5 winning tips for showcasing your home during an open house or showing

Posted by admin - March 5th, 2008

Selling a home is an extremely visual process. If it weren’t, model homes wouldn’t bother with decorating. Actually they probably wouldn’t even bother the the model home at all. If buyers didn’t need to see a version of the finished product to convince them, the builders wouldn’t do it.

Selling YOUR home should be viewed much in the same way.

1. Open the shades/blinds/curtains!!! I see so many homes on the market with closed window coverings. Arrggghhhh! Stop it! Open up the curtains and let the light in.

2. While you’re at it, turn on th lights! Sellers love to claim that their home is “open, light, and bright” but if your curtains are
closed, and the lights are turned off and it looks dark and closed in, the buyers won’t buy it. In other words, don’t just say it, show it!

3. If you’re hosting an open house put out some good snacks. No, this doesn’t mean you’re allowed to toss some generic oreos on a paper plate and call it a day (don’t laugh, I saw a real estate agent do this once). You need the good stuff. You’re trying to sell a HOUSE after all. You want people to stick around for a while. I’ve had extremely good luck with fresh baked cinnamon rolls (Costco is your best bet here) and a pot of coffee. Besides, it makes the house smell good.

4. Clean every square inch of your home. This includes the baseboards, the trim along the stairs, inside of the microwave, light switch covers, the corners where spiderwebs like to hide and so on. Buyers are finicky. They have every right to be now (whether we sellers like it or not, that’s just the state of the market at this time), the power is with them and you don’t want them to dismiss your house because you forgot to wipe down the shower door.

5. Get rid of your clutter. It’s distracting and makes the house look smaller. Besides, if it’s in storage that’s one less thing you have to clean, right?

As a listing agent I hold monthly open house events plus a significant “broker open” when your home is first listed on the market. (That’s where I invite local real estate agents to your home and bribe them with lunch and other freebies, because they often have a buyer who is looking for a house exactly like yours!)

If you would like to discuss listing your home with me don’t hesitate to call me at 303.887.1883 or email me at beth@bethskinner.com.

photo credit: Wrote