Here are some 5 tips to have a successful open house. It is important that these tips are used in conjunction with a properly staged house.
1. Be digital
Go where your consumers are. People looking for homes nowadays always start their searches on the Internet. Make sure that your realtor has adequate marketing materials and tools to make sure your listing appears on the Internet. This includes having advertisements on Facebook and on Google. Spending a little money now can make you stand out from the crowd.
Another unique idea is to create a website for your listing but this might require a little bit of knowledge. A lot of free platforms such as WordPress and Joomla make it easy to make free websites. This will allow people to go to the link and look at more pictures of the house and marketing materials posted on the website.
Another cool method that is hiring a company that offers drone services. A drone can display a banner and can attract people that are driving in the area. This can increase the turnout rate of the open house and spark interest. This technique can help you have a successful open house.
Yes, digital is the way to go but don’t forget the conventional methods. Don’t forget to add an open sign outside your lawn and on top of the street (depending on where you live). Most realtors will already do this for you but if they don’t, ask for it to be done.
2. Handouts
It is important that you have a mixture of handouts to give the attendees that are visiting the open house. Do not overload them with marketing material since that information would have already been passed down for the realtor. Just in cause someone doesn’t have this information, have a few copies on the countertops.
The first thing you want to include is a neighborhood information guide. This will be helpful in determining if a family can live in this particular neighborhood. This should include information on local grocery stores, restaurants, and local schools. This information is useful to people who do not live in the area.
Don’t forget to add in cell phone reception and what kind of networks are you currently using. For instance, what are you using for your cell phone, television and Internet service?
The second thing you want to include is a mortgage loan breakdown. This will help the prospective buyer information on potential costs. This should be broken down off the asking price and the various downpayment percentages and payments amortized over a typical 25 year period.
The third thing you want to include is a glossary of terms. This should be a one-page document that provides information on key terms and phrases. These would be helpful to a first-time home buyer or existing home owner that is moving.
3. Pick an “off” hour
Most open houses occur on Saturday or Sunday from 1:00pm to 3:00pm or even 2:00pm to 4:00pm. This is why you should be having an open house between 3:00pm and 5:00pm because people might blitz through the open houses in the previous time slots.
The majority of people are looking at more than one house on the weekends. If your house is the last house on the list, people might take more time to look at all the details. This will allow you to have a higher chance of people being interesting in it.
Also, if they haven’t found the perfect house yet and are getting tired of looking at houses, your house might be it. They might actually make a serious consideration and put an offer down.
There are some risks that you might want to consider. The opposite of this would be that someone might have bought your house but visited a house previous that they liked. This is usually not the case because realtors usually show all the open houses on the list.
4. Security conscious
This is one of the hardest things to do since there can be a storm of random strangers in your house throughout the day. It is important that you take this into consideration while you are cleaning up your home before your open house.
Don’t leave any valuables such as jewelry, portable electronic devices, credit cards or even identification. You never know what people might take so either hide or take it away with you. The worst thing that can be having something going missing and accusing people without evidence.
To increase the security of the home, make sure guests sign a sheet of paper that states who they are and if they are with a realtor. Another field can be added to the sheet to capture e-mail addresses. A follow-up e-mail should be sent to all the people who have attended the open house and thank them.
It’s a little awkward when people use the washroom when they are an open house. Make this a rule of not using the washroom. This can help decrease the theft of medicine that people might want to steal (for whatever reason).
5. Don’t attend the open house
Yes. You read that right. Do not attend the open house. A relator should be present when you are doing the open house. They will act as a guide when people arrive and ask questions. The reason is because it creates anonymity when people are looking at the house. Allowing them to speak freely about the house and not having to worry that they are offending the current homeowners.
Buyers also want to feel like they can live in the house and picture themselves living in that particular location. It is a little more difficult if the homeowners are present. It is only in rare situations where homeowners and buyers meeting is beneficial to close the deal. Let’s be real, homeowners are going to be biased about their home.
If you have any pets in the house, make sure your pet stuff is hidden away and not in the way. The last thing you want to do is scare the buyer thinking the house is smelly. The smell of pets and litter boxes can make the buyer not buy the house.
