How to prepare your Home for an Open House

The purpose of an open house is to attract prospective buyers. First impressions are everything, so the goal is to get them interested right from the start. For your property to sell in a cold market, it should essentially stand out from the crowd. What you want are multiple people placing offers rather than them settling for the property next door. That begs the question – How do you make that happen? Well, by doing whatever humanly possible to enhance the appearance of your house. To help you better understand how to prepare your home for an open house, we have gathered some crucial advice. Should you decide to follow them, your listing surely won’t stay up for long.

Begin by decluttering

There are numerous benefits to decluttering your home prior to selling. Not only will a space free of junk appeal to those looking to buy, but you’ll also have an easier time once the moving day comes. Having less stuff means you’ll spend fewer hours organizing and packing your belongings. Quite a win-win situation, don’t you think?

Before you start putting away the items you don’t currently need, though, equip yourself with a variety of boxes, tape, and markers. Decide which belongings you’ll keep and which ones you’ll get rid of. Put those you want to preserve in boxes. Then, remove them from sight by transferring them to a garage or, better yet, a storage unit. Self-storage can be helpful when selling your home and moving, just be sure to prepare your items the right way. Some sensitive furniture pieces may need to be disassembled before you put them away.

As for the items that you don’t have a use for, there are three things you can do. You can either sell or donate them or throw them away altogether. It’s up to you!

Strip the house of its personality

Our homes reflect our personalities, adorned with memorabilia such as family photos, paintings, and souvenirs. It’s totally fine to keep that inside of your personal space. In fact, you are even encouraged to do so. However, their place certainly isn’t in a house that’s soon not to be yours.

While you are working to prepare your home for an open house, make sure to remove all traces of personal belongings from the premises. Most buyers look at properties as ”blank canvases” – those they can shape in any way they like. When they step foot inside of the place, they should be able to visualize their lives there. Unfortunately, someone else’s things crowding the space could make connecting with the home rather impossible, thus ruining your chances of selling the property. We trust this isn’t something you want.

Brighten up the home

Dark colors, whether those of furniture, walls, or rugs, tend to make the area appear smaller. On the other hand, light colors do the exact opposite – they create a sense of spaciousness. Your open house is bound to go a hundred times better with just the addition of some contrasting details. A light carpet, for example, will amazingly complement your dark floor and will surely catch the attention of a potential buyer or a few.

Another great way to brighten things up is to swap the old bulbs with LED ones. As a bonus, they require less energy to operate and are, therefore, environmentally friendly. It may not seem like much of a difference to you, but it definitely will to a buyer with sustainability in mind.

Prepare your home for an open house by keeping the bathroom spotless

A bathroom, alongside a kitchen, is a room that typically sells homes. Between a house with a gross bathroom and another with a sparkling-clean one, buyers will certainly opt for the second. That’s why it’s up to you to ensure this part of the property is in the best shape possible!

Thoroughly clean high-touch areas, including light switches, taps, and vanity tops. Don’t forget to sanitize the toilet inside out and fix any missing or broken parts. Minor issues you can tackle by yourself. However, if you suspect serious ones to be there, have a professional inspect those.

Pay special attention to the kitchen

Much like a bathroom, a kitchen represents the heart of a house. A beautiful and spacious kitchen can even help you sell your property at a greater price! For that reason, this room is one worth paying special attention to!

Are you selling your kitchen appliances along with the house? If so, make sure each of them is functioning properly. They should work well even if you are keeping them around for the sake of appearance. After all, you never know if some of the buyers will turn them on. If they do, and your appliances prove faulty, they could end up thinking something’s wrong with the outlets.

To further spruce up the kitchen, clean the mess from your countertops and organize the pantry. As a finishing touch, lay a bowl of fruit. If you want to, you can even bake some cookies right before an open house. Their smell will make the place feel especially homey.

Final words

There are many other things worth tending to before the inspection day. Some of those include:

• Fixing up cosmetic issues
• Beautifying the exterior
• Landscaping
• Adorning the inside with greenery

All of the above can easily make or break the buyer’s decision to acquire the listing. With that said, it’s highly recommended you handle these as well while trying to prepare your home for an open house. A word of advice, though. Stay clear of the property during the actual event! The only person future homeowners should see there is none other than your real estate agent.