Simple Open House Preparation Tips: The Most Overlooked
Photo via Pixabay by Kirkandmimi
For most homeowners, selling your home requires doing an open house to make the selling process go faster.
Getting things ready for an open house is a major job that can take weeks or even months. It’s not just about cleaning; these aren’t your average house guests. Buyers can be fickle. Issues like pet smells (or just the suggestion of pets) or clutter are just a few issues that can make a house hard to sell. Staging a home for sale involves so many details. There are people who do it professionally and make a pretty good living at it. If you need to sell your house fast, this may be an option to consider.
Fortunately, hiring a pro isn’t absolutely necessary if you know what the most overlooked preparation tips are and get them started early enough. Getting rid of odors, decluttering and taking out overly personal belongings such as family photos is a good start. Taking one piece of furniture out of each room to make it appear bigger, and learning how to make the most of natural light.
Keep reading for the best tips on how to stage your home for sale.
Clean It Up
To sell your house faster, it’s not enough just to tidy things up; for an open house or buyer walk-through, it’s imperative that you deep-clean every room to make sure dust, pet dander, and odors are removed. Carpets, curtains, and furniture are your big ticket items because they are usually fabric, which hold odors. Scrub the grout between tiles, clean the baseboards, and wipe down the doors and walls so that they gleam. If you have a large home or are short on time, you might consider hiring a cleaning service. Most homeowners spend between $122 and $167 nationally to hire a cleaning service; click here to get an idea of costs in your area.
Declutter
Removing the clutter from your home will not only benefit the sale of your home, but it will also help you tremendously when it comes time to move. Go through each room and make piles: one for trash, one for things you’d like to sell, and one for items you can donate. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t used it in six months or more, get rid of it (unless it’s seasonal). Ask a friend or family member to help you go through everything and transport the items to a thrift store or set up a garage sale. Do this a month or two before you sell your house so you have time to clean after decluttering.
Get Rid of Items You Really Want
Only temporarily, of course. Removing items from your home that you know you want to keep and move with you to the new house will prevent any misunderstandings with a potential buyer. If you are willing to sell an item with the house and it looks good with the house (entertainment center or dining room table), then by all means leave it. Not moving it may save your back when it comes time to sell your house and it may add to the overall value. Talk to your real estate agent about which items most people expect to stay in a home after the sale — such as the appliances — and make sure you know which ones are going with you. Of course, if you need to sell your house in Middle Georgia now, Real Estate Problem Solver can make an as-is offer when your ready.
Make It Less Personal
Buyers love to see a well-staged home, but it can be hard for them to get past a house that is full of the owner’s personal belongings. An open house should show like a blank canvas, so the buyer can see their own items in the “home”. They should point to where THEIR couch should go, the bed will look good on that wall, etc. It is often difficult to picture yourself living in a home when there are family photos hanging everywhere, so remove overly personal items and keep things as neutral as possible.
Educate Yourself
While getting your home ready is obviously important, it’s also incredibly beneficial to educate yourself about the entire selling and open house process with some our other Blogs at Real Estate Problem Solver so you’ll know what to expect and what changes to make. Talk to us or your real estate agent about what you can do to make the process easier on both yourself and the buyer. If this is more than you want to take on, Call us, We Buy houses as-is at no cost to you.
Getting your home ready for an open house can be an overwhelming process, especially if you are unprepared for the work. Asking the right questions and getting organized will help immensely, as will talking to your friends and family members about how they can help when you need it most.
If you need ideas on Getting your house looking it’s best to sale, Suzie Wilson is an interior designer with more than 20 years experience. What started as a hobby (and often, a favor to friends) turned into a passion for creating soothing spaces in homes of every size and style. While her goal always includes making homes look beautiful, her true focus is on fashioning them into serene, stress-free environments that inspire tranquility in all who enter. The Ultimate Guide to Prepping Your Home for an Open House is filled with tips, tricks and other advice based on Suzie’s years of experience in interior home design that will set you up for success.
Good Luck.