Open House Prep: What to do the day of a showing
Posted in: I'm Moving, Buying & Selling a HomeOkay, it’s the morning of your open house or you have potential buyers scheduled to walk through your home for the first time later today and you want these customers to walk away feeling completely smitten with the idea of moving into this space as soon as possible!
Of course you have already deep cleaned these important spaces and followed these important steps to make sure your home is looking great for its first impression, but now it’s time to conquer ten quick steps in order to make SURE your home is in tip top shape for your open house.
Here are ten easy tips to help your home make the best first impression it possibly could on these potential buyers:
1. Display fresh flowers
You can’t go wrong with adding a bouquet or two of fresh flowers to your space. Flowers add instant color and make your home feel far more magazine-worthy! Some notable places to add flowers is the kitchen, on the coffee table, at your bedside, in your bathroom, on your front porch or even on our patio <– don’t feel like you have to do all of these though. But if you are having an open house and know there will be a lot of traffic in your home, maybe splurge on more than one bouquet and place them strategically around the home to make a big impact.
2. Light some candles
Candles bring a sense of warmth while making your home smell amazing. Try and choose scents that are natural and place these in spaces that can create a big impact. For example, placing a candle in a small bathroom will help the space smell amazing, which is always a good distraction when strangers are snooping around this personal space.
3. Wipe down sinks, counters, mirrors
The morning of the showing is not necessarily the time to do a deep clean <– ain’t nobody got time for that!! However, a few quick “once overs” of the counters, sinks and mirrors in the house will eliminate crumbs, get rid of those gross toothpaste stains and will make your home feel a lot more clean without a lot of effort on your part.
4. Make sure the temperature is comfortable
You don’t want the temperature to be a negative distraction that potential buyers focus on. If it’s the dead of winter, make sure the home feels warm. If it’s a hot summer day, kick on the air conditioning! You want these customers to feel comfortable to focus on what really matters in your home, not be turned off by the undesirable temps.
5. Make the beds, fluff the pillows
It seems obvious, but I have been to some open houses that have not done this and it’s an instant turn-off (when it’s something that can should not be)! Make sure all of the beds are made, pillows fluffed and the couches looking their best. It may not be a bad idea to invest in some decorative couch or bed pillows to amp up your decor game. These are affordable investments that can upgrade the look and hide that imperfect couch.
6. Quick vacuum
Like we mentioned before, the morning of the showing is not a time to deep clean. But running a quick vacuum or swifter over the floors will help bring your space to the next levels. Crumbs, dust bunnies, or anything else that lurks under our shoes will not be a negative distraction after a 5 minute whirl with the vacuum.
7. Corral the clutter
Toys, extra “stuff” on the kitchen counters, stacks of bills/mail on the desk, shoes by the door — all of it needs to be PUT AWAY. The less clutter = the more your house looks amazing. It’s that simple. Tip: take a big laundry basket around your home the morning of the showing and throw ANYTHING in there that is sitting out and looks ugly (ie. shampoo in the bathroom shower, tooth bushes on the vanity, your child’s retainer on the nightstand). Don’t be afraid to bring that basket o’ stuff with you in the car when you leave the property to allow your real estate agent to show your space. When you settle back in for the night, simply empty the laundry basket and you’re right back to normal!
8. Put on the outdoor lights
Even if when the walk-through starts it is still light out, you want the house to still be lit up and looking cozy if dusk hits and the potential buyers are still on the property. Making sure the outdoor lights are on (and the adorable string lights on the patio!) will help visualize your adorable space at all times of the day.
9. Pull back the curtains
Bring in as MUCH natural light as you can. Pull up the shades, open the curtains as much as you can, do anything you can to allow as much natural light stream into your home as possible. If the showing is in the evening or at night, make sure you have plenty of lights on to showcase your space. Tip: Make sure there aren’t any dead bulbs before this company arrives!
10. Add some homey aroma
Last but not least, try and do your best to make your home feel as cozy and home as possible. For us that means adding some scents that attract the potential buyers. Maybe brew some fresh coffee for a morning open house… even leaving a note for the potential buyers to help themselves! We have heard of baking a quick batch a cookies too. If you’re a master baker, we recommend this too! But if you’re like us and baking cookies would create a mess far bigger than what the aroma is worth — pass on the cookies and stick with a nice candle!
Hopefully these quick and easy steps will allow you to post that “SOLD” sign in the front lawn far earlier than you expected! To catch up on ALL of our tips for preparing your home to be sold, don’t miss out on these posts: