Open House Tips!

[snoopy30]

If you have had an open house what things did you do to prepare? What changes did you make to your house? How much did you spend? Any tips or ideas to make a house really stand out?

We're having our first open house in a few weeks and although we've been making lots of preparations I wanted to see what others have done!

[laura]

We haven't had an open house, but as we've just attended approximately 50 or so recently, I would say the biggest thing is de-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter. Every place except for 1 that we looked at was staged, and there were only personal pictures in 2 places and no table/surface had more than 1 thing on it. Is staging big in your area?

[KGif]

I've heard that you should take down personal pictures. It also helps to bake something right before. When people walk in and smell cookies baking it just screams "home!". Of course you'd have to be very careful not to burn them :)That isn't a smell you want people walking into.

I'll tell you from my househunting experience that decluttering is HUGE! If I walked into a house that just had crap everywhere (be it junk OR knick knacks - doesn't really matter) it was just too hard for me to picture me and MY things in there - and that is what you want people to be able to do :)

[Brady]

We def. de-cluttered as the previous poster mentioned. We had a 16 month old son and a big thing was just getting rid of the overflow of toys that crowded our little condo. We put a lot in storage, we also took down a lot of pictures and just had the place as clean as could be. I put out fresh flowers and lit candles for the open house, as well.

In terms of other changes, we replaced the countertops and sink/fixtures in the kitchen, and updated the bathroom.. for updating we replaced the vanity, mirror and toilet. We just changed it all to a clean white (it was all darker wood, etc. before). I believe those updates cost us around $600ish, this was a small kitchen and bath we were working with. Oh, and we had the carpets all professionally cleaned before listing/1st open house.

We got an offer in 10 days and sold it 10 weeks after we listed it. I'm sure a lot of that was just luck and the right people at the right time, but those things I'm sure, certainly didn't hurt.

[SweetRed]

Besides the de-cluttering, one tip that I got was to clean all your windows and if possible, remove the screens. You want as much natural light coming through as possible, and it helps bring the outdoors in. And yeah, it's just nice to have clean windows for once... :)

Also, first impressions are BIG, so make sure you have curb appeal. If you need to plant a few annuals to perk up the front walk or put out a nice doormat or wash down the siding, then do it.

[Secret_Squirrel]

All those things mentioned - declutter, clean all windows & surface so they sparkle, remove anything that would stand out more than the house, have fresh flowers (not lilacs or anything super allergenic) - and bake cookies! Your house will smell so good! Buy the refrigerated dough so there is no mess.

[MsPeachy]

Aside from the previously mentioned suggestions of removing all personal photos and decluttering, you need to empty out as many closets as possible. No one wants to see a coat or bedroom closet crammed with stuff and removing items makes them look bigger. Same with pantries and linen closets.

[hmbay]

another thing to remove--anything that is overly religious. Some buyers will be offended to see religious item, others will not. It's the same line as removing personal photos--you want people to associate the house with THEM and their lifestyle--not you and yours. Turn on lights. Open curtains. Don't use room fresheners--it makes it seem as if you are trying to "hide" something. Remove any pets if you have them (well fish are okay but anything distracting/possibly allergic). Remove/hide any valuables. Hide any medicines or personal toiletry items--put out fresh towels and fresh soaps. Remove all knives from the counter--bad karma plus knives have been used against realtors in showings/open houses.

Make sure the outside is as inviting as the inside--at least the front yard area so they feel drawn to come in and see the rest of the house.

[littlelove8138]

we went to a couple of open houses this weekend. opening all the windows is big. staging, cleaning everywhere, people were looking in the closets! lots of Realtors had some kind of drinks, cookies, candy out. and if there was a table in the kitchen it was set with napkins and everything!

there was one that had little signs on everything as you walked in to rooms for example: new carpet 1 year old, all fans staying with home, new dishwasher 6 months old, new dual pane windows 6 months old that kind of thing. i found it very helpful since there were a few couples in the house and the Realtor couldn't get to all of us at once.

[SeptSapphire]

there was one that had little signs on everything as you walked in to rooms for example: new carpet 1 year old, all fans staying with home, new dishwasher 6 months old, new dual pane windows 6 months old that kind of thing. i found it very helpful since there were a few couples in the house and the Realtor couldn't get to all of us at once.

What a great idea!

[camberne]

Okay, I need some suggestions, too. My mother wouldn't let me show her house (FSBO) for the last two months because they were in the process of moving and she didn't want people to see it "a mess". Well, now the drawback is the house is vacant - virtually nothing left except a small drop-leaf table that we put the leafs up and a couple of chairs around it in the dining room for possibly signing a contract.

Since the house is now vacant, any other ideas other than de-clutter?

[Hello Kitty]

I think vacant houses can show really well. While we had a good eye for taking away personal design and clutter differences, we bought a house that was completely empty. All the walls were white, the woodwork was cleaned and freshly painted (where painted), the blinds were neatly hung and clean. IIRC, there was a fake tree in one corner of the LR, and then a small potted plant in the kitchen. There was also this freaky Santa statue, but that would fall under the 'avoid religious icons' mentioned above.

I think what I liked about ours was that it was obviously empty, but it wasn't like abandoned/neglected empty. Someone took care to clean it thoroughly, and paint it all white, KWIM? I think it would be very distracting to see rooms in blatant colors, or a lot of wallpaper, etc...

[hmbay]

the thing about vacant rooms is it does allow you to see all the flaws (carpet stains etc) that furniture might hide which makes some buyers feel more comfortable. Most people do prefer to see neutral furniture in a home though so it feels "homey" and they can better judge the size of a room. A lot of times an empty room might actually be bigger or smaller than you think it is. When I was looking at my first house I preferred to look at houses with furnituer so I could compare to my furniture and decide what would fit. DH preferred vacant houses. Each buyer will be different but I think the general rule is buyers do subliminally prefer furnished homes when viewing them.

[camberne]

I guess we're lucky that the house is immaculate... my parents are the original owners and they've taken great care of the house. The downstairs is all hardwood floors and ceramic tile... no carpet to worry about other than the large area rug in the family room (which can convey with the house if the buyer wants it).

I got really concerned last week when The Today Show was doing a series on selling homes and they said that an empty home will never get a full-priced offer. We expect to take a small hit on the price because of the current housing market, but the house is already listed below the appraised value... we don't want to take a big hit!! (And we're not going to rent furniture to furnish the house like they did on TTS.)

[shortcake]

You could look on craigslist or something for a few pieces of furniture (in nice clean condition), if you were up for the extra work of picking it up. I would think a small sofa, chair, and coffee table would be nice in the living room. Also, I spoke to a staging company (we are getting ready to sell) and they said sometimes they will simply put an easle with a picture on it in a room - it gives people a sense of scale. Also a few bright items here an there (a dried flower arrangement on the mantle, a potted plant at the front door) can help.

On the other hand, like some PP have said, I didn't have a problem with an empty house when we were looking. I think if the house is priced right you'll get a full priced offer, so don't let what you saw worry you!

[greenbunny]

It wasn't technically "our" open house, since we were renters, but we were there a few times while the house was being shown and the realtor asked if they could see our utility bills (gas and electric). I made photocopies and blacked out the personal info and left them out on the counter for the open house, and a few people commented that they appreciated it.