There are many reasons you might choose to sell your home. Perhaps you've been offered a job across the country and need to move, or your circumstances have changed. Whatever the cause may be, it is never easy. As well as the emotional stress you're likely to feel, you will need to deal with the long, complicated, and often daunting selling process. It's only natural to want to get this over with as soon as possible, which is why many sellers try to save time by hosting an open house. To ensure that yours is a success, here are ten mistakes you will want to avoid.
Setting The Wrong Temperature
Temperature might seem an insignificant factor is a house viewing, but it is actually far from it. After all, you want your guests to be comfortable while they take their tours of your home. If the house is too hot or too cold, then they will want to get out of there as soon as possible. This means that they won't get a good look at the place and probably won't remember it later. In winter, your house should be warm, but not hot, and in summer it should be cool, but not cold.
Leaving The Space Cluttered
While you may be able to see past the mountains of junk in your home, you shouldn't expect potential buyers to. Clutter is a major issue when it comes to selling houses, as it makes a space appear smaller, as well as less attractive. For this reason, you should collect everything you no longer want or need and ask a rubbish removal for homes service to get rid of it. If there is still too much stuff left in your house, then consider putting some of it into storage for now.
Cutting Corners When Cleaning
When potential buyers come to view your home, it should be cleaner than when you moved in. You might think that you can get away with skipping a few jobs or missing out a few places, but cleanliness is one thing you shouldn't cut corners with. If you do, you can guarantee that a guest will catch you out. This is a lot of work, so you may want to bring in professionals to help you out. Just remember to clean up any last-minute messes the morning before your open house begins.
Open houses tend to bring a lot of foot traffic. From serious buyers to nosy neighbours, your home will have a lot of visitors the day you open it to the public. Most of these people will be good and honest, but there's always a chance that one of them won't be. For this reason, you should avoid leaving anything valuable lay around. Of course, larger items, like televisions and sound systems are generally safe, but you should move jewellery, money, and mobile tech elsewhere.
Playing A Backing Track
Silence can make some people uncomfortable, which is why you might decide to put some music on for visitors to your home. Unfortunately, most potential buyers will find this distracting, rather than comforting, especially if there are lots of other guests around talking. Some buyers might even think that you've turned the music on to cover up the sound of the traffic or other displeasing noises. To avoid their suspicions, you should leave the music off.
Forgetting The Marketing Materials
When visitors come to your house, they should be able to pick up an information packet to take with them. These should be placed by the door or on the dining room or coffee table. If you fail to provide these marketing materials to potential buyers, then they'll probably forget about your property, which means that you might not get very many offers. Make sure that you have plenty of copies of these materials so that they are available to guests throughout the entire day.
Letting Pets Roam Free
Letting your family pets hang around on open house day is never a good idea. While you may love animals, some of your potential buyers may not do. In fact, they might even be scared of them. This means that they might walk straight out the door the moment they see them. Pets are also a huge distraction and often come with an unpleasant smell. Because of this, you should take pets with you on open house day and remove any signs that they were ever in your home.
Pretending You're A Buyer
No one wants the owners of a house hovering over them while they're trying to view it. It makes the whole experience uncomfortable and awkward, as you feel that you can't speak openly or get a good look at the place. It also makes it difficult to imagine the house as your own. This is why you should leave the showing around and answering of questions to your real estate agent. As much as you're tempted to, don't check in on the open house pretending to be a buyer.
Using The Wrong Agent
The right real estate agent can make the selling process a lot easier. They can answer any questions you may have, find ways to save you money, and, of course, show potential buyers around your home. The wrong agent, however, will do the opposite. If you opt for an estate agent who would rather stand around on their phone than speak to potential buyers, then you're going to have problems. This is why you should shop around for one that works well with you.
As soon as you know that you are hosting an open house, you should go and let the neighbours know. Ask them to come and take a look around the place before you open it up to everyone else so that you can get their honest feedback. It's much better that a neighbour tells you of a weird stain or smell than someone you want to sell the house to. Informing your neighbours of your plans also means that they can prepare for the extra traffic that might be outside their home.
An open house can be a great way to speed the selling process along, but only when done well. To ensure that your open house is a success, avoid the mistakes listed above.
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Hi I'm Ali, a vegan mummy of four from Wales in the UK. I love reading, cooking, writing, interiors and photography, all of which I share on here. I also make videos on my YouTube channel. Come and follow us and share our journey.
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