Unexpected and Simple Open House Ideas
These days, hosting an open house event is a must-do task for anyone selling a home. You might believe you need to invest thousands of dollars overhauling it first. Instead, you should focus your budget on creative updates that entice visitors to want to see more.
Home Preparations Sellers Commonly Overlook
Start by planning in advance for your open house. Here are some key preparations:
- Early on, place an “Open House” sign announcing the date of the event on your lawn and in nearby areas to attract passersby. Learn how else to attract visitors in this article from The Balance.
- Never underestimate curb appeal! This is one of the most important upgrades that can attract visitors to your home while it’s on the market.
- Plan to be away (pets too!) on the day of the open house.
- When scheduling your event, com recommends showing your home at a time when your street is somewhat busy to ensure that it doesn’t look like a “ghost town.”
Creating Inviting Curb Appeal
Done appropriately, crafting attractive curb appeal can trigger inviting thoughts of the perfect oasis to a prospective buyer. It can even make a small home look bigger and make visitors eager to see the inside. Here are some ways you can create inviting curb appeal:
- Cleaning: Clear gutters, dead leaves, weeds, bee or wasp hives, and other eyesores that might be on your property. Also be sure to prune back any unruly overgrowth of bushes or trees. Lawn maintenance is very important, long before your event. Additionally, power-wash your home, fence, and deck and scrub windows and sliding doors.
- Landscaping: Landscaping should complement your home and the local area. You can design a unique garden and use pretty pavers or colorful wood chips to highlight it. You can also create a lush themed look, with perennials that play to your local environment.
- Decorate: Small fountains, pretty benches, and garden statues can create an appealing effect in your yard. Think outside the box and ask your landscaper to use unique plants like succulents.
- Redesign: You can also invest in a stunning patio, brick walls with shrubbery, and other creative designs that showcase flowers, gardens, and yards.
DIY Network recommends you paint your front door, trim, and shutters. You can also replace the hardware to make it look clean and new.
Staging Your Home
Staging your home makes it looks move-in ready for prospective buyers. Do these tasks before your event:
- Clear out clutter to create easy paths for visitors to navigate, both inside and outside.
- Remove all personal items such as photos, framed diplomas, and paperwork.
- Repair or remove anything that’s broken, including your furniture.
- Check out HGTV’s article on four steps to staging your home for an open house.
On the Day of Your Open House
To maximize interest in your home, take these steps for the big day:
- Ask your realtor to create brochures with images and highlights for guests to take home. Don’t forget to shoot your lawn and exterior on a sunny day!
- Set out food that appeals to the ideal buyer: freshly baked cookies and milk for families, charcuterie and sparkling water for professionals, etc.
- Decorate with flowers and plants that are also in your yard. If you have a fruit or vegetable gardens, be sure to use some of that produce decoratively in your kitchen.
- Play soft music during the event.
- If you really want to stand out, create a “theme” that matches your home. For example, play classical music while showing a Victorian home. RISMedia has more ideas for how to stand out in this article.
When hosting an open house, remember that the outside should invite people inside. Focusing on curb appeal is a great way to do that. Once they’re inside, wow them with great staging that allows them to envision making the home theirs. Be sure to have takeaways for prospective buyers in the way of brochures and handouts so they can have something to pore over later. By creating an inviting ambience and sending them home with a lot to think about, you’re open house will be sure to win buyers over.