Now that your home has been staged, you’re not done yet. An open house is your home’s big reveal and impression, so it is worth your while to spend sometime to prepare. It is also a chance for buyers to visualize themselves, that means you want your home to be inviting.
I’m sharing 5 simple tips to help you prepare for your open house. These will help ensure you are showing your home in it’s best light.
Clean House
We want “white glove clean”. Top to bottom, front to back. This means floors, windows, kitchens and bathrooms. You’ll also want to clean the easily over looked spots like baseboards, face plates, and trim. I usually recommend hiring a house cleaner to give your home a thorough clean to begin with and then it becomes very easy to maintain.
Lighten and Brighten
A light and bright space feels more cheery and welcoming. Not only that–It feels bigger too. Whereas a dark, dingy space is depressing and feels smaller. Turn on the lights and open all window coverings. Be sure to give your windows a good clean inside and out. I also suggest to all my home owners that they keep the lighting consistent. Now is not the time be mixing and matching in terms of type, temperature and wattage.
Extra Curb Appeal
Your homes exterior and curb appeal is the equivalent to a retailer’s store window. Does it invite you in or send you running in the other direction? You’ll want to make everything is in good repair, but also appealing to the eye. Little things like a coat of paint, or updating the light fixture can make all the difference in the world. Flowers and perennials can add those finishing touches. Also depending on the season, regular upkeep and maintenance is a must: mowing the lawn in the summer, raking leaves in the fall and shovelling in the winter.
Neutralize Odors
Nothing will send your buyers back out the front door like a bad odor will. Because we have a tendency to become “nose blind” to our own environment, it’s wise to enlist the help of a fresh set of nostrils to sniff out the bad stuff. Pet odors and smoke are the two biggest culprits and will raise red flags with your potential buyers. Remove pets from the property, air out your house and smoke outside. For particularly stubborn odors then I recommend a Pure Ayre machine to take of it.
Serve Refreshments
The average home buyer is typically in and out in less than 4 minutes. A great way to encourage them to stay a bit longer is to offer some light refreshments. It slows them down, and invites conversation. It also prevents the likelihood of cutting the visit short from them from running out the door to grab a bite to eat because they’re starving.
While this is a general list to help you prepare for your open house, your staging professional may have additional suggestions that are specific to your home. To help make things easier, we recommend keeping your every day items stored after use. This will reduce the number of tasks to complete before any viewings or open houses.
For more information on how to effectively prepare your home for it’s most profitable sale, download our Staging for Profitability guide.
Until next time,
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