Open houses give potential buyers a chance to tour homes on the market. Hosting an open house can be intimidating and if done wrong, might be a waste of time. To get the most out of an open house, you have to know what to do and what not to do! If you’re holding an open house, here’s how to prepare. 

Do’s: 

Clean your home

Nothing is worse than a dirty house. Even if your curb appeal is top-notch, buyers won’t see beyond dusty surfaces, cluttered spaces or stained walls or flooring. Hire a professional service to clean your home or dedicate a day to deep clean it yourself. Create a cleaning checklist to make sure everything gets done. 

Stage your home

Arrange all of your furniture to make each room look more spacious. Be sure to use this time to declutter areas throughout your home. Add finishing touches to make the space feel fresh and approachable, like adding a bouquet of fresh flowers to the kitchen table and playing music to reduce the awkward silence. 

Market your open house

After you put in the hard work, be sure you do your best to market the open house to ensure buyers attend.  Having an experienced real estate agent by your side is key, as they can help you promote your property on their website as well as popular listing sites. 

Have a property description

Create a property profile that includes the address, price, written description and other essential information to disclose to buyers. You and your agent can provide this information digitally with a QR code for interested buyers to scan or use physical copies for guests to keep. 

Don’t:

Let the seller stay 

Sellers may want to stick around during the open house but don’t let them. It’s hard for potential buyers to picture themselves in the space if the current owner is there. Ask them to take their pets with them, as this can be a turn-off to buyers.

Host at the wrong time

Successful open houses are usually on the weekends sometime between 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, but a random evening during the week can be an option as well   The traffic may not be as much but the buyers looking at these times could be more serious on our heading. Try to avoid holidays and major sporting events, like the World Series.

Lose touch 

Stay in contact with the attendees from your open house. About 48 hours after the event, call and thank everyone who attended. Ask them if they have questions about the property and what their general thoughts are on the space. 

Successful open houses don’t happen overnight or by accident. With my advice, you’ll be sure to host a great open house event! 

If you’re looking to sell your home in Sarasota, I’m here to help you through every step of the process. Feel free to contact me at 941-225-1500 or at AmyChapman@michaelsaunders.com.