Posts tagged open house

Stand Out at Your Open House

Jun21
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

open house

In the past, we’ve supplied you with articles on how to prosper at an open house. We provided you with safety tips in Have You Held an Open House?, offered you 12 Steps to Prepare for a Summer Open House, warned you with Preparing for Surprise Showings and told you how to Prepare for a Spring Open House.

Now, with the market fierce and buyers in control, sellers really need to find ways to stand out in the overly zealous crowd. Open houses are a great place to do just that. The first step is getting people to your open houses by advertising with Buy Owner. The second step is making people remember your open house after visiting numerous open houses in one day.

How do you make your open house stand out? Use seasonal attributes to your advantage. They get people in the mindset of now while they personalize the open house and give the buyers a reason to remember your house. This doesn’t mean you should set up a kiddy pool in the middle of your backyard while answering the door in your bathing suit. Here are some ideas for making your open house stand out:

  1. Instead of baking cookies or serving coffee, switch it up with some refreshing summery treats. Serve little cups of freshly squeezed juice using a juicer. Create a non-alcoholic punch over ice. Serve sample sizes of smoothies. The point isn’t to break the bank but to stand out to potential buyers.
  2. Wear bright colors. Nothing overboard, but just friendly, attractive clothing in bright floral or the color of the year, turquoise. This can lift people’s spirits, make you seem more approachable and make them more comfortable around you.
  3. Decorate in neutral colors that will appeal to everyone, but accessorize with bright, summer colors. Add some turquoise pillows to your couch or some pastel green dishware to your dining room table. Make the house exciting and fun to look at. Since most houses are decorated with neutral décor, this adds a punch to yours.
  4. Print out a list of local activities for people to partake in. Right now, create a list of summer activities, such as upcoming festivals, farmer’s markets, water parks, free movies in the park, summer camps and clubs, bike trails and more. When the season changes, change the list. Show potential buyers what they can do with their spare time.
  5. Outside, display colorful flowers near the front door and back door and in plain sight of the open house guests. Make sure your lawn is mowed and your bushes are trimmed. Make your landscaping look flawless and lush. If you really want to go all out, offer potential buyers a flower from a perennial garden, like a day lily. Every time they see the flower, they’ll remember your house.

These are just ideas to get your own creative juices flowing. Think of a way to stand out from the crowd and run with it. Don’t think of open houses as another chore for you to complete. Think of them as you and your house’s time to shine!

Posted in Selling Tips - Tagged , , ,

Preparing for Surprise Showings

Feb22
2010 Leave a Comment Written by Alicia

Showing Your Home Image

If you’ve kept up with our blogs, you know how to prepare for open houses. You know that a fresh coat of paint in an otherwise drab room isn’t a bad idea. You know that in spring the bushes should be trimmed and in winter salt should be laid. You know that baking cookies during an open house is an easy way to add a comforting aroma, a hospitable charm and a homey atmosphere.

When you get down to it, preparing for a scheduled open house isn’t all that hard. You clean, declutter and make your home look presentable. But what happens when potential homebuyers show up unannounced? It happens. Independent buyers can show up without calling and expect to see your house. Sure, you can turn them away and set up a more convenient time for them to show up. However, this move might turn them away, wondering what it is you have to hide, and annoyed at you not working with their schedule.

It is, after all, a buyers’ market.

So when the doorbell rings in the middle of your cooking brunch late on a Saturday morning, what should you do? Here are some tips on how to stay focused and calm during a surprise visit, and how to make the house presentable no matter what.

Start making these chores a daily habit, so that when a surprise visitor arrives, these things are already in order:

• Make your bed, and have everyone in the house make their beds.

• Designate a room or part of the yard for pets.

• Replace a light bulb as soon as one burns out.

• Apply salt to walkways as soon as icy conditions occur. Shovel snow right away too. Keep grass mowed and weeds pulled.

• Lubricate door hinges so that no doors squeak.

• Dust, vacuum and wash windows on a weekly basis or when you notice a need for cleaning.

• Wash dishes immediately after use and place them in the dishwasher, or dry and put away.

• Open window blinds on major windows each morning after you wake up.

• Provide containers or crates for toys, and make room for them in a closet.

• Make it a rule to take off shoes at the door, and supply a container for the shoes.

• Change out of your pajamas as soon as you wake up.

When the doorbell rings, here are quick fixes to do before answering the door or while the potential buyer is looking at your house:

• Put the pets away in your designated room or yard.

• Put all toys away in the containers or crates.

• Have a candle on hand for you to light when the doorbell sounds.

• Close closet doors; open bedroom and bathroom doors.

• Keep mouthwash on hand to quickly use as you put away toys and light a candle.

• Have space available in a closet or on a coat tree for your potential buyers’ coats.

• While the buyer is looking around, go to your laundry area and remove all clothes from clotheslines and throw them in the dryer, out of sight.

• Turn on an appropriate television show or some music, to lessen any awkward silences.

• Know the information on your house, such as its total square feet, so you are prepared for questions.

• Stay calm. Don’t run around and shout through the door to the surprise visitor. All of these last-minute tips can be done quickly enough to not keep the visitor waiting. Act polite, and if they are inconveniencing you, don’t show it.

Chances are, a potential buyer who shows up unexpectedly will be courteous and will ask if it’s okay for him or her to view your house at that time. If you agree, and your house looks put together and prepared for visitors, you will score yourself an impressed buyer.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , ,

Smells Can Make (or Break) a Showing

Apr17
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

smell of cookies

Because a home showing is primarily about creating an experience, convincing the potential buyers not just intellectually but emotionally that they should buy it, sensory details matter. You want to use every tool at your disposal, from sights (Curb appeal! Staging! Lack of clutter!) to sounds (noisy pets, for example) to the subject of this post: smells.

All of us have stepped into a home that smelled inviting, whether it was because of fresh air flowing through windows or a hearty pot roast cooking in the oven. Your goal, as a seller, is to make sure your home offers that kind of aroma.

How can you do this?

Most importantly: CLEAN!
Ridding your home of any bad odors is half the battle when it comes to smells. For tips on that topic, see this Buy Owner Blog article, “Eliminating Odors”. When you decide to sell, it’s a good idea, right at the beginning to do a thorough, top-to-bottom cleaning of your residence. (If you’re interested in making your own cleaning products, click here.) Beyond that, here are some specific strategies:

• Are you a smoker? You must get rid of the smell. There are several ways to do this, but you’ll have to get aggressive. In addition to a thorough cleaning (scrubbing, washing, etc.), you will probably want to repaint the walls with a shellac-based primer. It may also be necessary to replace the carpeting or, at the least, have it professionally cleaned. After you’ve finished eliminating any trace of smoke residue from your home, ask a friend to come over, one who is not a smoker preferably, and ask if he or she can still smell something. If not, you’ve done your job correctly. Note: for the duration of your home listing, you should not smoke inside. At all.

• Do you have pets? The people who end up buying your home could be huge animal lovers, but, trust us, they don’t want to smell yours. As with the smoke smell described above, your goal is to completely eliminate any trace of pet odor completely. Pick up any droppings in the yard and dispose of them, too. Buyers should be imagining summer barbecues, not scraping waste off their shoes.

Another good idea: Add Fragrance!
When your home has been thoroughly cleaned, you won’t need to add a lot of fragrance to make it show well. If the weather’s nice, open the windows to let fresh air flow inside. You can also add other homey scents, but remember some potential buyers could have allergies or sensitivities, and, if so, overdoing fragrances could have the opposite effect you want it to.

To get your creative juices flowing, here are a few suggested smells you may want to use:

• Baking: Whip up a batch of cookies or a cake before the showing, and offer it to buyers when it comes out of the oven. With this idea, you’re engaging both sense of smell and taste!

• Citrus: You could use orange or lemon/lime plug-ins, of course, but for a more subtle effect, place a bowl of fresh citrus on the table in the kitchen or a living area. Bonus: What’s more eye-catching that a beautiful bowl of fresh fruit?

• Scented candles: Be careful with this option, and make sure any candle scents complement, rather than detract from each other.

• Fresh-cut flowers: In season, why not pick some fresh flowers from your garden to display inside? It makes a great conversation piece for buyers and another way to highlight your home’s landscaping.

Posted in Home Improvement, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , , ,

Top 10 Home-Marketing Tips

Feb02
2009 Leave a Comment Written by Shanna

marketing

While it’s true that winter traditionally sees less action, at least in terms of real estate, January and February mark a strong increase in buyer interest. Pent-up demand from holiday distractions brings new buyers to the housing market, and the homes that are listed well stand out amongst the competition.

If you’re selling a home, here are the 10 hot marketing tips you have to have. Listen up: They could make the difference between seen and sold!

1. Go Online! The Internet is the single best resource in advertising your home because it offers a simple way to reach the world. Not only does it give key exposure to anyone with a computer, but it’s available anytime, anywhere, 24/7.

2. Easy Contact! Real estate advertising should emphasize contact information of the seller (you). This is another great point with Buy Owner® listings: the buyer will contact you directly. There are no middlemen to worry about, so you have all the control.

3. Key Information! When you talk with your Buy Owner marketing professional, be sure to stress the key selling points, as you see them. If there are things you feel are worth mentioning, make sure that comes across. You’ll want upgrades, valuable features and unique characteristics of your home to be highlighted in your text and the features listed online.

4. Community Knowledge! Along with key highlights of your property, your advertising should communicate the value of your property’s location. This is of course important to out-of-town buyers, who are viewing your home from a remote location. But it’s also valuable to local shoppers, who can get your perspective on the area attractions.

5. Showcase! Here’s where the customizations you choose for your BuyOwner.com advertising really matter. Did you that real estate advertisements with photos are much more likely to be viewed by potential buyers? One Realtor.com survey actually stated homes with photos are viewed 299% more often than homes without. Choose quality photos that show off your residence!

6. Make technology work for you! As stated in the Wall Street Journal, many owners are borrowing tools that were originally marketed to real estate agents to make them more interactive and compelling. You don’t have to use a real estate agent to use virtual tours, something Buy Owner has been promoting for a long time.

7. Yes, Use a Sign! To reach the greatest pool of buyers, don’t overlook old-fashioned methods of advertising, too. Putting a sign in the front yard isn’t the only thing you should do, but you should do it. The front yard will reach drive-by visitors and let your neighbors know you’re selling (and they might have friends who are looking)! Plus Buy Owner provides our famous talking yard signs, giving a phone number to access a description of your home.

8. Create Flyers! Using your BuyOwner.com seller tools, you’ll be able to customize and print out flyers that repackage your online advertising. Use these handouts to give physical reminders to buyers of what you’re offering!

9. Schedule Open Houses! Holding an open house gives you an opportunity to draw in a large pool of buyers at one time, as well as garner feedback in a low-key environment. For more information on holding an open house, check out this Buy Owner Blog article.

10. Talk. A Lot. Even in today’s information age, word-of-mouth remains one of the most trustworthy and powerful ways to spread news. Couple this idea with technology (aka: social media), and you can reach networks of people, from your Facebook connections to those on LinkedIn, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, etc.

The key to keep in mind when selling is that you are the one in control. You choose how to market your home, so you can choose to make the most of it. Follow these tips, and you’re well on your way to a successful sale!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

12 Steps to Prepare for a Summer Open House

Jul25
2008 2 Comments Written by Shanna

red doorLonger 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

If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to the Buy Owner Blog!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , , , ,

Have You Held an Open House Yet?

Mar24
2008 4 Comments Written by Shanna

Open House 2As spring approaches and you continue to improve your home’s potential to sell, consider scheduling an open house!

Inviting interested buyers into your home can be an effective method for bringing traffic into your property.

Getting buyers inside your residence may make all the difference between mildly interested and ready to buy.

How to Get the Word Out:
Buy Owner sellers enjoy the option of flagging their property in online listings, highlighting the time and date of the next showing to interested viewers. Easily manipulated in seller dashboards, this option allows sellers to promote their open houses to anyone who views the residence.

Things to Keep in Mind:
Preparing your home well can do wonders to sway the opinions of buyers. Don’t overlook the power of presentation!

See these Buy Owner Blog articles for more information:
1. “Eliminating Odors”
2. “Preparing for a Showing”
3. “Smile for the Camera: Staging Your Home”

Safety First!
One last thing: On the day of your open house, remember to be very alert to what’s going around you. For added safety, it’s a good idea to take some precautions:

1. If at all possible, arrange for someone else to be at the open house with you.
2. If you’re alone, tell a friend when your open house will be held, and arrange for regular phone calls to check in on you.
3. Plan to have a strategy in place if you don’t answer the phone or anything suspicious happens, whether that means your friend should come over or call a neighbor or the police.
4. Turn on all the lights and open the curtains for maximum visibility.
5. Ask neighbors to keep an eye out during the showing.
6. Require visitors to sign in when entering (bonus: this gives you a way to follow-up!).
7. Direct guests through your home rather than letting them wander on their own.
8. Check all the rooms throughout the home after the showing is over.

Combining all these strategies will give you the competitive edge in your showing. Be ready for your open house, and you might just welcome your future buyer inside!

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

How to Choose the Perfect Housewarming Gift

Mar06
2008 Leave a Comment Written by Carrie

HousewarmingIt’s customary for a new homeowner to throw a party after his or her recent move. While you’ll be excited to tour the new abode and enjoy drinks and food, you should also consider bringing a thoughtful gift for the host.

When considering a gift, you should first consider the nature of the homeowner. A first-timer might need the basics: small kitchen appliances, decorative dishware, towels, bed sheets, etc. A well-established homeowner will most likely have all of the necessities. So what do you do?

Gift ideas for first-time homeowners:

  • pots and pans
  • plates, bowls, silverware
  • spice rack
  • kitchen and bath towels
  • neutral-colored bed sheets and pillow cases
  • cookbooks
  • local travel guides or newspaper subscription
  • universal remote
  • answering machine
  • outdoor equipment (rake, shovel, garden tools)
  • gift certificate to local home improvement store

Gift ideas for established homeowners:

  • candles
  • flowers
  • vase
  • house plants
  • indoor herb garden
  • food gift baskets
  • wine/cheese gift baskets
  • gift certificate to a local restaurant
  • tickets to a local sporting event
  • wash basin filled with cleaning accessories
  • bookends

Interested in going green with your gift? Check out this article at HubPages for ideas!

Posted in Tips and Ideas - Tagged ,

Tip : Cooler weather is perfect for an open house.

Oct08
2007 Leave a Comment Written by Kristina

Image of Doors to Open HouseEveryone knows that an open house is a great way to attract buyers to your home.

The cooler weather makes it more comfortable for buyers to get out and visit open houses in their areas. Nicer weather also gives you, the seller, the opportunity to open up the home and show the potential buyer how airy your home can be. You’d be surprised how many buyers love a cross breeze.

As a Buy Owner® seller, you can set up open houses online using your Seller Dashboard. Simply log into your account and select Set up an Open House. Your listing online will show your open house and allow visitors to the Web site to know when you are holding it.

For more information, or assistance, contact customer service.

Posted in Selling Tips, Tips and Ideas - Tagged , , ,

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Founded in 1984, BuyOwner.com® is the leading provider of real estate marketing services. We pioneered the "For Sale by Owner" (FSBO) market, which today represents over 20 percent of all residential real estate transactions.

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