Friday, April 7, 2017

How to Prepare for a Successful Open House

Open houses are a tried and true method of selling a home, but you need to do it right to get buyers through the door. Here are a few tips to make that happen.

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Open houses are one of the oldest ways to sell a house, and they can still be effective. They can really be hit and miss, so if you decide to have one, you need to make sure you do it right.

Start by depersonalizing the house so that when buyers walk through, they can visualize themselves living there, not you. Remove anything polarizing, anything religious, and believe it or not, sports team-related things. Secondly, you need to declutter the house. You know you'll be moving, so you can actually start to pre-pack, as I call it. You want to create space so buyers can really see the house.

You want to lure buyers into your home. The outside of the house can be more important because if buyers don't get a good first impression from your home's curb appeal, they might just keep on driving. Clean your walkway, get rid of spider webs, paint your front door, and make sure your lawn is mowed and inviting.

You want to lure buyers into your home.

If you have any leftover items on a honey-do list that have been there for a while, you want to take care of them now. Better yet, you can hire a handyman to do it. You don't want buyers to see repairs you've put off as chores they'll inherit.

Lastly, hire a professional real estate agent to really get buyers through the door. You can do all the steps I've mentioned, but if you can't get buyers into your house, it's all for naught. An agent will cast a wide net to get buyers through your door and the highest offer possible.

If you have any other questions about preparing for an open house or you're considering selling your house, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to helping you!