How to Set Up for an Open House

How to Set Up for an Open House

By : Courtney Faith Bonner Espy

An open house is an essential part of attracting buyers to your property. Figuring out how to set a successful open house can help you to get offers quickly.

Staging your home is the first step to setting up a successful open house. There are many important aspects that you must take care of to get the best results from your open house. Here’s how you can set up an open house for the best results and the quickest sales.

If you are considering hosting an open house for your home, you need to work closely with your agent to develop a plan. First you and your agent need time for careful planning to be successful. You may have to plan ahead to make sure that you, your family and your pets are out of the home during the time in which your home is being shown.

You may also be asked by your real estate agent to take other preparatory steps, including staging your home and removing your personal items. These tasks can require significant time. which is why it is so important to get organized and have a plan.

Attract Those Buyers

Open houses are designed to attract potential buyers and are one of the most successful tools that real estate agents use to generate offers for your home. A well-planned open house can help to guarantee a successful sale of your home.

An open house creates a type of feeding frenzy and helps give those clients a sense of urgency if other people are showing interest in the same property.

As you plan your open house, talk to your real estate agent and find out what you need to do to prepare. In some cases, you may simply be asked to leave the home or be asked to help stage your home with professionals. If you are on a budget, your real estate agent may recommend that you do the thorough cleaning and removal of your personal effects.

Home Staging and Removing Your Personal Effects

Home staging is all about the buyer and for the buyers perspective. When buyers come to your home, they want to be able to see themselves living in your home. Home staging that creates a neutral appearance is highly recommended for appealing to potential homebuyers. This can be done by painting the walls neutral colors and updating or removing furniture so that it is modern, yet minimal.

The neutral appearance in your home can also increase the number of buyers that might be interested in making serious offers on your home. It is difficult to imagine that your personal effects may turn-off a potential buyer from your home. Do not be offended if your agent asks you to remove certain personal items, this is for your safety and the safety of your family as well.

Take the Afternoon Off

Leaving during an open house is a standard practice. If you have selected a real estate agent to represent your property, have the confidence that the real estate agent can sell your property to potential buyers. I know it is tempting to stake out and see how many people attend the open house but take the afternoon and see a movie, go to a park, or visit family. When the home owners are not present it gives the potential buyers the freedom to speak freely and imagine themselves living in your home.

You may be concerned with those buyers rifling through your personal things while you are away, talk with your real estate agent about how you can reduce this risk.

Don't Forget About Advertising

An open house is to showcase the home and the end goal is to get serious inquiries from buyers. Your real estate agent will have flyers, brochures, social media posts and road signage to create interest in your home and have those available for those potential buyers to take with them. Many agents will contact the neighbors a week in advance to let them know the house will be open.  Many times it is a daughter or a son or a friend that wants to live close by to their parents or coworkers who live in the same neighborhood.

We want your open house to become the talk of the neighborhood and nosy neighbors may even come by to check it out. Hosting an open house is a lot of work, but at the end of the day you just might end up with great offers on your home as the result of working with your real estate agent.

I hope your agent makes the Open House simple and as stress-free as possible.  Contact me and let me know if you have any questions about listing your home or if you are a “For Sale by Owner” and we can still host an open house. 256.553.3498