Preparing for open homes

Open homes are a popular way for buyers to view your property and see if it is right for them. We’ve put together a few quick tips to help your home become the one buyers fall in love with.

Buyers love to visualise how they will use space. Help them out by minimising appliances on the counters in your kitchen, removing piles of magazines around your living room and making sure your rooms aren’t cramped with furniture.

Often, you get used to the smells of your home. Ask your real estate salesperson or a friend for a “smell check”. Shampoo your carpets before the open house, and if you have pets, give them baths and make sure litter boxes are clean.

A couple of hours before the open inspection begins, it's a good idea to open up all of the doors, windows and curtains in your home. This will allow a good flow of air through the property and will reduce odours and dust that have built up.

If you're more than a little worried about odours in your home, consider purchasing scented room diffusers or pot pourri to reduce the smell.

Buyers are looking for the imperfections in your home. To a buyer, small imperfections can be an indication of larger maintenance issues. Now's the time to fix that leaky tap or slow-running drain, repair broken windows and replace blown light bulbs. These are noticeable maintenance projects that must be tackled before the open house.

A simple tip to stylise and provide a colour pop in your bathroom.

Trim your lawn, weed your garden and prune your shrubs. These small landscaping tasks make a world of difference when trying to make your home sell. Make sure you dust the cobwebs and clean around the front door. With internal access garaging, we often don’t consider the front door from a visitors point of view, particularly in winter.

Pull back your curtains and make sure the windows are clean. On summer days, make it easy for your salesperson to open doors onto entertaining areas.

We recommend storing away personal items such as family photos, diplomas, and personal mementos to create a neutral canvas for potential buyers. Decluttering not only depersonalizes the area but also helps create an open, inviting atmosphere.

Keep the focus on the property's potential and let buyers imagine their own story within the space.

While everyone can enjoy animals, having them at your property during an open inspection can be a little troublesome. Prospective buyers might have allergies, or perhaps the pet might make a mess during the inspection!

To remove the risk of this, perhaps take the dog for a walk during the open inspection, or lock the cat outside for a couple of hours.

Set the stage by adding fresh flowers, placing tasteful décor items strategically, and ensuring the temperature is comfortable throughout the home.