Staging an open house is a great way to promote your home for sale because it allows a stream of prospective buyers to have a tangible experience. While your home should already be properly staged for viewing (talk with your agent for ideas on how to do this), here are a few tips for making the most of an open house.
Set up a warm welcome
First impressions are everything, so make yours count. Make sure your front lawn is mowed, the garden weeded, the porch cleared of clutter. Replace that old, worn welcome mat with a new one—it’s a subtle touch, but when visitors wipe their feet at your door, a fresh welcome mat can set the tone for the entire visit.
Clear the countertops
Hopefully, you’ve already staged your home give visitors a clear walkway without a lot of clutter from excessive furniture and tchotchkes. Take this a step further by making sure your countertops are free of excess clutter. Throw the stack of mail into a drawer. Stash the panini maker, juicer and other small novelty appliances under the sink for now. Put the toothbrushes in the medicine cabinet. By removing this stuff from the counters, you enable your open house visitors to imagine their own stuff there.
Let in the light
Natural light has a positive psychological affect on your visitors, so make sure you let in as much of it as possible by opening drapes and blinds.
Appeal to the senses of smell and taste, as well
It sounds like open pandering, but it works: put out a plate of warm cookies. Give your agent permission to keep more in the oven. Not only is it hospitable to offer something to your guests, but for most of us, the sense of smell can bring back powerful memories. Smells of baking in the oven remind a lot of people of home—and that’s the feeling you want to convey.
There are other ways to help make the most of your open house, and your agent will likely have some ideas for how to stage your home to make the best possible impression. For more information on listing your Atlanta home for sale, call Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty today at 404.237.5000.