Home Sellers: Avoid These Open House Mistakes!

You’ve made the decision to sell your house – EXCITING!

But that is just the first step in the long list of things to do to get your house market-ready! There is a lot of preparation that goes into selling your house so you can get TOP dollar! If you’re selling your house, that probably means you’ll be searching for a new one and as a home buyer, don’t you prefer viewing properties in their best possible light? That’s how you want to present your house to Buyers, as well.

Your real estate agent has undoubtedly told you about the necessity of holding an open house in order to showcase your home’s best features and allow interested home buyers the chance to stop by and get that first impression of the house. There are a few essential open house mistakes you can avoid in order to get the highest number of good offers for your house.

Mistake #1: Leaving Your House Dirty or Cluttered

This mistake might seem obvious, but it seems to be the one that many Sellers struggle with the most! We cannot stress this enough: you have ONE time to make a GOOD impression. Let’s face it, most of us live busy lives. We might be self-employed, have a house full of kids, pets, etc. and you know there are things everywhere! But when it comes time to selling, you just have to put on those cleaning gloves and get to work for a proper clean. If you can afford it, you could hire a professional cleaning service. They will clean every surface, floor, inside appliances, etc. It is worth the cost if you are a busy person.

But what about all the stuff? The stack of old magazines? Pet toys? Kids toys? Papers? Laundry? All that miscellaneous stuff that’s out? Get boxes or bins to tuck that away in until your house is sold. Keep it in your trunk, garage, or a family member’s or friend’s house during that time. Either way, you don’t want it out in the open, cluttering the place up.

Which brings us right to:

Mistake #2: Put Away Personal Mementos & Private Information

You made the house sparkling clean, put away any clutter and now, you need to put away personal things and anything private, like documents, mail, etc. during the open houses. Why are we minimalizing everything by taking things away? Think of it this way: it is hard for someone to imagine a place with their personal stuff in it when all your personal things are there.

Art, books, décor are all fine to keep. But personal mementos should come down just for the duration of the open house. If you notice, when a real estate agent stages a home, it doesn’t have any personal memento items out. That is strategic. They want the potential Buyers to be able to easily imagine the space with their things.

Mistake #3: Your Pets & Unwelcome Odors

Truth is, many Americans own pets. We love them. We can’t get enough of our sweet animal friends. They are the absolute best EVER. But having a pet around when you’re trying to sell your property can create problems.

Many Sellers tend to lock their pet in a certain room or area of the house to keep them away from potential Buyers but now, the Buyer can’t see that part of the house because the animal is locked in there. How can they make a decision without seeing everything? Besides that, the animal might be scratching at the door, non-stop barking, howling, and jumping on the door, etc., making the Buyers & agents uncomfortable. That’s bad for business!

Fun fact: according to Healtopia.net, recent studies indicate that cynophobia (fear of dogs) was the most common amongst all animal related phobias. So even if WE love our furry friends, a good potential buyer might not. You could take them with you for the few hours during the open house or see if a friend/family member could pet-sit for a short time.

Somewhat in-line with not having your pets around, the smells associated with pets will most definitely be a turn-off for any interested home Buyer. Litter boxes, pet areas, and anywhere else your pets have left a smell, must be cleaned and kept out of site for those few hours. You are used to the smell of your pets, but no one else is and it can have a negative effect on the impression you’re trying to make.

If your backyard is covered in dog poo, you MUST clean that up. People are going to look out there! Besides that, it will STINK. Any lingering trash should be thrown out so there isn’t a smell. IMPORTANT: if you are an inside smoker, you will want to start airing your place out a couple of weeks before you plan to show. Smoke outside during that time. You will also be deep cleaning the house during that time so install a few air fresheners. This will make the house smell nice when open house time comes. Non-smokers will be able to smell any lingering cigarette so air the place out constantly until the time comes. Any agent or investor will tell you that unpleasant odors have sent potential Buyers running from that house plenty of times!

Mistake #4: Unimpressive Curb Appeal & Not Maintaining the Yard

What’s curb appeal? It’s what people see when they “pull up to the curb” and look at your house. So, what’s your curb appeal look like? Go stand outside with your partner or ask a friend or family to stand with you at the front of your driveway or curb at the street and look at your house with a critical view. What can be improved? What needs some attention? Basically, this is the VERY first thing the potential Buyer sees when they drive up to the house.

If you’ve got leftover DIY material or gardening tools laying around, pick those up. Check to see if the gutters are cleaned. How about the outside paint? Could the windows be cleaned? You could pressure wash the outside of the house and roof.

But that’s not all! A little landscaping goes a long way. If you have bushes or trees, trim them. Cut the grass and pull the weeds, and if you can afford it, maybe plant a few flowers or add pots with flowers. Whatever you can do to raise that curb appeal! You want to make your house as presentable as you can to a potential Buyer!

Mistake #5: Being the Unwanted Guest at Your Own Party

We say that in jest but seriously, do NOT attend your own open house. We know what some of you are thinking: “but NO ONE knows the house better than ME! I can sell my house!” No, just don’t. No excuses! That is what you have a real estate professional for. Let them do their job to get you the best deal. More often that not, a Seller will foil a good deal by “over-sharing” or because a Buyer didn’t feel comfortable asking their agent a question while the Seller was there.

The home selling process can be arduous, but we are here to help. If you are trying to sell a house in SW Florida and want us to do the heavy lifting, contact us today to see how we can assist!