Open Houses and Showings
If you are in a market that holds open houses, and your realtor is willing, this can be an easy way to get multiple people through your home without having to drive around with pets and kids in the car when folks have booked back-to-back showings.
Holding an open house immediately after listing is ideal. Buyers waiting for a place like yours to come on the market will be chomping to get through your home. This way, you only clean once beforehand rather than several times before multiple showings.
To get ready for your open house, make sure to tidy and clean well. Also, make sure to take your pets with you for this. If it is a singular showing, asking them not to let your cat in or out is reasonable. But at an open house with many people, you don’t want to scare your cat or have the realtor so worried about your pet that they can’t focus on selling your home.
Do some baking! Everyone loves the smell of fresh baked goods. So if you have time, throw something in the oven. It doesn’t have to be from scratch. It’s ideal for buyers to stand around your kitchen island having a cookie and imagine themselves living there. If you can do this for showings, your realtor will blow their diet, but buyers love it. It feels a lot more like home with that delicious aroma.
Your realtor will handle providing items like feature sheets etc., but if you have that list of recent upgrades or repairs, you can leave that out too. Leave the house early to give your realtor plenty of time to set up. It’s nice to wait for them to arrive and chat, but it’s better if they have time to set up directional signs, put up balloons, etc., and be ready for the first guest.
Tempting as it is to drive by and see how it’s going, don’t. Just drive away and do something for a few hours; you will find out soon enough how it went. In some markets, open houses can draw a crowd; in others, you may not get many. A lot depends on the weather, the market if it’s a long weekend or if a big game is playing. Ask in advance which yours is so you know what to expect. The worst-case scenario is your realtor happily eating cookies in your home, thinking of ways to market it, or fielding calls about it.
Setting up the Ideal Showing
These are all great ideas to incorporate, though you may only have time to do some things, especially if you are kind enough to entertain last-minute showings. So here is what you can do if you have:
A few hours to a day's notice
Incorporate what you can from the Open House suggestions—de-clutter, tidy, and clean. Ensure countertops are cleared and wiped—and add flowers from your garden or a bowl of fruit. Get cookies ready to bake, and leave out the list of upgrades.
Less than an hour
Grab an empty tote from your garage and sweep all countertops into it. Then, if you have anything lying around like laundry, paperwork, etc., put it in there, and take it in your car. While it can be tempting to shove stuff in drawers, I wouldn’t recommend it as buyers open and close them, especially if they are advertised as ‘soft-closing.’
For all Showings
Don’t forget to wipe those countertops and close all toilet lids and shower curtains. If you are home right before the showing starts, you can help the showing agent by turning on all the lights, opening all the blinds or curtains and closing closet doors.
Stay tuned for the last part of this series and the last step of selling your home, From Offer to Sold!