A great Realtor, like any of them on our team, will put forth a lot of effort in the week leading up to your open house. It is amazing how much needs to be done! Holding a successful open house takes a ton of advertising and promotion in order to get buyers there. With our side doing our part, we ask the sellers to do their part as well. After all, we have the same goal of reaching the closing table together!
Wasting a Buyer
There’s a phenomenon in real estate that I have named, “wasting a buyer.” When sellers price their home too high or do not have the home in perfect condition for a buyer’s tour, that buyer is going to leave and not come back. Therefore, we’ve wasted our chance to sell to that person.
One of the best opportunities to get buyer eyes on your home is through an open house. But, if we’re going to host an open house, we do not want to waste a single buyer! Let’s make sure those buyers walk out of the front door impressed by the condition of your home.
Declutter Your Home
While this may be an obvious thing to do, many sellers simply do not do it. You need to be in the right frame of mind. Do not forget, you’re moving! You’re going to be packing up your home anyway so start now. Anything you do not need between now and closing needs to be packed away. Go so far as to pack half of your walk-in closets away. That shows buyers that the closets are large and have plenty of room for their clothing. Do you have small appliances on the kitchen counter that you can honestly say you don’t use often? Pack them! Getting rid of clutter and packing it away now will make a huge difference in the overall look and feel of your home.
Pre-Repair!
Your buyer is going to have an inspection done on the house and few things are scarier than getting a long report of items that are in disrepair. You probably know of a few things already that need to be fixed but here are some that we see commonly on inspection reports:
- GFCI outlets – These are a very cheap item to replace.
- Leaks under sinks – Check under your cabinets for any water leaks or previous damage. Even if you fixed the leak, there’s likely some evidence left behind that you need to repair.
- Spots on the ceiling – This is arguably the most important pre-repair to make. When a roof leaks, we usually know by seeing the water spot on the ceiling. It seems like most people will take the time to repair the roof but not the time and effort to fix the stain. On an inspection report, the inspector is sure to mention that there was prior damage and potentially still damage there.
- Window springs/balancers – This is a window component that counterbalances the weight of the sash which makes it easy for the window to open. They simply do not stay in great shape and can malfunction. Look into fixing them before your buyer notices.
Clean until it is spotless and then clean more!
This is hands-down the most important part of the article. Before you think, “I know this already,” listing up! Most sellers are going to take the time to wipe counters down, dust, maybe even wash windows but please remember that buyers can and will look everywhere! While cleaning makes visuals better, we also need to please your buyer’s sense of smell!
Do you have a very honest friend? Invite them over…
Does my house smell like the pets?
I really hate having this conversation with my sellers but I’ll often walk into a home and smell that distinct litter box smell or the overwhelming smell of dog. A trusted friend is needed for this step!
You’re Ready to List Your Home and Have Open Houses
That’s it! Going above and beyond with these few steps makes all the difference in the world for your buyers and make it easier to sell your home.
One small bonus tip…
Schedule 15 minutes each night to clean. Once you’ve done a huge deep clean, you would be shocked to see how easy it is to maintain that with only 15 minutes a night. Use that time to redo various parts of your cleaning process and you’ll be ready for an open house or showing at a moment’s notice!