How to Prepare for an Open House
We have been getting things ready for the open house this weekend so I thought it would be helpful to share how we have done this!
Read all about our decision to sell our house HERE.
Having an open house can be a lot of work so I have put together the steps that we have done in order to get our house prepared!
Our open house is this weekend so we have been diligently getting things ready around here so that our house looks its best!
Our realtor is my really good friend, Gina, so she advised on us some things to do to prepare so I will share what she recommends for open houses along with what we have done personally to get this house in tip top shape!
OPEN HOUSE PREP
We painted our master bathroom as it was the last room in this house that had not been painted. We gave it a fresh coat of paint that matches our bedroom and closet. It honestly looks like a brand new space. Totally transformed the room. Even though we haven’t updated any of the fixtures, it looks a million times better! I will share a post about it next week so you can really see the before and afters!
We walked around the whole house and did lots of touch up paint. If there were knicks or discolorations, we quickly went over them. I also touched up our entryway tile since it was needing a little bit of love. See that tutorial HERE. Labor of love, but SO worth it!
Part of the lattice on our deck had broken off last Summer so we replaced it and fixed some of the boards on the deck so that they weren’t coming up.
We have done some yard work to tidy things up outside. We cleaned up the porch and deck and raked some of the leaves away from the flower beds.
The front steps needed some work from the beating they took over the winter. We added more concrete and repainted them. They look BRAND NEW! See how we updated the steps HERE.
We also cleaned up every room of the house top to bottom. From vacuuming, cleaning the windows and floors, organizing, and tidying up. I also staged each room to have a polished and complete look so that potential buyers will hopefully fall in love!
The biggest tasks we had to complete were cleaning and organizing our basement and attic. They had been somewhat of a catch all so we tossed a bunch of junk, cleaned the rooms, and made sure they were organized. Obviously, they are just a basement and attic, but we wanted them to look clean as to not scare buyers away, HA!
OPEN HOUSE TIPS FROM OUR REALTOR
Clean the house, get rid of clutter. For example: clean your dresser off and put the clutter in a drawer or somewhere people can’t see. The less clutter, the larger a space appears even if it’s small. Clean the kitchen and bathrooms well. Buyers see those rooms as big ticket expense items so if the areas are clean, but out of date, buyers tend to think ‘well we can live with it until we need to redo it.’
Lock all valuables or take them with you
Pick up any dog poop or cat litter
Don’t leave laundry out near the washer and dryer. It looks unsightly and since laundry isn’t a very fun chore, don’t display how terrible it is!
If there is time, try to touch up paint, fencing, turned over pots, have the lawn mowed. Shovel if there is snow as agents are usually prepared to have to do this. It’s important to remember that it’s on the seller if they don’t have the walkways properly salted/shoveled.
Discuss any concerns or questions with your realtor. The realtor is most likely planning in advance of how the open house will be staged. They will have paperwork and brochures along with some goodies to give out sometimes. If there is anything you want the agent to highlight or have people not do (ie: wear shoes in the house!), tell the realtor. You hired them for a reason!
If you have done major projects to the house, you can leave out a portfolio of all you have done to update the house and include before and after photos. Buyers love that and makes them feel grateful for not having to do that work!
Our realtor, Gina, has been so helpful and has made this process so easy!! If you are local to Buffalo, NY or Rochester, NY and are looking for a realtor, check out her website, HERE, for more information!
We are so excited for this open house and we hope that people love our home.
If you are getting ready to sell too, I hope these open house tips have helped you in some way!
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XO
-LA
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