In The Dying World Of Open Houses, Here’s How You Can Make Yours Shine. Read On To Find Out How To Sell Your Home Fast With An Open House

A successful open house requires more than choosing a date and time and opening the front door. Through careful staging, you can emphasize your home’s best aspects and persuade buyers to take a second look. Here are some tips to make your open house a success.

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Choose the right time of day. The ‘right’ time is during the day. This is so that viewers can get a clear picture of the yard, as well as a good idea of how much sunlight the home gets. If you know the sun floods in at a particular time of day, try to hold the open house then to give yourself the best shot at closing the deal. See: 5 Tips for a Successful Open House.

Find something else to do. Your real estate agent is there to talk up your home and close the deal. You job is to stay away. Potential buyers want to imagine themselves in the home. Something that’s very difficult to do when you are hovering around them. So go work out, take a cooking class; it really doesn’t matter…just stay gone.

Hide the pets. Dogs and cats can be a big turn off to potential buyers. In addition to the odor and noise that pets cause, they can also set off an allergic reaction that can hasten an interested party out the door. So put them up with a friend or family member, or take them to a kennel. No one likes the awkward moment of having to pretend to like someone’s petfront-yard-colorful-flowers

Curb Appeal. A bit of gardening, a yard clean-up and fresh, new paint are all cheap and easy ways to make a great first impression. You don’t need to completely re-landscape your yard, but a few simple choices can help emphasize some of your home’s strong points. For instance, arrange the furniture on your patio with the barbecue front and center so potential buyers can imagine themselves hosting mid-summer dinner parties out back. Or string up a hammock in a nice, shady spot in the yard.

Go neutral. If you plan on putting up a new coat of paint before your open house, remember that neutral colors work best. Sure, eggshell white isn’t that exciting, but you want to avoid colors that might offend. By giving buyers a blank canvas, you allow them to imagine how they’d decorate the place. Read: 14 Steps to a Flawless Open House – US News Money.

Clean up. The longer we live in a place, the more clutter we accumulate. By cleaning up and packing some of your stuff away before the open house, you can make rooms feel bigger. Arrange furniture so that potential buyers flow through the house naturally, rather than having to step around chairs or squeeze by coffee tables.

Odors. You’re probably used to the smell of your own house, but that doesn’t mean your visitors will be. Throw open the windows, steam clean carpets to get rid of  smoke or pet odors, and use some air fresheners, though you want to avoid cloying or overbearing scents. And on the big day, use that classic realtor trick: fresh baked cookies to cover up any lingering smells. images

Add some flowers. Who doesn’t love flowers? Planted flowers in the garden, and cut flowers in the kitchen and living room can really brighten up the place, making it look especially vibrant. Sure you don’t want it to look like a wake, but a few strategically place bouquets can go a long way.

Hide Personal Items. It can be a little creepy seeing photos of strangers staring at you from every wall, so it’s best to put away personal items. You want potential homebuyers to imagine living in the place, not feel like a guest that’s intruding on your personal space. For further reading, see: 4 Steps to Staging for an Open House; Real Estate Tips – HGTV.

2 thoughts on “In The Dying World Of Open Houses, Here’s How You Can Make Yours Shine. Read On To Find Out How To Sell Your Home Fast With An Open House”

  1. Hi..I just listed my home and my realtor wants to do an open house soon. I am worried about my personal items, as there will be a bunch of strangers in my home. How do people have open houses without anything getting stolen?

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  2. First off, make sure your agent uses a sign-in sheet for everyone who comes into the house. For multilevel homes, ask your agent to bring an assistant so that all floors are covered at all times.

    Remove valuables from view and store them in a safe, locked place. Remove all prescription medicines and lock those up too. Don’t forget about small electronics that are easy to tuck in a pocket. Don’t hide anything in your top dresser drawer.

    Bills, checks, bank statements, passports, and ID cards should be secured. If possible, don’t use any heirlooms or valuable possessions to stage your rooms. If images of your home are on Trulia or any other online real estate site, don’t display valuables that could entice thieves. After each open house, insist that the real estate agent check and lock all doors and windows.

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