|
|
|
Most sales representatives will suggest a number of ways to
market your home, however, if your agent has decided an open
house would be advantageous, here are some suggestions to help
make your open house successful.
There are four steps to follow for a successful Open House. The
first three are planning, promotion and presentation. Once
you've done all that, the only step remaining is to cross your
fingers and hope for good weather!
As with most things in real estate, planning is critical to your
success. Check your calendar and pick a date that won't conflict
with other events that could divert your potential visitors. You
won't get many home browsers on Super Bowl Sunday or Mother's
Day! Ask your real estate professional for advice on how to
showcase your home to its best advantage. Remember, when it
comes to showing appeal…less is more. You want to create an
atmosphere of spaciousness. Get rid of the clutter to maximize
your space. Have a garage sale, empty the closets and take the
time to give those things away to charity. Besides making your
home look great for showing, it'll give you less to do on moving
day.
Remember that a home that looks well kept will create favourable
impression. Make sure you cut the grass or shovel the sidewalk
as the season requires. Plan on doing a little spot painting to
perk up problem areas, oil squeaking hinges, tighten loose
screws, and all the other little things that show a home is
cared for.
Then it's time to start promoting. Your real estate professional
is the expert here, and can advise you what marketing techniques
will be used to promote your event. Whether it's direct mail,
advertising in Home Guides or the newspaper, or website
promotion, your representative will effectively promote your
event. However, you can add to the process by partnering in the
promotion too. Post notices on bulletin boards in supermarkets,
libraries or community centers. Anyway that you can spread the
word will add to the process.
For your Open House day, your representative will also counsel
you on how to present your home to its best advantage. Leaving
on all the lights, having a fire burning in the fireplace, soft
background music playing, and coffee brewing all add to the
ambience and make a welcoming impression. But as any real estate
professional will tell you, the best thing that you can do to
make your open house a success is to get out and stay out! All
joking aside, you'll get better results when your visitors feel
free to poke about, linger, and ask very direct questions of
your real estate agent. If you're present, they'll feel more
constrained, and your sales representative may not even get an
opportunity to identify any concerns they may have, and attempt
to offer them options and solutions. So pack up the dog and the
kids, and enjoy your day away…trust your real estate
professional to do the job right. After all, they're the
experts!
|
| |
| |
| |
