Open House - The Little Things Matter
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by: ConnieSanders
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Word Count: 649
If you are a For Sale By Owner or if you have your home listed with a real estate agent you will probably want to conduct several open houses so people can view your home. You only get one shot at every potential buyer that views your home so you want to do it right the first time.
Make sure you have advertised the open house in all the local papers and that you have plenty of open house signs and flags set up through out the neighborhood. You may need permission for the placement of some of your signs so do your homework before the day of the event. It's a sad thing to go to the bother of an open house and have no one show up. Sign placement is very important.
On the day of your open house additional details can make a difference: Turn on lights in every room and open blinds to let in as much light as possible. Have quiet background music playing. Light the fireplace if you have one. Park the cars away from your house, not in the garage. Water the lawn front and back just prior to the open house starting. Keep pets secure and out of sight. Bake a batch of cookies during an open house or boil water with a few sticks of vinilla.
Get yourself a guest register and set it in the entry. Have every potential buyer and/or warm body that comes through the door fill it out. You need this information. It is a great idea to call each one later to get feed back, inquire about their intentions, or incase you later change the terms of your sale. Don't be afraid, just do it.
Immediately after your guests/neighbors sign the register you should at that time give them the flyers for your home. This is very important. You must have two flyers. One quality flyer about your home and it should have a few pictures taken after you cleaned it up and before the kids got home. The other flyer should contain financing options. You can actually have both on one sheet if you can figuar out how to put them in the copy machine so the top is the top on both sides. You must have both and here is why.
Your home flyer is important because when people shop for a home by viewing open houses on a Saturday or by traveling with a real estate agent, after the third home, they get the details confused between the homes they have viewed. It is a fact. That is why you need a quality home flyer and it should have pictures of both the inside and outside.
The wonderful financing flyer is a must because people in the market who really want to buy your home are interested in two things: how much their payments will be, and how much cash they need to put down ... plus closing costs. If you are selling your home on your own you probably don't know any of that stuff. That is why you can and should get free help from a mortgage broker. Many have free FSBO programs and will actually create both flyers for you.
One more thing. It doesn't happen a lot but it does happen. Be aware of thieves and degenerates. Put your valuables away and keep them out of sight. Even better, keep them at a friend or family member's home. Remember, you are inviting strangers into your home.
Holding an open house can be can be a pain in the toosh but it can also be very productive so roll up your sleeves and just do it, but do it right, preferably the first time. Enjoy.
About the Author
Connie Sanders understands that if you are selling your home yourself even little things can be a challenge. That is why she owns a For Sale By Owner web site that is free for the home owner. Connie also offers free consultation so get with her on the site. http://www.fsbobasics.com
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