One of the best ways of building up hype for your recently listed home is by hosting an open house. Spend a weekend keeping your home open for prospective buyers to come through, ask questions, and potentially, place offers. 

Not only is this a great way to get your home noticed by people looking to buy, but it can also lead to a bidding war. A bidding war happens when multiple people are interested in a listing and place offers. 

As the homeowner, this gives you the ability to pick and choose the buyer based on their offer, their down payment, their pre-approval status, and more. It also allows you to increase your asking price.

Finally, it gives you peace of mind. If one offer falls through, there are others on the table. 

But how do you prepare for an open house? Keep reading for our top five open house tips.

1. Declutter and Depersonalize

First, understand that the entire purpose of an open house is to entice potential buyers to place an offer on your home. They need to walk in and immediately be able to visualize themselves living there. 

As such, you must declutter your home as much as possible, taking extra care to remove personal items. These include things like family photos, personalized certificates/awards, old furniture, personal collections, busy wallpaper, specific design touches, etc.

2. Make Cosmetic Repairs and Renovations

One of the most important pieces of open house advice is to make sure the home feels move-in-ready. A potential buyer shouldn’t walk through and feel overwhelmed by the amount of work they’d need to do if they purchased the home. 

At the very least, take care of the cosmetic repairs and renovations. This includes:

• Damaged drywall
• Water damage
• Damaged trim
• Cracked windows
• Faded/peeling paint
• Carpet stains
• Broken fixtures and hardware
• Burnt out light bulbs
• Etc.

These are all low-budget fixes. Together, they will make your home feel more inviting, cleaner, and more appealing. 

3. Deep Clean

Our open house checklist wouldn’t be complete without talking about cleaning for an open house.

After you’ve taken care of the repairs, it’s time to put in some elbow grease. The house must be deep cleaned from top to bottom. Potential buyers expect cleanliness, they don’t want to see evidence of your current or past existence in the home. 

A dirty home will turn away many buyers. This includes the home’s exterior. Consider hiring a commercial pressure washing service for the outside of your house.

4. Stage the Home

Next, learn how to stage the home for maximum appeal. If you don’t have much experience with interior decorating or lack the furniture to make the home look pristine, consider hiring a professional home stager for your open house. 

This will be a small cost upfront. However, staged homes have shown to sell 73% faster and for more money. It gives buyers a taste of the home’s true potential. 

5. Hire a Realtor 

Finally, it’s never a bad idea to have a professional real estate agent on your side when selling your home. They have experience and in-depth knowledge of the local housing market. They’ll help you handle and assess incoming offers. 

Real estate agents also have plenty of experience negotiating with potential buyers. They can help you get the home sold quickly and for the right amount of money.  

Are You Getting Ready to Host an Open House?

Do you want to sell your house as quickly as possible? If so, you need to invest the time and effort for a successful house showing. An open house has several benefits and can help put your listing on the map. 

And if you’re looking for more real estate advice, stick around for a while. Our blog was created to be a hub of information for home buyers, sellers, and real estate agents. Check out some of our other articles before you go.