooring, and sweep around every now and then to be sure that nothing has been dirtied. If you spot something, take a lull in the visitors as a chance to clean it up again.
7. Make it like a show home
Finally, there’s one more thing you can do to have your house looking like a show home. Take out everything you can see that constitutes clutter, looks out of place, ruins the décor, or is too personal. You want viewers to imagine your home becoming their own, so they don’t need to be reminded of your things everywhere they turn. Box up unwanted items and keep them at a friend’s or relative’s place for the day, in your car, or even in a storage locker.
With any luck, these strategies will ensure that your open house results in a sale!
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