How To Have an Open House

Research how the pros do it. If you’ve never held an open house of your own or been to a Realtor-conducted open house, stop by a few before opening your doors. Really pay attention to what you like—the seller’s knowledge of the property, the way the kitchen smells heavenly, etc. Also, take notes on what you don’t like. Does the Realtor hover, not allowing you time to browse at your leisure?

Get the word out. Advertise your open house in the local newspaper, and time it correctly. People will forget about it if your open house is announced a month before it occurs, but you want to give prospective buyers more than one day’s notice. Three days to one week before your scheduled open house is the perfect timeframe to advertise in the paper. Also, put a sign in your yard and at the entrance to your subdivision announcing your open house.

Decide what projects you’ll do, and then do them. If you plan to make significant improvements to a bathroom before selling it, don’t hold an open house before it’s done and tell people about your plans. You may hope that someone will love your house as is and then you won’t have to do any upgrades, but you’re actually shooting yourself in the foot. If you recognize that a project needs to be done, you can bet someone with no emotional attachment to your home will notice the same thing. And there’s almost no chance that they’ll return to your house after you’ve made the improvement, so everyone who saw the house in “needs-repair” shape are lost to you as potential buyers.

Clean and de-clutter your house. This isn’t new advice, but the problem is that hardly anyone actually does it. Just watch any program on HGTV for proof. Sellers are too emotionally involved with their homes to see it clearly, so your best bet is to get outside help. You can hire a professional stager, who will give you a list of recommendations to be done before your open house—everything from scrub the kitchen floor to remove all but the couch and wall art from the living room. If you can’t find or afford a professional, ask a brutally honest friend or family member (mothers-in-law are great for this) to help you. Buyers have no imagination, so you must make your home as neutral and move-in ready as possible.

Remove distractions. Specifically, kids and pets need to go. Pets need to be removed so you can clean up their hair and odors before potential buyers arrive, and your kids need to go because they’re a distraction to you and an irritation to some buyers.

Print up fact sheets. Just like at a Realtor-run open house, you need a fact sheet that includes at least one—preferably many—color photos of your house, all details regarding the number of rooms and their size, selling points (new roof, copper pipes), information about school districts, utility rates, taxes, etc. This not only assists browsers as they’re touring your house, but it will help them remember your house after they’ve left.  

Consider little details that will set you apart. This may include compiling a virtual home tour and burning it on CDs that people can take with them or offering nibbles and beverages to make people feel welcome.

Let people browse. It’s tempting to follow people around and point out all of the important features of your house. And if they ask for a personal tour, by all means give it to them. But just like an overeager salesperson at the mall, it will drive buyers away if you hover when they’d like to explore on their own. Instead, consider creating elegant signs that highlight important aspects of the house. For example, a sign on the bathroom door may say, “This flooring is imported Italian marble.”

Put away the valuables. It’s not nice to think about, but with strangers traipsing through your home, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Get some help. If you get a flood of people through your house, you’ll need at least one other person to help answer questions. Ask a friend or family member to stay with you for the duration—and make sure he or she is knowledgeable about the house!