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Make Your Open House a Smashing Success

By Deane Alban

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 10Dec2009
Word count: 675
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If you are selling your house "for sale by owner", I suggest you combine appointments with potential buyers with an open house. Keep your open house short - no more than two hours, from 1 - 3 pm or 2 - 4 pm. You want to create a crowd!

Be sure to place your classified ads early in the week for your open house! Place ads everywhere you are currently doing your FSBO marketing. Here are some great places to advertise your open house:

- Pennysaver.com
- Craigslist.org
- Your FSBO listing service
- Your FSBO MLS listing
- Local newspapers

You want to make the house easy to find. Put up a special open house sign or add an open house rider to your "for sale" sign. Put up directional signs or bandit signs around your neighborhood, especially at the nearest busy intersections. Be sure to take them down after the open house, of course.

Pass flyers out to your neighbors, inviting them to your open house and offering a $500 referral fee. Neighbors love to visit these and may know someone perfect for your house!

Buy a bunch of helium balloons to put in your front yard on open house day.

If your house has special unique features that people might miss, set out little cards to draw attention. For example, an "open me" card on a kitchen cabinet draws attention to a unique feature inside.

Have a sign-in sheet on a clipboard and some pens ready. Get everyone's email for following up.

Bake some cookies to make the house smell wonderful. Offer them along with bottled water (no drinks that stain).

Set up an area where buyers can see and pick up information you have prepared, including:

- Property Information Flyers. Include lots of pictures so people clearly remember your house. - Loan Program Flyers. Have a mortgage broker give you promotional material for appropriate loan programs. Better yet, see if he'll attend your open house. This is a great benefit you could provide to your buyers and yourself. - A "Sales Scrapbook". Put copies of all your warranties, manuals, receipts for recent work, inspection reports, recent appraisal, copy of the new home warranty you will be supplying, and any similar materials in a 3-ring binder. This makes you look impressively organized and makes your house seem well-cared for. Wouldn't you rather buy a used car from someone that kept a detailed service log? Same goes with houses!

SOME TIPS FOR YOUR APPOINTMENTS AND OPEN HOUSES

It goes without saying that you have previously repaired, decluttered, depersonalized, cleaned, and staged your house to get it ready to sell.

No smoking. That means you and your visitors!

No pets: Have your pets go elsewhere for the afternoon. Hide the water bowls, beds, crates, toys, kitty litter boxes, and leashes. Some people are so allergic to pets that seeing evidence of them will put them right off your house.

No bad smells: Get a dehumidifier if your basement is damp. If your house doesn't smell as fresh as you would like get a good air purifier.

Use Oust (unscented version) in the bathrooms or any room that smells less than great. Don't use anything that has a strong scent as some people are allergic to chemicals in room fresheners, too.

No TV: Turn it off. If there is a big game on that weekend, don't have an open house.

Take care with kids: If your kids are there, they should be on their best behavior. Playing (quietly) in the yard, reading on their bed, or doing homework would be perfect.

Take security precautions: It is best to have at least one other person helping you. Hide your valuables. Turn off your computers. Hide your laptop. Think what a bad day it would be if someone snuck out with it.

Never be discouraged if you have a light turn out at your open house. I once had an open house and only one couple show up. But I quickly got over my disappointment when they bought the house!

Deane Alban is an experienced real estate investor and author of "The Truth About FSBO - Complete Selling System". "The Truth About FSBO" gives homeowners a step-by-step system to sell for sale by owner the RIGHT way. Visit TruthAboutFSBO.com to receive an eye-opening free report, "Revealed: The REAL Reasons Houses Don't Sell" which will save you time, money, and frustration when selling your house.

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