It is that time. You are ready to sell your home and buy a brand new home. Time for change. Now you may be asking yourself what do I need to sell my house. You may be in a market that is hot and inventory is low, therefore your house may sell quickly with very little marketing. But is you are not in a hot market, you are more than likely going to host an open house for potential buyers to come into your home to walk around and get a feel for themselves if they can live in your home.
These open house tips and tricks will help you market and present your home in the best light. They also may help your home sell faster if that is your goal.
Tidy up
Like watching a store window display, a clean house can attract buyers to your home and keep them in your home looking around. A dirty home will have buyers leaving your home as quickly as they walked in for fear that dust mites might come out and bite them.
If you do not have time to clean your home or cleaning is not your favorite thing, hire a cleaning service to help you get your home in spic and span shape.
Clear the way
A buyer has to be able to walk around your home easily in order to see if your home can become their home. If there is too many things crowding hallways and doorways, then buyers cannot get the full experience of your home.
If you have too many things out an about, your home may look cluttered and some people find clutter a turn off. With clutter, many buyers cannot see the room for what it could be because they are distracted by all the things sitting on mantels or tables.
Oh the smell
A clean and fresh house also has to smell nice. Dirty homes smell dirty, dusty home smell dusty, homes with a lot of pets can smell like wet dog. It is important to make sure all the senses are being addressed when buyers come to your home. This is one of the reasons some real estate agents back cookies or keep scented candles on during an open house.
Now I am not a fan of candles burning while people are walking around your home because you never know where flames will catch and create a fire hazard. But you can use plug in scented systems or air fresheners or simply simmer a small pot of homemade flavors on your stove. Flavors like cinnamon sticks, with cloves and orange peels.
Put away the laundry
That’s right. When it comes to laundry, we tend to have it everywhere. Pouring out of baskets, shoved in closets, and hanging from backs of chairs. We have closets to help us get organized. Make sure your clothes are clean, folded and put away. This will also show potential buyers that your care about the things in your home, therefore you probably care about your home.
Present a takeaway
If you want buyers to remember your home over all the other homes they visited, keep a brochure about your home handy and in site that the buyers can take it with them. A good house datasheet can be the one thing that buyers will remember and take with them. This sheet can showcase your key rooms with photographs and dimensions, any project updates you have completed over the years, and a checklist of regular maintenance your performed on the house. These details will show how much you cared for your house and that your house is more valuable than the neighbors down the street.
Take care of any last-minute maintenance
If you know there are things in your home that are not working, it is time to fix them. When buyers come to your home and a light switch is not working, they start wondering what else is not work and requires repairs. Take an assessment of your home, change out burnt light bulbs, check switches, make sure the heating and air conditioning is working, and make sure there are no leaks in your sinks or faucets.
It is also good practice to walk around the outside of your house. Check for any leaks, window issues, garage door jams, cluttered gutters and overgrown trees or bushes.
A clean entry
Make sure your yard is clean and neat. Take time to move your yard, trim back any overgrown bushes, deadhead flowers and also wrap up your hoses. There is nothing more annoying than a hose dragged around the yard and not neatly put away. Plus people can trip over hoses and cause injury to themselves.
In addition to your yard, keep your door and entry way clean and up to date. A scuffed door is not attractive and you want to make a great first impression. Your door and entry way is that first impression. If you have pots on your entry way, clean out the plants and make sure they are presentable.
These open house tips and tricks can help your present your home in the best light and get it sold.
