Open House Guidelines For FSBO Marketing

Holding an open house is an ideal fsbo marketing strategy. Follow these guidelines for a success.

1. Prepare Your House For Showing

Before you can hold an open house you must prepare the house for your prospective buyers. If you do this right, you will have a 40% chance of finding your buyer.

So what should you do first? How do you even begin preparing your house?

This is probably the hardest step in the whole selling process, whether you are a "for sale by owner" or using an agent. It doesn't matter. You still have to prepare your property for showings...and the better you do, the faster you will sell.

Begin preparing your house from the outside in. Start with the front lawn. It must look groomed because this will be the first thing a prospective buyer will see. Many people will judge a book by the cover. If the yard is unkempt, they will assume the house has not been well taken care of too. Plus a finished lawn, front and back, increases value.

Next, conquer the front rooms of your home. The entry way, living room, kitchen,etc. must be clutter free. Set aside a day to go through and throw out all clutter. Things that you don't want to let go of, start packing. You can always put boxes in the garage or the back of your closet.

This brings us to a very important point. If you just have way too much stuff, rent a storage unit and get it out of the way. It will be easier to sell your house.

If you still feel overwhelmed about preparing your house or you simply want to do the best job that you can, see the page on Home Staging. This page offers tips for do-it-yourselfers, books available on home staging and links to professional home stagers in your area.

Home Staging

2. Hold Your Open House On The Weekend

The best time for an open house is Sat. or Sun. This is because most people have one of those days off. Make sure it is not a religious holiday or that there is not some "big game" on T.V. that day.

How many times should you hold an open house? As many times as you can stand it. The more people you talk to, the faster you are going to sell your house.

The reason for holding your open house is to get attention and exposure. You want to get your neighbors attention, because it has been estimated that up to 50% of homes are bought by friends and relatives of neighbors. Be sure to advertise your open house in the real estate classified section of the newspaper.

You also want to use the open house to collect names and contact information. These are your leads. You know they are looking for a house and you definitely want to keep in touch with them.

There are several ways to do this. One way is you can have a guest book and have all attendees sign it and put their contact information along with the timeline of when they are looking to move. ie.immediately, 30 days, 3 months, 6 months. Another way is to have postcards or half sheets of paper that each person or family fills out with their info. as soon as they come in.

Do you need a Guest Register or Pennant poles and Banners to announce your Open House?
Find everything you need to make your open house a success here.

3. The Essentials To Making Your Open House Fantastic

Certainly have a spic and span house. All animals and pet smells have been removed. Children are at a baby sitters. Either have a light smelling candle burning or freshly baked cookies. This always creates a "coming home atmosphere." You want to make your prospective buyers feel as at home as possible.

Feel free to offer light refreshments if you would like. This seems to lighten the mood and if people have been house hunting all day, by making them more comfortable you are building your relationship and it will stick with them even if it is just a nice feeling about you.

Make sure your home is well lit. Turn on all lights and open all curtains. Nothing turns a potential buyer off like having to walk down a dark hallway. It doesn't have to be overly bright, but do make sure there are no really dark corners.

If you are offering seller financing, be prepared to ask the potential buyers for the information you need from them. Also have the paperwork available if they are ready to go ahead with the intent to purchase.

4. Safety Tips For An Open House

Try not to be the only person home when showing the property.

Make sure everyone writes their contact information down before you show the house.

When giving the tour, have the visitor walk in front of you. Gesture with your hand the direction you would like them to go in. Example: point ahead and say "the kitchen is on your left."

Never leave a guest alone while in your house. Items have been know to be missing after an open house. Also, if you are not with the guest they could unlock a window and come back later. So if you were not able to stay with them on the tour, be sure to check all window and door locks after the open house has ended.

Always use caution and common sense showing your house.

More Information On Preparing And Showing Your House

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