Your home may also be marketed through holding one or several prearranged open house events. The first type of open house you may experience is not for the buying public itself. Often, your broker’s or agent’s own office associates will tour your house as well as other new listings on the same weekday afternoon, so that they may consider it for current or future clients. If so, agents love nothing more than an assortment of cookies or fresh fruit left for them on the kitchen countertop for their day of touring, and may just remember your house first when speaking to their prospects.
The first weekend your home is officially on the market is generally the best time for the first open house, so that potential buyers or agents at the peak of their initial interest may tour your home without the formality of an appointment.
You—or your agent—advertise the open house and put out signs inviting all comers to visit during specified hours. It’s helpful if the open house takes place when there are other ones in the neighborhood, usually on Saturdays or Sundays. Some areas restrict signs; in other areas balloons, flags, and streamers lend a festive atmosphere.
After all the preparation, you will be longing to see the fun. If you have an agent, though, you’ll probably be asked to leave before the open house starts. Should you decide that you couldn’t bear to go away, visit a neighbor so you can see what happens.
Unless your house is strikingly underpriced, don’t expect hordes of visitors. And remember that fewer than 1 house in 20 is sold through an open house.
The agent is experienced in handling visitors and will probably insist that they identify themselves and sign in. For the agent, it’s an opportunity to meet buyers. If you run the open house yourself, always ask people to sign in, and ask for identification. If you have several prospects at once, ask them to wait in the living room or, in good weather, outside, while you escort one couple at a time through the house.
The neighbors who have always been curious about you or your house will probably show up at the first open house, perhaps saying that they are considering selling theirs and just want to com pare. It is wise to welcome them and even to have invited them. Neighbors may have friends or relatives who have always wanted to live nearby. An agent, of course, has an extra motive for being cordial, hoping to produce a successful sale and to be remembered when it’s time to list the next house on the street.
Set for Seduction
After all the preparation you’ve put in during the past few weeks, what more can you do to show your house at its best?
Plenty—whether for an open house or a private showing. Go through the house and raise every window shade and blind. Draw the drapes back from those spotless windows. A bright house looks larger and more cheerful. If you’ve ever noticed model homes windows, you’ll see that they lack blinds, obscuring drapery, and even screens, permitting as much light inside to show off the home’s interior.
Turn on lights from top to bottom, even in the daytime. Those same model homes exude extra charm from shaded lamps and sparkling chandeliers. Buyers shouldn’t have to grope for the pull-cord in the gloomy corner of the basement, and they should find your attic stairs illuminated and welcoming.
Your house can appeal to all five senses as much as it can to rational inspection. Consider the sound level. Stop your dishwasher or clothes dryer in mid-cycle and check for other noisy appliances. If you want to leave your stereo set on, play neutral, easy-listening music softly. If your pool has a waterfall included in its design, turn it on. You are trying, after all, to set up a seduction scene.
The beds are made, of course, with your best spreads or comforters, and every room is as tidy as possible. Toilet seats are down, and those new towels have replaced the family ones. This doesn’t mean that there should be no signs of life—if you have fine linen and china, a beautifully set table adds appeal.
Homeowners have been known to put a cake in the oven every time a prospect was on the way, or to simmer a cinnamon stick for a few minutes. If, on the other hand, you have a heavy smoker in your home, empty ashtrays and spray air freshener at the last moment. These days, agents report that some buyers won’t even enter a house if they can tell the owner smokes.
On any day that isn’t sweltering, start a fire to dramatize your open hearth. If you regard a wood fire as a nuisance, buy pressed logs. One will burn alone and add a cozy glow throughout an afternoon’s open house, leaving very little ash. And viewers won’t have to wonder if the fireplace works.
Time to Clear Out No matter how charming your children and pets are, getting them out of the house during showings is a must. Set up an emergency routine. On two minutes’ notice, your kids should be able to corral Rover, put him on a leash, turn off the television, and dash out the back door for sanctuary in a neighbor’s kitchen.
It’s important that the house be as empty as possible and free from distractions. House hunting is confusing and tiring work. The buyers are probably looking at several places within a few hours, trying to fix each in their minds. Ideally, they like to wander and explore, trying the place on for size, perhaps pretending it’s already theirs. |
