Open houses are a great way for buyer’s to find out what is out there, but for the seller.. an open house can be extremely weird and stressful. You invite strangers who will look around, open all your cabinets and drawers and make judgments. Even though this may leave you as a seller feeling exposed, an open house is a great way to meet potential buyers and showcase your home. Here are some tricks of the trade.
- Don’t Get Emotional: A home sale is emotional, I know. Especially if you’ve live there for a very long time. If you come to terms with the potential sale of your home and remind yourself the reasons you are selling.. the open house will be easier to handle.
- Depersonalize & Declutter: Buyers want to feel like they are walking into their new home for the first time, not yours. Take down the family pictures and those little figurines your Great Aunt gave you for Christmas. Consider your home a product, take down the personal decor and start to see your home like a product on the Walmart shelf. It is for sale on the open market! Sellers who do best with open houses are those who move out of the home and even do some professional www. This lets you emotionally detach from the house and remove their presence, so buyers can imagine living in the home.
- Safety: You never know, truly. You would hope for trustworthy buyers to come to the open house, but you never know. Remove anything super expensive.. put jewelry, watches or any cash in a safe or hidden in the back of a closet. People may go through a couple drawers, make sure there’s nothing of value. I don’t say this to scare you, just be aware that you are inviting the public into your home, put away anything you wouldn’t want them to see or get their hands on.
Open houses are important to the sale of your home. For some sellers, they are a necessity. Plan ahead and be certain you are emotionally ready to open those doors. Good Luck!