For the past year, open houses weren’t really happening throughout most of the country because of the pandemic. Now that vaccines are available and slowly, the country is starting to return to a sense of normalcy, there may be an uptick in open houses.

These events might look a little different. For example, there might be fewer people and more social distancing, but regardless, the concept is the same.

As a seller, you want your home to look beautiful and appealing to possible buyers. So what can you do to make your home stand out?

Your best source of information as far as what you need to do to make your home picture-perfect will come from your real estate agent. Have them go through and suggest things you can do in the weeks leading up to your first open house.

They might have some low-cost tips that can make a big impact.

Your real estate agent can also work with you on staging.

Real estate professionals will tell you that one of the most important things to do before you put your home on the market, or at least before any prospective buyers see it, is de-clutter.

Clutter is distracting and overwhelming. It makes your home feel too personal to you, so buyers can’t envision themselves there, and it covers up the features of the home that might be attractive to buyers.

You should spend at least a weekend de-cluttering your entire home.

Don’t just shove things in closets because these are places people are going to look. Instead, you should throw away, sell or donate items you don’t need anymore. The upside of this, in addition to making your home look better, is that it’ll be easier on you when you move.

When you’re de-cluttering, go ahead and remove most of your personal items. You can store these elsewhere while your home is on the market. You might, for example, get rid of your family photos. You want potential buyers to experience a clean slate when they walk into your house.

Once you’ve de-cluttered, you can start the process of organizing. You want every nook and cranny of your home to be organized before an open house because people are going to be looking everywhere.

You want your home to be a relaxing oasis where buyers can easily envision themselves, and if things aren’t organized, they’re going to feel stressed out and distracted.

After you’ve de-cluttered, de-personalized, and organized, it’s time to start cleaning. Try to go through your home with a fresh set of eyes, and think about what you would want to see as a buyer.

You might even want to hire professionals to come in and do a thorough cleaning of your house from top to bottom when you first put it on the market, and then you can maintain it from there.

Clean the baseboards and trim, door handles, walls, floors, and every surface. You want your home to feel spotless as soon as people walk in.

When you deep clean, make sure you identify any sources of odors and eliminate them.

Your goal should be a light and bright home, so while you’re deep cleaning, you might want to take any heavy window coverings off and wash your windows on the inside and outside as well.

At this point, you’re almost ready for an open house, but you can’t forget about curb appeal. Outside of your home, take many of the steps you did inside. De-clutter, organize, and clean. Make sure that your shrubs are well-trimmed and your lawn looks tidy.

Wash your porch and add a new welcome mat, along with some greenery.

If it needs it, give your front door a fresh coat of paint.

You want buyers to feel like your home is the place for them and move-in ready as soon as they arrive at your open house.

Source: How to Get Ready for an Open House as a Seller Realty Times (May 21, 2024) Ashley Sutphin