When you’re looking to sell your property, whether it be an apartment or a townhouse, open houses become the prime opportunity to showcase your pad. The key to a solid open house involves attracting a plentiful audience as well as also leaving visitors with an amazing impression. Your listing broker’s job will be getting people in the door, but your responsibility will involve making sure that your property is in tip top shape for potential buyers. Your broker will likely give you some guidance and even help you out, but getting your property open house ready will be in your ball-court. Lucky you, it’s really not too difficult, and there are 5 easy ways you can make it happen.
Hire a Professional Cleaner
Before your first open house, one of the first things you’ll want to do is make sure your home is spotless. In the absence of being able to power wash the interior of your property, the next best thing may be to hire a cleaning service. You’ll want them cleaning every surface, dusting every corner and ensuring your home is free of any dirt or debris. A clean home is essential to making potential buyers feel comfortable while stepping through the property and enabling them to imagine what it would be like for them to live in it.
Depersonalize
We all have some great family photos. We love sharing them with friends and loved ones. However, when you’re trying to sell your property, if your space is overly saturated with family photos, it might be a complete turnoff to potential buyers. Not that they don’t think your family looks picture perfect, but rather because it doesn’t give potential home buyers the opportunity to dream what their family might look like in the home. This is simply human nature at work, so don’t take it personally.
Add a Splash of Color with Flowers
You might not be a flower person, and that’s totally alright! As a matter of fact your potential buyers may not be flower people either. However, there’s nothing like having a fresh bouquet of colorful flowers at an open house. It’s inviting, adds a touch of color and simply creates a much more distinguished experience for people previewing your home. Don’t underestimate the power of a little bit of nature in your home. At the end of the day, buyers won’t remember every detail about your home, but they will remember how they felt. Flowers and greenery add to that overall feeling.
Put on the Chill Music
Music is another important experiential component related to open houses. This of course only works if you have a sound system or a TV that can carry music across rooms. Even if it’s just in the living room, that will work as well. You’ll want to turn on the music just prior to the open house starting and turn it up to a comfortable level. Speak with your broker about the type of music or mix they would recommend. They might even have a mix ready for you to play. The key is to play something that is mellow and will be agreeable with all open house visitors.
Light the Candles or Diffusers
This is no romantic dinner you are prepping for, but adding some nice aroma to the air will make your visitors feel that you have truly prepped for their arrival. Of course there is any implication here that your property smells anything but amazing, but adding a nice touch of floral or citrus notes can be a special touch that make would-be buyers feel comfortable. Don’t underestimate the power of scent and the impact that it can leave on someone’s memory. When you’re trying to sell your property, building mindshare and a positive memory for potential buyers is essential.
Overall
A good open house can be the make or break between getting an offer on your property or getting a big goose egg (no offer at all). It can also be the difference between getting multiple offers that turn into a bidding war or one offer that is significantly under ask. The point is that an open house is a sacred part of the homeselling experience, and it needs to be respected as such! With that being said, consider some of the above tips to get your property ready for the perfect open house.