Open House Timeline: Countdown To A Successful Sale

Get ready for your open house — stress-free — by starting early and breaking down your to-do list into manageable chunks. Use this timeline of 35 tips and your house will stand out from the competition on open house day.

Four Weeks Before the Open House

• Ask your parents to babysit the kids the weekend of the open house. Then book a reservation for your pet with the dog sitter or at the kennel. Having everyone out of the house on the day of will help you keep your home tidy and smelling fresh. Plus, no dogs and no kids equal more time for last-minute prep.
• Line up a contractor to take care of maintenance issues your real estate agent has asked you to fix, like leaking faucets, sagging gutters, or dings in the walls.
• De-clutter every room (even if you already de-cluttered once before). Don’t hide your stuff in the closet—buyers will open doors to size up closet space. Store your off-season clothes, sports equipment, and toys somewhere else.
• Book carpet cleaners for a few days before the open house and a house cleaning service for the day before. Otherwise, make sure to leave time to do these things yourself a couple of days before.

Three Weeks Before the Open House

• Buy fluffy white towels to create a spa-like feel in the bathrooms.
• Buy a front door mat to give a good first impression.
• Designate a shoebox for each bathroom to stow away personal items the day of the open house.

Two Weeks Before the Open House

• Clean the light fixtures, ceiling fans, light switches, and around door knobs. A spic-and-span house makes buyers feel like they can move right in.
• Power-wash the house, deck, sidewalk, and driveway.

One Week Before the Open House

• Make sure potential buyers can get up close and personal with your furnace, air-conditioning unit, and appliances. They’ll want to read any maintenance and manufacturer’s stickers to see how old everything is.
• Clean the inside of appliances and de-clutter kitchen cabinets and drawers and the pantry. Buyers will open cabinet doors and drawers. If yours are stuffed to the gills, buyers will think your kitchen lacks enough storage space.
• Put out the new door mat to break it in. It’ll look nice, but not too obviously new for the open house.

Week of the Open House

• Buy ready-made cookie dough and disposable aluminum cookie sheets so you don’t have to take time for clean up after baking (you can recycle the pans after use). Nothing says “home” like the smell of freshly baked cookies.
• Buy a bag of apples or lemons to display in a pretty bowl.
• Let your real estate agent know if you’re running low on sales brochures explaining the features of your house.
• Clean the windows to let in the most light possible.
• Mow the lawn two days before the open house. Mowing the morning of the open house can peeve house hunters with allergies.

Day Before the Open House

• Make sure your real estate agent puts up plenty of open-house signs pointing in the right direction and located where drivers will see them. If she can’t get to it on the Friday before a Sunday open house, offer to do it yourself.
• Put away yard clutter like hoses, toys, or pet water bowls.
• Lay fresh logs in the fireplace.

Day of the Open House

• Put checkbooks, kids’ piggybanks, jewelry, prescription drugs, bank statements, and other valuables in the trunk of your car, at a neighbor’s house, or in your safe. It’s rare, but thefts do happen at open houses.
• Set the dining room table for a special-occasion dinner. In the backyard, uncover the barbeque and set the patio table for a picnic to show buyers how elegantly and simply they can entertain once they move in.
• Check any play equipment for spider webs or insect invasions. A kid screaming about spiders won’t endear buyers to your home.
• Clean the fingerprints off the storm door. First impressions count.
• Put up Post-It notes around the house to highlight great features like tilt-in windows or a recently updated appliance.
• Remove shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, and other personal items from the bathtub, shower, and sinks in all the bathrooms. Store them in a shoebox under the sink. Removing personal items makes it easier for buyers to see themselves living in your house.
• Stow away all kitchen countertop appliances.

One Hour Before the Open House

• Bake the ready-to-bake cookies you bought earlier this week. Put them on a nice platter for your open house guests to eat with a note that says: “Help yourself!”
• Hang the new towels in the bathrooms.
• Put your bowl of apples or lemons on the kitchen table or bar counter.
• Pick up and put away any throw rugs, like the bath mats. They’re a trip hazard.

15 Minutes Before the Open House

• Open all the curtains and blinds and turn on the lights in the house. Buyers like bright homes.
• Light fireplace logs (if it’s winter).
• Didn’t get those cookies baked? Brew a pot of coffee to make the house smell inviting.

During the Open House
Get out of the house and let the REALTOR® sell it! Potential buyers will be uncomfortable discussing your home if you’re loitering during the open house. Take advantage of your child- and pet-free hours by treating yourself to something you enjoy — a few extra hours at the gym, a trip to the bookstore, or a manicure.

12 Strategies for Hosting a Sucessful Open House

“You don't need a golden toilet. You just need a working toilet,” said Holly Sose, of City Connections Realty. 

“Any wild shenanigans are just that, shenanigans. … The market will always dictate a trade price. No amount of gorgeous models dancing in bikinis or catered sushi is going to do that for you.”


Once a seller figures out the right price, it may take some weeks to prepare a home so it looks ready for a showing. Here's how:

1. De-clutter your home
“Buyers want to envision themselves in the home, and it’s difficult to do so if your clutter is in the way,” said Shannon Aalai, of CitiHabitats.
Cleaning out closets is especially important since many city house hunters are obsessed with closet space and will surely open all doors, she said.

2. Add a fresh coat of paint, and fix anything that’s broken, especially if it’s squeaky.
"When people walk into an apartment they’re nitpicky and want to find something wrong even if they like it," Aalai said.
So, make sure everything is in working order, including light bulbs.
Vik Kukar, of Rutenberg Realty, recalled one open house where a broken dishwasher handle turned off prospective buyers.
“You’re really trying to create emotion when you walk in,” he said. “You don’t want anything to break that positive emotion.”

3. Stash your honeymoon photos and hide your doll collection.
“Take down anything I tell you is offensive or weird, and remove anything personal,” Aalai said. 
The goal is to keep the focus on the apartment. 
“Your dog is cute but we don’t need to see [it] in every photo," she said. "People are easily distracted. They look at the photos, and say, 'That’s a cute couple, that’s a cute baby.' They’re more interested in [the sellers’] lives.”
When taking a couple to look at a SoHo loft, Aalai heard the prospective buyers talking nonstop about the series of “creepy” collage boxes hanging on the wall instead of chatting about the home.
“The husband said you’ll never get rid of that energy,” she recounted.

4. Consider using a professional to stage your home.
It could cost anywhere from $4,000 to upwards of $25,000 to have your apartment staged, but there could be a big payoff, Kukar said.
“It’s often going to have a 300 percent return,” he said, especially if a home has no furniture.

5. Give your agent ample access to your house.
“Allow open houses, and let brokers show the property after work and on weekends,” Aalai said.

6. Target your outreach.
Teplitzky stressed the importance of “building momentum” by listing a home in different outlets, online and elsewhere.
Sometimes her agents will do mailings in the neighborhood to increase the number of people showing up.

7. Don’t be home for showings or open houses.
“Buyers are never honest in front of sellers, and frankly it often makes them uncomfortable,” Aalai said.

8. Be prepared for possible questions.
Make sure whoever is hosting the open house knows where to find the nearest gym and grocery stores and the closest subway and bus stops. Make sure they know what, if anything, was renovated and when, and whether walls can come down or be put up, Kukar said.

9. Get a cleaning service.
“People will notice if it’s dirty,” Aalai said, especially in bathrooms where prospective buyers often turn on faucets and use toilets.
“They move the shower curtain when they want to turn the water on, so make sure there’s no hair in the tub,” she said, also advising sellers to make sure there’s soap, and the good towels are hanging.

10. Take the dog or cat out; hide litter boxes and feeding bowls.
Not all house hunters are animal lovers.
“If a dog is there, sometimes people are worried about the dog jumping on them, and they’re freaking out,” Aalai said. “And with cats, a lot of people have allergies.”

11. Add simple, nice touches.
Aalai likes to bring flowers or set out a bowl with lemons or pears.
Teplitzky likes to offer little bottles of cold water or fruit in the heat of summer.
Sose likes to put on music.
“Music makes everything better,” she said.

12. Make sure the house doesn’t smell.
People often get accustomed to their homes' odors, said Aalai, who will often light a scented candle in the bathroom.
Many brokers will open windows before a showing to let it air out.
Kukar gently lets sellers know not to do any heavy cooking an hour or so before a showing. He remembered an open house where a family had just cooked a pot roast.
“It smelled good, but it was too much,” he said.
“Apartments are sold on emotion,” Kukar said. “The agent is the director of [a movie called] ‘Selling This Home.’ We’re trying to produce these strong feelings of joy, hope and happiness.”

Selling Your Home: Safety First

Winning Open House Strategies

Public open houses have been a mainstay of the home-sale market for decades. During the peak market years, buyers often wandered through an open house and bought it, even though they had no intention of buying. Impulsive homebuying is rare today.

Open houses still can be used effectively to draw prospective buyers to your home. To eliminate open houses from your marketing strategy because you find them inconvenient or risky could be a mistake.

On the other hand, you can overuse open houses and generate a negative image about your home. Too many open houses can cause the listing to become shopworn.

Some sellers have homes that are not prime candidates for open houses. These are usually high-end properties that might be vulnerable to theft. They should be shown to qualified prospective buyers by appointment only. Most listings do not fall into this category, although all sellers should keep valuables out of sight while their homes are on the market.

HOUSE HUNTING TIPS: For most sellers it's a good idea to develop an open-house strategy that will maximize exposure to your property without overexposing the property to the market. It's usually wise to have a Sunday open house the first week a listing is on the market.

This is when your home is most marketable. Serious buyers, who've already seen all current listings that might work for them, wait for new listings to come up and want to see them as soon as possible. 

A public open house gives buyers an opportunity to look without having to wait to make an appointment with their agent. Often, they have already seen photos of the listing online that look appealing.

A public open house isn't the best way for buyers to see listings that catch their eye because it may be packed with other buyers and neighbors who are curious about current home values. But, at least buyers can determine if the home is interesting enough to schedule an appointment to return for a private showing with their agent.

How often you have your house held open depends on current market conditions in your local market area. If it's taking months for homes to sell, you may want to consider having your home held open to the public every two or three weeks after the initial one or two open houses, when there ought to be high demand if your home is in a desirable location, in good condition, and priced right for the market.

Sellers often wonder if their home should continue to be held open after an offer has been accepted. This depends on whether the sale is contingent upon the sale of the buyers' home. If so, you should consider having open houses until the buyers have an accepted offer on their home.

Your contract should include a release clause that entitles you to accept other offers and be released from the contingent sale offer if those buyers haven't sold their home.

Continuing to have open houses after you have accepted an offer that is not contingent on the sale of another property can annoy prospective buyers who are under the impression that the listing is for sale. The word goes out that the home is open even though it has sold.

This can boomerang if the sale falls apart and you have to put your house back on the market. It's difficult to rekindle enthusiasm about the listing if it has been open every week even though it was pending. It's better if the contract is not contingent on another home selling to hold off on open houses so a new Sunday open house will have a positive impact if the deal falls apart.

OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY 2-2-2014 BRENTWOOD, GOSHEN AVENUE

COME SEE ME TOMORROW AT MY OPEN HOUSE!

12011 GOSHEN AVE #104

LOS ANGELES, CA 90049

$ 749,000

Beds: 2 | Baths : 3.00

Dramatic designer unit, remodeled to the 10th, prime Brentwood location, spacious and open floor plan, separate den(could be 3rd bedroom or office), hardwood floors throughout, granite counter tops, formal marble entry, master bedrooms with 2 walk-in closets, spacious master bath with hot tub and double sinks, second master bedroom suite with walk-in closet, A/C, washer/dryer inside, guest parking, absolute move-in condition, walk to the Brentwood village, shops and restaurants. Bring your most discriminating clients!!!

MLS# 14-731321

 

 

 

 

 

12 Strategies for Hosting a Sucessful Open House

“You don't need a golden toilet. You just need a working toilet,” said Holly Sose, of City Connections Realty. “Any wild shenanigans are just that, shenanigans. … The market will always dictate a trade price. No amount of gorgeous models dancing in bikinis or catered sushi is going to do that for you.”
Once a seller figures out the right price, it may take some weeks to prepare a home so it looks ready for a showing. Here's how:

1. De-clutter your home
“Buyers want to envision themselves in the home, and it’s difficult to do so if your clutter is in the way,” said Shannon Aalai, of CitiHabitats.
Cleaning out closets is especially important since many city house hunters are obsessed with closet space and will surely open all doors, she said.

2. Add a fresh coat of paint, and fix anything that’s broken, especially if it’s squeaky.
"When people walk into an apartment they’re nitpicky and want to find something wrong even if they like it," Aalai said.
So, make sure everything is in working order, including light bulbs.
Vik Kukar, of Rutenberg Realty, recalled one open house where a broken dishwasher handle turned off prospective buyers.
“You’re really trying to create emotion when you walk in,” he said. “You don’t want anything to break that positive emotion.”

3. Stash your honeymoon photos and hide your doll collection.
“Take down anything I tell you is offensive or weird, and remove anything personal,” Aalai said. 
The goal is to keep the focus on the apartment. 
“Your dog is cute but we don’t need to see [it] in every photo," she said. "People are easily distracted. They look at the photos, and say, 'That’s a cute couple, that’s a cute baby.' They’re more interested in [the sellers’] lives.”
When taking a couple to look at a SoHo loft, Aalai heard the prospective buyers talking nonstop about the series of “creepy” collage boxes hanging on the wall instead of chatting about the home.
“The husband said you’ll never get rid of that energy,” she recounted.

4. Consider using a professional to stage your home.
It could cost anywhere from $4,000 to upwards of $25,000 to have your apartment staged, but there could be a big payoff, Kukar said.
“It’s often going to have a 300 percent return,” he said, especially if a home has no furniture.

5. Give your agent ample access to your house.
“Allow open houses, and let brokers show the property after work and on weekends,” Aalai said.

6. Target your outreach.
Teplitzky stressed the importance of “building momentum” by listing a home in different outlets, online and elsewhere.
Sometimes her agents will do mailings in the neighborhood to increase the number of people showing up.

7. Don’t be home for showings or open houses.
“Buyers are never honest in front of sellers, and frankly it often makes them uncomfortable,” Aalai said.

8. Be prepared for possible questions.
Make sure whoever is hosting the open house knows where to find the nearest gym and grocery stores and the closest subway and bus stops. Make sure they know what, if anything, was renovated and when, and whether walls can come down or be put up, Kukar said.

9. Get a cleaning service.
“People will notice if it’s dirty,” Aalai said, especially in bathrooms where prospective buyers often turn on faucets and use toilets.
“They move the shower curtain when they want to turn the water on, so make sure there’s no hair in the tub,” she said, also advising sellers to make sure there’s soap, and the good towels are hanging.

10. Take the dog or cat out; hide litter boxes and feeding bowls.
Not all house hunters are animal lovers.
“If a dog is there, sometimes people are worried about the dog jumping on them, and they’re freaking out,” Aalai said. “And with cats, a lot of people have allergies.”

11. Add simple, nice touches.
Aalai likes to bring flowers or set out a bowl with lemons or pears.
Teplitzky likes to offer little bottles of cold water or fruit in the heat of summer.
Sose likes to put on music.
“Music makes everything better,” she said.

12. Make sure the house doesn’t smell.
People often get accustomed to their homes' odors, said Aalai, who will often light a scented candle in the bathroom.
Many brokers will open windows before a showing to let it air out.
Kukar gently lets sellers know not to do any heavy cooking an hour or so before a showing. He remembered an open house where a family had just cooked a pot roast.
“It smelled good, but it was too much,” he said.
“Apartments are sold on emotion,” Kukar said. “The agent is the director of [a movie called] ‘Selling This Home.’ We’re trying to produce these strong feelings of joy, hope and happiness.”