4 Ways To Prepare For Your Open House
Once you’ve listed your house for sale, there’s a good chance your agent will want to hold an open house. To start prepare for an open house, here are a few things you can do to maximize the chance of receiving an offer, or maybe multiple offers!
Prepare for an open house
1. Make sure your home is clean.
Don’t leave dishes in the sink or laundry piled up. Give the house a thorough clean so it looks its very best. People don’t want to walk through dirty houses, so make sure you get the toothpaste off the bathroom mirror and the front of the fridge or stove isn’t covered in smudges or marks. Beds should be made, floors should be swept, vacuumed or washed if needed. On the day of the open house, your home is the “show home” everyone is coming to – so make sure the cleanliness reflects this.
2. Declutter.
You’re moving anyway, so put away or pack some of those knick knacks and ornaments. Take down some of the photos on the mantle and file the paperwork in the office (or at least hide it in a desk or a drawer). You don’t want to leave any valuables like jewellery lying around, so make sure you secure those out of sight. Also for your own security, don’t leave your bills, bank statements, financial papers or anything containing personal information out where it can be seen. When you’re selling your home, less really is more, so minimize the clutter as much as you can.
3. Eliminate funky odours.
Pets, foods and sometimes people can leave lingering odors that are not always pleasant. Don’t cook something with a lot of garlic just before the open house, and put that old sweaty hockey bag somewhere it won’t offend anyone. If the weather is good, open some windows to air the place out.
4. Go out.
We’d all like to think we can be helpful during an open house – maybe offering tidbits about the house or neighbourhood, but that’s why you hired a real estate agent. People viewing the house aren’t always comfortable looking around if the owner is there, and may hold back on giving honest feedback to your agent. The best thing you can do to assist the open house, is to go out and come back after it ends. We know you might not like having strangers wandering around your house, but hopefully it’s not going to be yours for much longer.
Your real estate agent will give you all the feedback they can once the open house is complete. And with any luck at all, if you prepare for an open house, an offer will follow close behind.
