Longer daylight hours. Sun-filled afternoons. Green grass and blooming flowers. These are just a few of the reasons summer is a great time to host an open house, inviting potential buyers to walk through your home’s interior and see it at its finest.

In preparing for your open house, you’ll want to do everything you can to make the showing a success. Remember, putting in the prep work now can pay off with big rewards later. One visitor to your open house could be the buyer you’ve been waiting for!

Here are some tips for getting your home ready for a showing. Follow them, and you’re sure to wow potential buyers at your open house!

1. Decorate your entryway: First impressions are of first importance. Buyers will walk up to the entrance before you even meet them; you don’t want to scare them away! Sweep the front steps/walkway. Place potted flowers next to the door, or plant colorful flowers nearby. Other ideas worth considering: repaint/replace the doorway, add a new light fixture or shine/replace house numbers.

2. Manicure your lawn/landscaping: Before your scheduled open house, cut the grass, trim your hedges and pull weeds. Get all your outdoor foliage looking its best, so it can complement your home most beautifully.

3. Spruce up the exterior: Repainting or power-washing your home’s siding might be a smart investment, especially if it’s been a while since you last did so. Remember, the goal at your open house is to showcase your home when it’s looking its best. Buyers should only be thinking how nice it would be to live there, not how much work would be required to get it looking good.

4. Clean, clean, clean: Every nook and cranny of your home should be absolutely spotless. Take out the trash. Wash the windows. Vacuum, mop and sweep up floors. Wash down the walls. Organize your things.

5. Depersonalize: Take down personal mementos, including diplomas, photos and other knick-knacks. All of these items will detract from the buyer’s ability to see him- or herself living in your home. On the flip side, consider displaying photos of your home in other seasons: surrounding by fall foliage or covered in fluffy winter snow. Showcasing your home throughout the year helps the buyer see potential.

6. Make any necessary repairs: This should be obvious, but it is worth saying—if anything is broken, fix it before the open house! Have you been waiting to replace the broken window in the bathroom, or were you putting off cleaning or replacing the stained carpeting in the living areas? Now’s the time!

7. Prepare and print out fact sheets/brochures to give visitors: You can use your Buy Owner tools to do this, and you can customize them to your liking. Set these out in plain sight, on a coffee table or in the kitchen, and tell people to help themselves. This way, interested buyers have something to take with them when they leave.

ON THE DAY OF THE OPEN HOUSE:

10. Make sure the air-conditioning is on: You want guests to feel totally comfortable inside your home, and hot, humid weather is not the way to accomplish this. Make sure the air-conditioning is on, set to a cool temperature.

11. Bake something: Before guests arrive, put some baked good in the oven. As people are mingling through your home, they’ll smell the fresh aroma of home-baked goodies, which is sure to help them see your place as a cozy retreat. Extra bonus: offering snacks can help buyers feel comfortable enough to linger, allowing you to answer questions.

12. Be upbeat & cheerful: Greet every person who enters, and be available to talk, without seeming pushy. Be sure to provide contact info for buyers to contact you, and ask them for feedback, accepting whatever criticism is offered.

For more information on open houses, take a look at these Buy Owner Blog articles:

• Have You Held an Open House Yet?
• Preparing for a Showing
• Smile for the Camera: Staging Your Home
• 25 Extra Tricks for Drawing Buyers

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