When home buyers are looking at a property, they want to be able to imagine it as their own. This means, before you open the door for your first open home, you need to make sure it’s uncluttered and welcoming.
The very first step is the simplest – cleaning. A house must be absolutely spotless when you put it on the market. People can look past electric-blue carpet and acid-green walls, but some buyers won’t look past dirt. It’s a good idea to rope in some family or friends for a morning (paying them handsomely with a big lunch when the work is done) and scrub the house from top to bottom. Don’t forget little things such as cleaning out kitchen extractors, wiping down cabinetry, cleaning the windows, and mopping floors. If you simply don’t have time, pay a cleaner to do one gigantic clean, which you can then maintain from week to week.
Streamline your home
Clutter makes even a spectacular house look smaller and fussy, so walk through each room, noting down anything unnecessary for daily life. If you have shelves of knick-knacks, lots of kitchenware on the bench, beauty products littered all over the bathroom and books in piles everywhere, it’s best to box them up and store them. Likewise, get rid of any unnecessary furniture by storing it, or giving it to charity.
Don’t forget people will open cupboards too, so tidy the linen cupboard and clear out the pantry, kitchen cupboards, and laundry and bathroom areas.
Next, think about your art. Everyone has different tastes, and while you might love concert posters and intense surrealist paintings, your potential buyer might not. Take down any really confrontational art, even if it means leaving a blank wall.
Make sure each bedroom has clean linen on the day of the open home, with a plain duvet cover and matching pillowcases. You could even store these during the week, then slip them over the duvet and pillows before the open home.
It’s not just the appearance of your home you need to consider, it’s also the smell. Odour is one of the biggest turn-offs for any buyer. If you’re a smoker, have pets, or even like cooking spicy food, there are likely to be odours in the house you are not even aware of. It’s a good idea to banish pets (and certainly open bowls of pet food and bedding) from the house, never smoke inside, and sacrifice the spice for a few days before each open home.
If the house is damp, the musty odour will give it away, everything should be as clean and fresh-smelling as possible. The moment you get up on the day of an open home, open all your doors and windows to air the house. Don’t use fragranced air fresheners – it looks like you’re trying to hide something.
Make sure you leave yourself an hour before the open home starts for last-minute tidying. Walk down the drive and into the house, trying to look at it as a stranger would.
Ensure there’s nothing small and valuable left out. I put my jewellery, handbag, cellphone, iPod etc into a blanket box in the lounge that would always be visible to me while people were in the house.
Documents
Have a sign up sheet on a table for people to leave their name, number and email address. This is important for security and to ensure you can get in touch with interested parties. Set out a copy of the property’s LIM report, and have flyers for people to take away. These should have a photograph or two, the address, your mobile number and contact name, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, other spaces, type of title, land area, open home times and price if you’re advertising an asking price. Also, always have two fresh copies of the Sale and Purchase agreement put away somewhere in case someone wants to make an offer there and then.
What to do when people turn up
Anyone who has ever looked at a house knows there are great agents and there are terrible agents. Great agents will politely greet you then fade into the background. Terrible agents will talk you into a stupor, leaving you desperate to get away from them.
As soon as someone walks down the drive, point them to the sign-up sheet and politely ask them to leave their details. I would then remove myself from the house completely, as if it was their home for the duration of their visit. I made myself a pot of tea and sat with a magazine on the deck, giving people plenty of time to look around, and, more importantly, talk to each other without having me in earshot.
Once people emerged from the house I would ask them whether they had any questions. Make sure you’ve rehearsed every question you think might be asked (land title and building materials, school zones, why you are selling etc) so you can give people as much information as possible.
Recognise you can’t talk someone into buying a house. If a viewer says they have no questions, boring them with the house’s great points won’t make them buy it. If people linger and chat, odds are they are looking for more reasons to stay.
If people seem particularly interested, ask if they’d like a copy of the LIM. Get their email address and send it to them as soon as possible, but definitely that day. Then give them a quick follow-up call a week or so later. My house sold because I did a follow-up call and reminded a buyer about it. Always follow up on anyone who seems genuinely interested, even if they don’t request a LIM.
Hopefully, running a series of good open homes will bring you what you’re after; a good offer!