When you’re ready to sell your home, you’ll contact a real estate agent. One of the first pieces of advice that they’ll provide is to get your home ready for an open house. An open house is a scheduled period in which a house or other dwelling will be available for viewing by potential buyers. Open houses allow for real estate agents and sellers to make the home look as presentable as possible.
Open house events can be basic affairs, where a prospective home purchaser is taken on a one-on-one tour through the home with a real estate agent. Other times, the house can be opened for multiple people to visit at the same time. In either case, there are ways to make your home look its best. Here are 10 things you should do to prepare for your first-time open house.
1. Roof Inspection
Your roof is one of the first things which a prospective home buyer will see when approaching your home. If your roof is not in the best condition (missing shingles, flaking paint, weather damage), this might act as a deterrent for a possible home purchaser. For example, think of possibly investing in a Canonsburg roof replacement or roof repair before setting up an open house. Adding a new roof with the help of a roofer can help with your overall open house experience.
2. Learn From the Best
Pick up books or do research from other realtors who put on open houses like these on a regular basis. Study pros like Venterra Realty on how they put together mock homes, for open house functions. The more you learn, the more your chances increase of having a perfect open house experience.
3. Provide Snacks and Drinks
Having snacks and drinks on hand during an open house can be a plus for home sellers. This gives buyers an opportunity to stop and talk with realtors, as they eat and drink while learning more about the home. For the open house can you can provide Voss water bottles in bulk and hot and cold beverages. Try also having a variety of drink flavors available to make your open house event pop. Try using different Voss water flavors like cherry limeade, kiwi strawberry, orange mango, lime, cranberry lime, black raspberry, and black cherry flavors. Add a bit more Voss artesian water, and a plate of cookies and you’ll sell your house in no time.
4. Spruce Up the Front Lawn
In addition to the possible roof repair, your front lawn can draw prospective home buyers to your home or push them away. You have to ensure that your front lawn area is in the best condition possible. Do this by freshening up the landscaping and exterior paint. Consider investing in a few new items, including a garage door, mailbox, exterior door, and house numbers. Look into cleaning the driveway and walkways and get the cars out of the driveway and from in front of the house.
5. Stage the Home
You want the inside of your home to be as inviting as possible. One way to do this is to stage the home with new furniture and home accessories. Adding a piece of nice-looking furniture to the living room can make a good impression on potential buyers. Sprucing up the guest bathroom with a set of new hand towels, or adding a vase of fresh flowers to the kitchen can accentuate your home even further.
6. Lose the Personal Items
After you put your house up on the market, you’re in a state of transition to a new home. With this being the case, you need to remove any personal connection that you have to the house. Get rid of the personal photos from the walls. Remove your kid’s crayon drawings. Potential buyers for your home want to visualize the home as their own.
7. Remove the Pets
If you have pets, try getting them out of the house for a few hours. Not everyone is an animal person, and having pets at an open house might sour the experience for a prospective buyer. Don’t take a chance with having a cat or dog running around your open house.
8. Get Rid of Clutter
Get rid of knick-knacks or other unnecessary items that won’t be needed for an open house. An open house is an opportunity to show off the features of your home and clearing clutter will help with this. To help with clearing clutter, begin packing as far ahead of the open house as possible.
9. Let There Be Light
Allowing natural lighting into the house can help accentuate your home for prospective buyers. In addition to this, having all your lights on in the house can create a bright and cheery vibe for visitors as they inspect your home.
10. Take a Breath and Relax
Give yourself some time to decompress after setting things up for an open house. The process of selling your home can be a stressful one. Try to give yourself some time to chill, get a bottle of lime artesian water, build up those electrolytes, and have some peace of mind that you’ve done a great job with getting ready for your open house.
