How To Do An Open House When You Are Selling Your Home
The most optimum way to hold an open house is to do it on your own. And best of all the way to ensure it is successful is to pay nothing to advertise it.
Who knows your property better than you...the agent who spent an hour at your coffee table, 59 minutes of which they spent talking you out of a commission or the person who has lived and possibly raised their family there? Of course, it is you. You are the true expert when it comes to your home. You are the one person who can answer the buyer's questions of most importance. Is there anything wrong with the property? What are the neighbors like? Why are you moving? How bad is traffic? These are all things the seller knows best. And of course, no one has more to gain and has more invested to get the home sold than you, the seller. You have the greatest incentive and the best ability to give a buyer the information and the feel for why this will be a great home for them to purchase. Besides, here's a dirty little agent secret. Most agents hold open houses as a way to trawl for prospective clients. As usual, their motives don't totally align with yours.
Open houses are easy to hold. In fact, the best way to hold an open house is to do it impromptu. Have the place clean and orderly. Have any marketing materials stocked and ready to give. If you are home and you are ready for visitors go put your open house sign in the front yard, and if your neighborhood covenants and local laws allow, put an open house directional sign at the subdivision entrance or nearest crossroad. Then come back in and go about your normal daily routine. If you are sitting there doing the laundry, working on your taxes, watching the boob tube or playing in the back yard with the kids, put out the open house sign and invite your buyer in. It could be Tuesday afternoon, Thursday morning, a summertime evening, or the old standby all day Saturday and Sunday: any time is a good time to have your home open for traffic. We always say they not likely to buy it if they can't see it. Open houses frustrate people when they sit around and tap their fingers waiting for buyers that never come, just like a watched pot that never boils.
Anxiously awaiting a buyer to show up at your open house is not the only mistake a seller makes. Most people make a crucial mistake when holding an open house. They spend money to promote it. This is money that is thrown right down the drain. Why? No one comes across town to attend an open house. The way that an open house is beneficial is to attract people who are already on your street or in your subdivision and funnel them into and through your home. If there are 6 or 7 houses on your street for sale and yours is the only one that has an open house out in front of it, who do you think is going to attract the most buyers? Of course, the one that is open. It is readily available to be seen and since the buyers can't get into the others as easily, they will use the open one to gauge the neighborhood. All of the others, even if eventually seen, will always be compared to the open home.
And by holding these NO COST open houses, you keep your costs down by not advertising it, so when a buyer makes you an offer, you don't have to factor these extra costs into your calculations to determine whether you can afford to accept the offer or not. That's huge. It's not just important to attract an offer. It's important to attract that offer, while not paying too much to attract it. Keep your costs low. Find an agent that won't charge you an arm and a leg to market your property and keep your advertising costs low so that you won't have to overcome them by needing a much higher offer than is necessary.
When holding your own open houses, use common sense and good judgment when it comes to your security. Always ask to see an ID for those people entering your home. No one who is a legitimate buyer will mind you asking for this. You can always call this identification information into a friend, neighbor or relative or at least their voicemail to time and date when someone is visiting your home. It is also a good idea to have the person hear you do this. If that person did have something nefarious on their mind they will probably be dissuaded not to follow through on those prior intentions. In more serious situations where someone approaches the door and you feel uncomfortable letting him or her into your home, you can inform that person that you were just on your way out to pick up your sign because you need to leave in an emergency. Tell them that you will take their name and number to get back with them for a future appointment. You are within your rights to refuse entry into your home to anyone you feel might be a security risk.
You should keep a notebook to record the names and numbers of visitors so you can follow up with them. Be forthright and truthful in your answers. Nothing can talk someone into buying a house that they don't want, but nothing can talk someone out of buying a house that they do want. Your buyer will make an emotional connection with your home. When they knock on the door, let them in.
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