Spring and summer are the biggest times of the year for holding open houses, basically due to the nicer weather and people wanting to get out and about.
While your real estate agent should help you prepare for the open house by giving you suggestions and helpful information, you can always use a few extra tips and tricks to make your house stand out among the many others that are being held that day.
By making sure your home stands out you are sure to attract a better selection of potential buyers:
- Remove at least one large piece of furniture from each room. This gives the room a feeling of being a bit larger and more spacious. If you can take out more, that’s even better!
- Clean your ceiling fans. Ceiling fans seem to be that one area that is often forgotten but yet one of the first things buyers will notice especially if the fan is light in color. Use a pillow case, slide it over the blade and pull back, removing the dust and dirt. Any remnants will fall into the pillow case instead of all over the floor or furniture.
- Vacuum the floor, including behind furniture and in each nook and cranny. Give your home that extra once over with the sweeper in places that don’t normally get daily sweeping.
- Get rid of all of your knick-knacks and memorabilia that not only collect dust quickly but give a sense of clutter. If you have a set of shelves and the top shelf is full of items, simply remove everything from that shelf and you will notice the difference. Opening up small spaces give the feeling of much larger space in the area.
- Pack up almost all of the kids’ toys. Keep only a few items that they use regularly. Getting rid of large play houses and outdoor slides will make the lawn look uncluttered and manicured on the outside and removing larger doll houses and overflowing toy boxes will unclutter any room instantly.
- Polish all of your real wood; including banisters, molding, and anything that is made of real wood. You can see the room shine instantly and if you have intricate woodwork it will pop out to the buyer.
- Put out fresh linens and bedding. Put in the extra money to purchase a slightly more expensive brand that will keep its scent well into the time you are using it so when they walk into the room they smell fresh linen.
- Open the windows to air out the house if possible. Fresh air in a home does wonders, especially in helping to remove animal scents.
- Place some fresh cut flowers in at least on room. You can add them to a bathroom countertop, a kitchen table, a dining room table or a bedroom nightstand. Fresh floral arrangements instantly put people in a good mood and, in the springtime, give a feeling of freshness.
- Remove pets and any remnants of pets one entire day before you have an Open House. See our article on selling a home when you own pets to find out more information about what needs to be done to remove the idea of a house that has pets so buyers are more likely to appreciate the home and not dislike it because of a silly thing like a subconscious dislike for the fact that pets were in the home. Although in some states you are required by law to state that pets have lived in the home within a certain amount of time; not all states require this. In most cases it’s simply a courtesy given to the buyer in case of allergies.
- Take the time to give your lawn a little extra manicure. Small touches like removing anything dead and removing a few weeds that have crept up since your last lawn care can make a big difference. Trim bushes that perhaps grew a few stragglers also.
Basically for the open house you want to present your home in its absolute best possible manner. Some people literally move out for the open house and stage the home by professional stagers. This is often possible if you have already purchased a home or have some place you can stay for a short length of time while your home is up for sale.
While this may not be an option for everyone think along the lines of making remnants of yourself disappear from the home and allowing the open house visitors see themselves easily in your place. Remember, while it sounds like a ton of work to do the reality is that you will have to pack all of this stuff up eventually anyways. Get a head start on packing and get rid of as much of your own stuff as possible. Open up that house and make it look well kept, roomier and inviting to a new owner.
For more information on how to buy or sell a home, go to http://www.springscleverseller.com or contact Juanita Simkins, Professional Realtor & Expert Negotiator (719) 229-5770
Comments(1)