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Are you getting ready to put your home on the market? If so, there are some things you need to do to prepare for your open house.
There’s no reason to start searching the internet for information about a winter open house because we’ve created a guide for you right here. Keep reading now and find out the best way to knock the frost off that for sale sign!
Declutter Your Home
During the holidays, people become busy hosting holiday events and wrapping presents. This can easily leave your home full of clutter that needs to be removed before you start to host open houses.
We recommend you take the time to figure out where you want to store items that have been out during the winter. The reason for this is to ensure that as you prepare to move and pack your things, it’ll be easy to do instead of increasingly frustrating.
When people tour your home, they want to be able to imagine themselves and their things in your home, not be distracted by the gifts you received during Christmas because they’ve been left out around your home.
Put Away the Decorations
It’s not abnormal for people to put up decorations early and leave them up until well after the holidays are over. It’s great that you’ve gotten into the holiday spirit, but it’s not great when you’re opening your home for potential buyers to tour it.
You might be thinking, why would this be an issue? The answer is everyone doesn’t celebrate the same holidays or acknowledge them at all.
Therefore, entering a home decked out in Santa figurines and Christmas trees could rub people the wrong way. Again, your home is a blank slate for buyers to color with their imagination.
They aren’t able to do this if you’ve got your holiday decorations still hanging up.
Preparation of the Entryway is Key
Depending on where you live, it could be cold out, or there could be snow. It would help if you took the time to prepare your entryway for people visiting the house, unless you’re only allowing for a virtual open house to take place.
If you’re doing things in person, it is thoughtful to provide a space where guests can hang their coats and place their snow boots. It also reduces the chances that people will track snow and dirty in the house, ruining a newly cleaned carpet.
The last thing you want to think about doing is cleaning up the house after every guest leaves. Not only is this time-consuming, but it also means spending more money on deep cleanings.
Up the Curb Appeal
Improving your curb appeal can increase the value of your home by 3-5%. While it might not seem important, curb appeal during the Winter and Fall is important and can’t be ignored.
Again, if you’re in an area where snow falls heavily, you need to take the time to clear the walkway to make it easy for guests to get to the front door. It’s also helpful to ensure you put salt down or something that will ensure people don’t injure themselves as they walk the driveway.
During the fall, you might consider painting your front door a color that pops and draws people in. You could also look into planting flowers that provide a pop of color throughout the yard.
Increase the Heat
Some people enjoy the winter and fall breeze outside, but they want to be warm when they come inside. You don’t want people to start sweating during an open house, but you don’t want them to shiver either.
As people walk through your home, you don’t want them to think of it as cold because that’s not what having a home is about. As you enter the place you call home; it’s essential that it be warm and inviting.
When people aren’t comfortable during a tour, they might not spend as much time as they usually would looking around. Find a comfortable setting for your thermostat and set the house to that temperature a few hours before the open houses begin.
Find the Right Agent
Real estate agents act as the spokesperson for your home during each open house. They’ll talk about the advantages buyers stand to gain when purchasing your home.
The agent will also act as the mediator when negotiating offers to ensure you get the most out of them. Before you work with an agent, you need to check their credentials.
They should be licensed and have a positive record when it comes to closing deals. Another thing an experienced real estate agent should have is knowledge of the changes in market trends.
This will help you to price your home appropriately before accepting open house requests.
Use Simple Décor
Keep the décor simple; while we stated you shouldn’t have personal décor around the home, that doesn’t mean it should be bare. If you’ve got the budget for it, you can hire someone to stage the house in a way that will increase the home’s appeal to buyers.
If not, you can find some simple art pieces to hang and learn how to reposition furniture around your home to improve the overall function of each room.
How to Prepare for Your Open House?
There are several ways to prepare for your open house. One of the first things you can do is increase the curb appeal to attract people to your home.
Another thing you should do is take the time to pack up the decorations you hung during the holiday season. However, the essential part of selling your home is finding the right real estate company to work with.
There is no better company to contact than Dean Miller Real Estate. Let us help you sell your home at the right price.
