Sell Your Home with an Open House
Announce your OPEN HOUSE through the Realtor® Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Let agents and their buyers know when you plan on holding your house open for inspection. Open Houses are a great way to let potential buyers see your home at a time that's convenient for you. Realtors often use Open Houses as a way to familiarize themselves with current available inventory. By placing an Open House announcement in the MLS, you let agents know your home is on the market and ready to show or preview.
Open House Tips
- Schedule your Open House at a date and time that's conducive the bringing the most people through as possible. Superbowl Sunday or Race Weekend might not be the best days for an Open House. Also, most areas have times and days that buyers are used to attending Open Houses. If Sundays between 1pm and 4pm are the norm for your area, stick to convention.
- Invite friends and neighbors to attend. You could even send out announcements to help bring more traffic to your Open House. The more it looks like activity is taking place at your home, the better your chances of getting an offer.
- For an Open House, you'll want to present your home in the best possible light. Hire a cleaning service before the scheduled date.
- Fresh paint and clean carpets are a must.
- Add fresh towels and new soaps to bathrooms.
- Make sure the lawn is mowed and the yard is free of clutter.
- Send children and pets away during the Open House as they can distract viewers from your home for sale.
- Make your home inviting and warm. Serve refereshments, keep the fireplace going, have something scrumptious simmering or baking.
- Turn on all the lights and open all of the blinds. Bright homes feel fresher, open and larger.
- Check the thermostats to make sure that house is at a comfortable temperature.
- Fresh flowers can spruce up a home and lend a pleasant aroma.
- Remove unnecessary furniture, collectibles and clutter from the home. Reduce the number of items in the closets to make them seem bigger.
- Remove items that make the house seem personal to you including photos, memorabilia, etc.
- Open Houses let the public see your house in an informal manner, so it's always a good idea to keep safety in mind. When holding an Open House be sure to have help from a friend, family member or neighbor. Mortgage loan orginators are also often willing to help staff an Open House and serve to assist in pre-qualifying buyers who may be interested in purchasing your home. Ask neighbors to keep a watchful eye on your home as well.
- Keep a log of who sees the house including license plate numbers. A registration notebook with space for name, address and phone number is a good idea. Being able to follow-up with potential buyers gives you a chance to answer any questions or objections a buyer may have and increases the chance of a sale.
- Lock up or remove any valuables, jewlery or cash.
- Stay with strangers as they tour your home. Always leave yourself an escape route should you need to exit in a hurry. Leave doors unbolted.
- Print "Home Information Flyers" for distribution to Open House attendees. If they should visit several homes throughout the day, having a flyer can help to remind them of your home's key selling features.
For more information about announcing your Open House with a Bloomkey MLS Open House, visit our online store.
More Info
