neighborhood or plant a sign in the yard. You must effectively promote it well before the big day. If you’re using an agent, they will produce a separate video incorporating an abbreviated virtual tour of the home highlighting its best features. If not, you can produce a similar video yourself. Think of it like a movie trailer, designed to emphasize the best points of the home without revealing everything to draw in prospective buyers to your open house.
HOW TO THROW A GREAT OPEN HOUSE
For your open house to be effective, you must fully prepare for the big day. If you have engaged a real estate agent, they can host a broker preview for other agents to tour your home and give feedback about how your home shows and if your home is appropriately priced. If your home isn’t priced correctly, people won’t show up to the open house. One out of every two home buyers will spend time visiting open houses, so your house must be as sterile as an operating room, as uncluttered as a five-star hotel room, and as homey as grandma’s kitchen. This is all about creating a fantasy. Your open house shouldn’t say, “I live here,” but instead, it should seem very accessible and whisper to the potential buyers, “You could live here. Can’t you see yourself in that sunny kitchen, smiling at your angelic children as they do their homework quietly and neatly at the kitchen table while you whip up a gourmet meal for the whole family to enjoy?” Remove as many personal items as possible, especially items that aren’t included in the sale. Clear off the kitchen counters, remove extra furniture to create space, and give the house a deep cleaning. Shampoo the carpets, steam clean the tile, and scrub the bathrooms. Touch up scuffs on the walls and sweep out the garage. Prune the bushes, weed-whack the walkways, and deadhead the flowers. You want your home to look like a model in the local “Parade of Homes.” Appeal to the buyer’s sense of 94
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