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Open Houses
First impressions
Why have an open house? It's a good way to get buyers to look at your
property. It's also more convenient for the seller to show the property
to many people over two days than being available for many appointments
on various days at various times.
Before your first open house, make sure you've done all you can to enhance
your property. Simply put, the better it looks, the more a buyer is willing
to pay.
Rearrange and remove furniture to make a room appear larger. Simplify
the space by removing excessive knick knacks and decorations. A fresh
coat of paint is an easy way to brighten dated decor. Focus on the kitchen,
family room, and bedrooms.
Open House Tips
• Schedule your open house on Sunday and/or Saturday afternoon.
Sundays are the preferred open house day. Be sure to do a quick check
of the calendar to make sure you don't schedule your open house on the
same day as a major sporting event, religious observance, or holiday weekend.
• Prime time to schedule the open house is from 2 pm to 5 pm.
• Provide a guest book for visitors to sign their name, phone number,
and email address. This gives you the opportunity to follow-up with them
later to see if they have any questions or let them know about a change
in price or an another up-coming open house.
• It's a good idea to place one person at the front door for the
entire duration of the open house. This person will welcome visitors,
distribute marketing materials, answer questions, and direct visitors
to sign the guest book.
• You may also want to have a couple other people stationed throughout
the house incase visitors have questions. These people are not to act
as pushy sales agents but are available to provide information if a visitor
has questions.
• Don't forget to advertise! Place an advertisement in your local
newspaper.
• If you have a list of interested buyers, mail or email and invitation
to your next open house.
• Put an sign in your yard displaying the dates and times of upcoming
open houses.
Marketing materials
It is a good idea to provide visitors with a one-page information sheet
with a photo and details about your property. Consider printing copies
of your ad from Housing.com.
Learn about Presentation & Staging >>
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