Preparing your house for an open home

Preparing your house for an open home

Posted 2014-03-11 by SupahAnniefollow
Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net, By Stuart Miles, House Character Showing Search Or Look For House.

So you decided to move so now comes the time of the not so fun having open houses to sell your home. You want to impress buyers, have things looking neat and tidy but how do you keep it that way whilst still living in it? Allow me to help with this.

My husband and I have been thinking about moving, we have had real estate agents and valuers come and look at our home. With a 3 year old in the house and being a Stay at home Mum I was not looking forward to the preparation needed for each open house. So I begun researching and asking professionals tips on how to maintain clutter free during the process. Here are some ideas that I have put together to achieve this:

1) De-clutter room by room: use this opportunity to sell, throw out or recycle your unused and unwanted items. Do one room of the home at a time. Perhaps begin by walking around and writing down what needs moving or changing. Use boxes to store knick knacks, excess jewellery, clothes, paperwork etc. The aim is to have clear surfaces and flooring. They are here to look at your home but they need to be able to see it and visualise themselves living there. For example have no more than say three items on the bedside table.

Clutter will put potential buyers off. Make your home more appealing to prospective buyers by decluttering beforehand. Image courtesy of morguefile.com.au.


2) Storing things during that time: Have you got somewhere you could store the things that are cluttering up the place. Could you stack boxes in your garage, hire a storage unit, ask a friend or family member to take them for a short time, stack them in the attic or under the house, stack things in your car? Don't forget to label these things so that you can still find them easily.

3) Re-orgainse cupboards, wardrobes and other storage areas: to fit in more things. Consider adding shelving, hooks, over door hangers and baskets. As you and your other household members use something pack it away straight afterwards. Example: toaster, vacuum cleaner, paperwork, mail, mixer, bag etc. Move your things around and try to make one cupboard empty. An empty cupboard means on the day of the open house you can shove things out of sight in a hurry and remember where they are. Have a special box or container that fits inside that cupboard that you can carry around each room of the house the morning of the opening and quickly dump any clutter into. Genius!

4) Set the scene: Take advantage of your homes positive aspects. Say if you have a spa have it running, open it up, put some wine glasses beside it. If you have a balcony or porch add some nice plants or flowers to some brightly coloured pots. Stack a couple of magazines on your coffee table, have nice mats at all the entry's. Sweep up leaves on the path, have a few nice candles on, have a little outdoor setting it doesn't even have to be yours you could borrow one. That kind of thing. This encourages potential buyers to imagine themselves living and using spaces in this home.

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net, By Detanan, Set of dining table.


5) Appeal to their senses: Make your home smell nice, use air fresheners, have something baking like cookies or a cake. Add some real flowers to a vase and put in a prominent place. This appeals to people's sight and smell. Have tasteful and bright artworks on the walls. Add a gorgeous blanket and a cushion to hide an old piece of furniture. Have some fragrant candles burning in the bathrooms. Plants can be used to lighten up both indoors and out. Open windows, curtains and blinds to let some air and natural light in.

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net, By Winnond, Relaxing time in bathtub.


6) Hide things discreetly: under the bed, behind the couch. Stack your dirty dishes into the dishwasher. If you have children try to use boxes, tubs, baskets and cupboards to store their toys so they can be packed away easily after each use. Some play equipment in the backyard shows them that children will be happy here.

Let there be natural light.


I hope these tips help you to sell your home quickly. Remember first impressions count. Good luck.

For more ideas on preparing your home for an open house or simply how to keep your home clean check out these links:
Easy ways to keep your floors clean.
Orgainsing your wardrobe.
Getting your kitchen cupboards in shape.

#selling
#open_home
#De-clutter
#storage

%homegenius
241977 - 2023-07-18 05:32:19

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