You first must decide- 1) if you want to hold an Open House, 2) can you hold an Open House in your subdivision, and 3) will it benefit you. If you live in a subdivision with an active home owners association, ask them for the rules about holding an Open House. Some associations prohibit them entirely, others will have restrictions on when to hold them, how many you are allowed, and your limitations on signage. Let us assume that you can host Open Houses and there are no restrictions on when and how many and you would like to do it. You still need to determine #3- Will it benefit you? Obviously, if the event brings you a qualified buyer, then the answer is a resounding, Yes! Let us look at some factors that will help you decide. There are two main ingredients in the successful sale of your property. Pricing and exposure. You are going to hold an Open House to increase your exposure. Who attends Open Houses? Real buyers who can afford your property, real buyers who cannot afford your property, people who enjoy going to Open Houses who have no intention of buying, people who are looking for friends or relatives, people who are looking for decorating ideas, people with food or drinks in their hands, people with screaming children, people with dirty shoes, people who might laugh at your family pictures, people who are looking to see if you have anything worth while stealing. 1. Can I generate any traffic? Is your property easy to access? If you are in a gated community or an area that has very few people driving by, how many Open House signs would it take for a driver to find you? Ideally, you should be able to capture the attention of drivers from a well traveled street. 2. How do I generate traffic? Strategically placed Open House signs on the scheduled day will direct traffic to you. A week before the event, send out a postcard mailing to 100 to 200 of your closest neighbors. A week before the event, place a sign outside the property announcing when the Open House will be presented. Plan a garage sale combined with the Open House. 3. When should I schedule the Open House? Weekends tend to bring the most traffic, winter time noon to 3 pm, summer time 1 pm to 4 pm. We have held very successful Open Houses in the middle of the week right after the closest elementary school lets out for the day. The traffic from parents picking up children is tremendous. 4. How do I give the Buyers information? You should have prepared a Feature Sheet to give to any buyers who are viewing your property. Have these readily available, as close to the front door as possible. A good Feature Sheet will contain all the pertinent statistics, size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage stalls, lot size, age, taxes, association fees, schools, appliances included, and any upgrades. You might want to add information about proximity to parks, shopping, and transportation. If there was an important factor that influenced you to buy that home, maybe it is worth mentioning. 5. How do I prepare my home for the Open House? On the page entitled Do I Need to Fix Up The Property?, you are given information about preparing the property for sale. For the Open House we would suggest having some soft music playing, preferably light classical, the temperature should be very welcoming. During a cold day in winter, a fire in the fireplace, if you do not have a fireplace, bake some bread or rolls that morning. On a hot summer day, make the home extra cool. What will make a guest say Aaah! All the lights should be on. If you have any pets, send them to a sitter. Buy some fresh flowers at the super market and display them in the family room and the master bedroom. Make sure the front of the house is spotless. Make sure that there are at least two of you running the event. Do not attempt this alone. Before the start time, go through the property and ensure that all valuables are secured, there is nothing to trip on, and any fragile items are moved out of harms way. Have a new door mat for them to wipe their feet. 6. Should I keep track of who comes in? Yes. Have a guest register available with space for name, address, and phone number. Ask all visitors to sign in. Not everyone will cooperate. If you change the terms of sale or the price, you will have a list of people who have seen the home and might like to be updated. 7. How do I handle the visitors? Welcome them, ask them to sign in please, hand them a Feature Sheet, tell them to feel free to wander around, tell them you are here to answer any questions, and let them wander. Do not follow them around and do not try to give a guided tour. If there are some outstanding features that you want them to notice, place small neatly lettered cards near these features. The person stepping through your doorway that will be Your Buyer, needs to enjoy themselves and feel at home with no pressure. This means treat them all as potential buyers. 8. How do I handle myself? Before the event starts, have a quiet talk with yourself. Calm yourself down. Understand that not every one has the same taste as you. You might hear comments that you find very insulting or hurtful. Tell yourself that for today, this is not my home, this is a product that I am selling. 9. The open house is over, can I relax now? Perform a safety check. Make sure all the windows are outside doors are still secured. Evaluate your day. Was it worthwhile? Did you get the traffic you were hoping for? Will you have another Open House next week? |
How Do I Hold an Open House? |
You first must decide- 1) if you want to hold an Open House, 2) can you hold an Open House in your subdivision, and 3) will it benefit you. If you live in a subdivision with an active home owners association, ask them for the rules about holding an Open House. Some associations prohibit them entirely, others will have restrictions on when to hold them, how many you are allowed, and your limitations on signage. Let us assume that you can host Open Houses and there are no restrictions on when and how many and you would like to do it. You still need to determine #3- Will it benefit you? Obviously, if the event brings you a qualified buyer, then the answer is a resounding, Yes! Let us look at some factors that will help you decide. There are two main ingredients in the successful sale of your property. Pricing and exposure. You are going to hold an Open House to increase your exposure. Who attends Open Houses? Real buyers who can afford your property, real buyers who cannot afford your property, people who enjoy going to Open Houses who have no intention of buying, people who are looking for friends or relatives, people who are looking for decorating ideas, people with food or drinks in their hands, people with screaming children, people with dirty shoes, people who might laugh at your family pictures, people who are looking to see if you have anything worth while stealing. 1. Can I generate any traffic? Is your property easy to access? If you are in a gated community or an area that has very few people driving by, how many Open House signs would it take for a driver to find you? Ideally, you should be able to capture the attention of drivers from a well traveled street. 2. How do I generate traffic? Strategically placed Open House signs on the scheduled day will direct traffic to you. A week before the event, send out a postcard mailing to 100 to 200 of your closest neighbors. A week before the event, place a sign outside the property announcing when the Open House will be presented. Plan a garage sale combined with the Open House. 3. When should I schedule the Open House? Weekends tend to bring the most traffic, winter time noon to 3 pm, summer time 1 pm to 4 pm. We have held very successful Open Houses in the middle of the week right after the closest elementary school lets out for the day. The traffic from parents picking up children is tremendous. 4. How do I give the Buyers information? You should have prepared a Feature Sheet to give to any buyers who are viewing your property. Have these readily available, as close to the front door as possible. A good Feature Sheet will contain all the pertinent statistics, size, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, garage stalls, lot size, age, taxes, association fees, schools, appliances included, and any upgrades. You might want to add information about proximity to parks, shopping, and transportation. If there was an important factor that influenced you to buy that home, maybe it is worth mentioning. 5. How do I prepare my home for the Open House? On the page entitled Do I Need to Fix Up The Property?, you are given information about preparing the property for sale. For the Open House we would suggest having some soft music playing, preferably light classical, the temperature should be very welcoming. During a cold day in winter, a fire in the fireplace, if you do not have a fireplace, bake some bread or rolls that morning. On a hot summer day, make the home extra cool. What will make a guest say Aaah! All the lights should be on. If you have any pets, send them to a sitter. Buy some fresh flowers at the super market and display them in the family room and the master bedroom. Make sure the front of the house is spotless. Make sure that there are at least two of you running the event. Do not attempt this alone. Before the start time, go through the property and ensure that all valuables are secured, there is nothing to trip on, and any fragile items are moved out of harms way. Have a new door mat for them to wipe their feet. 6. Should I keep track of who comes in? Yes. Have a guest register available with space for name, address, and phone number. Ask all visitors to sign in. Not everyone will cooperate. If you change the terms of sale or the price, you will have a list of people who have seen the home and might like to be updated. 7. How do I handle the visitors? Welcome them, ask them to sign in please, hand them a Feature Sheet, tell them to feel free to wander around, tell them you are here to answer any questions, and let them wander. Do not follow them around and do not try to give a guided tour. If there are some outstanding features that you want them to notice, place small neatly lettered cards near these features. The person stepping through your doorway that will be Your Buyer, needs to enjoy themselves and feel at home with no pressure. This means treat them all as potential buyers. 8. How do I handle myself? Before the event starts, have a quiet talk with yourself. Calm yourself down. Understand that not every one has the same taste as you. You might hear comments that you find very insulting or hurtful. Tell yourself that for today, this is not my home, this is a product that I am selling. 9. The open house is over, can I relax now? Perform a safety check. Make sure all the windows are outside doors are still secured. Evaluate your day. Was it worthwhile? Did you get the traffic you were hoping for? Will you have another Open House next week? |
Jeannine Cutter (702) 283-8882 David Berg (702) 281-5827 |
