I'm having a open house tomorrow...

[taraprather]

Do you have any last minute tips for me?

 

[raysnkaysmom]

go to HGTV.com
They always have great shows on there about open houses...but you may not have time to catch up...

GOod luck

 

[chrisw127]

If you already haven't, clean your baseboards. A non-scented baby wipe works really well. A washcloth does too.

Orange Glow will make your wooden floors shine. Try it in areas where the light shines in. I don't use it a lot (I prefer a steamer for the floors), but if you want some shine, this is it.

Don't forget to dust your blinds.

Above all, don't stress. Most people will probably not even notice the little things.

Good luck!

 

[TaraPA]

If you don't have time to actually bake something then light a Yankee Candle! They say Cinnamon or French Vanilla are universal scents for selling a home. Who "they" are, I have no idea, but I've heard it several times!

 

[famofsix]

you can cut an apple in half sprinkle cinnamon place in a pan with a little water and bake for 30 minutes on low heat before the open house. Then shut off the oven when you leave.

Make sure the showers are clean and put away all shampoos, razors etc. so it look like a hotel shower (nice one I mean )Then you can open the curtain or shower door for them to peek in. People like clean.

Take all stuff off of dressers, tables, counters, and put away knock knack and family photos.

If you don have a place for all the little stuff then place it in a laundry basket and put it in your car with you when you leave.

Relax and tell your realtor to promote the open house by having him bring clients to the open house.

 

[binny]

put a saucepan on the stove with water, a cut up orange and a cinnamon stick. It smells SO good!

 

[taraprather]

If you don't have time to actually bake something then light a Yankee Candle! They say Cinnamon or French Vanilla are universal scents for selling a home. Who "they" are, I have no idea, but I've heard it several times!

I went out and bought sugar and chocolate chip cookies tonight to bake tomorrow (little by little of course). My parents live right next door and are selling also, so we are both having our open houses tomorrow. We are hoping to move to Florida before winter, but in this market, I'm not sure if it will happen or not.
Our only problem right now. I haven't heard back from my neighbors about watching our dogs (i have 2 and my parents have 1). One of my dogs can jump fences, so I can't leave him in a backyard with no privacy fence.

 

[taraprather]

you can cut an apple in half sprinkle cinnamon place in a pan with a little water and bake for 30 minutes on low heat before the open house. Then shut off the oven when you leave.

Make sure the showers are clean and put away all shampoos, razors etc. so it look like a hotel shower (nice one I mean )Then you can open the curtain or shower door for them to peek in. People like clean.

Take all stuff off of dressers, tables, counters, and put away knock knack and family photos.

If you don have a place for all the little stuff then place it in a laundry basket and put it in your car with you when you leave.

Relax and tell your realtor to promote the open house by having him bring clients to the open house.

Well we won't be leaving. We are promoting our open house. We are selling by owner, so no realtor. I didn't think to get rid of my shower stuff. I'll do that right after my shower in the morning. Now I'm off to clean my baseboards!

 

[famofsix]

good luck with the sale and your "neighbors" sale

 

[Cindyluwho]

We're holding our home open tomorrow also. It's our own house but we're also agents.
A couple of quick things you can do:
1) Put a couple of drops of Pinesol in the kitchen sink and also in the toilets
2) Spray furniture polish in the air right in front of the entry door
3) bake those cookies and brew some coffee

The thing is, our noses have more power than our eyes. If the house "smells" clean, it will actually make it appear to be cleaner. I know that sounds like hooey but it really works! If you want your DH to think you've been cleaning all day try steps one and two above and see what he says when he walks in the door

 

[PaulaSue]

Get rid of all clutter!!! I really do mean ALL clutter. (washbaskets are good for going around the house to collect stuff and get into your car.
Get rid of half of the furniture to make the rooms look bigger.
Get rid of family pictures, 1 or 2 is fine but tons of pictures don't look welcoming for home buyers to imagine themselves in the house.
Be Careful about Holiday decorations, fall is nice but scary Halloween might offened some people who don't celebrate.

Good Luck!

 

[luvmy3]

Our neighbors have been having open houses everyweekend for the past few months. The only thing that caught my eye about their home is that it is empty. They aren't living there and it doesn't feel very homey. I think making it warm and inviting helps alot. I do have a suggestion about candles, don't do anything too strong, it could turn people off. Maybe just do a simple vanilla. Oh and make sure if you have personal family photos to take them down so that the potential buyer can picture themselves and their family there. Good luck

 

[famofsix]

How did it go???????

 

[taraprather]

Not one single person showed up . I spent weeks planning, cleaning, decluttering, and advertising. And for nothing. I'm so disappointed. I spent over $100.00 advertising for this open house. No one showed up at my parents either. It was unreal. Not even a neighbor stopped in. I even took down ALL my halloween decorations, which was a lot. We have a halloween party every year, so we've accumulated a lot of stuff.
I don't know what to do. My dad is disabled, this is the reason we are moving (to Florida). He don't do well in the winter at all. We are afraid if he spends one more winter here, he won't be able to walk at all by next summer (he already has a little trouble). My hubby and I just bought our house in August of 07, thats the reason we can't get a realtor, because we aren't that negotiable. We put in a new ac/furnace and had a privacy fence installed this past summer. If someone came and offered what we owe on it now, I would take it. I realize it's a tough market, but I was really hoping. I even saw my very first shooting star last night, thinking for sure it was a sign we will have good luck today.
My parents have lived in there home for about 23 years, and have made a lot of improvements over the years.
Sorry for rambling, I'm just down in the dumps right now, not knowing what our next step should be. We can't keep holding open houses, as I run a daycare in my home and have 2 kids (3 if you count my hubby lol) of my own, so planning for this open house was tiring and time consuming.
Thanks again everyone for all there tips.

 

[famofsix]

can you list yours by owner and your parents with a realtor? Then you can have open houses the same day and maybe the realtor would bring in buyers.

 

[Cindyluwho]

Here's how the Open Houses went in our neck of the woods today:
1 guest
2 guests
4 guests (that was our home)-we sent out 25 evites to our neighbors on the lake
0 guests-that home was open yesterday also and 0 showed up then too
14 guests - the agent walked the neighborhood yesterday and handed out 87 invitations to the neighbors
That's the five open houses I kept track of today, I'll check with our other agents tomorrow and see how they went but it just seems like everyone is on "hold" until at least after the election.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

just wanted to say I feel your pain . I was hoping it went well for you we are trying to sell one of our houses and it is not going well . In 38 days on the market we have had 23 showings and crazy low offers but nothing that even was close to what I would take.
Every showing I think " this is the one" LOL
Good Luck with the selling . Ya know I saw an article that you should bury a St. Joseph in the yard to make it sell . I am to the point that I may try it LOL

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I'm sorry about the turnout
Have you tried advertising an open house on craigslist? I know when I had a yard sale and advertised there before I hung any signs...I had a big turn out. Make flyers and leave them at local businesses....

I wish you luck on your and your parents home!

 

[taraprather]

can you list yours by owner and your parents with a realtor? Then you can have open houses the same day and maybe the realtor would bring in buyers.

This is a good idea, I never thought of this. I will talk to my parents tomorrow about it. Thanks!

 

[taraprather]

just wanted to say I feel your pain . I was hoping it went well for you we are trying to sell one of our houses and it is not going well . In 38 days on the market we have had 23 showings and crazy low offers but nothing that even was close to what I would take.
Every showing I think " this is the one" LOL
Good Luck with the selling . Ya know I saw an article that you should bury a St. Joseph in the yard to make it sell . I am to the point that I may try it LOL

Our house has been on the market for 2 months and we haven't had 1 showing! We had our first phone call finally about 3 weeks ago, but they just wanted to know some basic information.