Make A Great First Impression With These 5 Open House Ideas

Simplify your life with these 5 open house ideas

Looking for 5 open house ideas? Your open house is like your home’s first date with its new potential owners. It may be the beginning of a beautiful life with another family, but you have to make a good first impression, or you risk ruining the relationship before it begins.

Here are 5 open house ideas to make your home stand out:

Clear the clutter Whether you choose to believe it or not, your house is not going to be attractive to buyers if it looks like you live there. Spend some time eliminating clutter so your potential buyers will be free to envision your house as their home. Don’t stop at trinkets and knickknacks; you must also eliminate personal belongings and take down identifying photos from the wall.

Handle common maintenance tasks You may not think much of your loose door handle, but home buyers will. The peeling paint in the bedroom and the missing drawer pull on the bathroom vanity will signal big red flags on open house day. Fix minor issues such as these so they won’t be distractions. Your ultimate goal is to highlight positive features of your home and downplay any pesky imperfections. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out this list of 52 DIY fixes from This Old House. You can also ask your realtor for their thoughts or have a brutally honest friend offer an opinion regarding things that need to be remedied.

Make safety a priority In addition to touching up the paint and swapping busted light bulbs, you also need to make sure that your home is safe for visitors. This is especially important if you have outdoor recreational equipment, such as a pool or hot tub. In the fall and winter months, close the pool properly and ensure it has a fitted cover securely in place. You’ll want to highlight these areas, especially on a sunny day. Do so by keeping them clean and stain free and investing in new pool equipment. You might also consider having safety equipment installed such as pool alarms or a fence to attract buyers with young children and pets.

Make it homey While not all real estate agents agree on the validity of providing refreshments, there is something to be said about offering free snacks that make interested parties stick around. You don’t have to offer a full spread, but fresh-baked cookies, finger sandwiches and easy-to-eat munchies will make open house visitors feel just a little bit more at home. US News & World Report also points out that serving drinks and snacks encourages open house attendees to interact with your agent.

Vacate the property

Both you and your pets should be off-site during your open house and any prior or subsequent showings. FOXBusiness Contributor Andrea Murad asserts that even evidence of pets should be well out of sight (and smell). In the days prior to the open house, have your pet stay with close friends or relatives. The only real exception to the rule are fish, as long as the tank is clean and attractive.

By remaining on the property – or leaving your nervous dog or cat – you run the risk of making your buyers uncomfortable. Instead of sticking around, ask your agent to casually question attendees so you can get more feedback and come up with an action plan to make your house more appealing to a larger demographic.

Don’t let your open house be the downfall of your selling effort. You want to move, and your buyers want to move in. And despite today’s fast-moving real estate environment, the more you can do to make your home stand out, the better your chances for a quick sale that’s closer to your asking price.

For more tips and up-to-date information contact me today and be sure to follow me on Facebook @Brad Winkelmann Real Estate Arlington VA, Orange Line Metro.

Guest post by Lucille Rosetti