Open House Checklist
Joe and Mary Prepare for Their First Open HouseJoe started working on his open house checklist. They had decided to give one a try and a checklist seemed like a good idea.
They decided instead to have an appraisal done on their home. After the shock wore off, they decided to soldier on.
Now our for sale by owner couple have decided to have an open house, but are unsure just how to accomplish that task. Thus, the open house checklist.
J: OK honey, where do we start on this open house checklist.
M: (laughing) You could start by cleaning the downstairs bathroom.
J: Come on Hon, I'm serious. I worked hard on this checklist.
M: OK, OK. Let me see. We will need to advertise in the newspaper and on the internet.
J: (writing on his handy clipboard) Good, and I should put up an open house sign.
Open House Checklist Tip #1 This is a good start. Our by owners are starting to really catch on to this for sale by owner thing. Here are some ideas of where to advertise your open houses:
- The Local Paper - Not as important as it used to be, but still worth placing the ads, especially when you do an open house.
- The Website or Websites, you have your property advertised. - VERY important. Last stats I seen, approximately 80% of buyers look for homes online, at least in the United States and Canada.
- Flyers - You can use some feature sheets you are using for potential buyers. Have a bunch printed up and passed around your neighborhood. You can also target other neighborhoods.
- If you have a weekly or monthly local real estate magazine, you might consider an ad if the timing is right.
When you hold an open house, you have to be prepared for the "ready to purchase buyer." What happens if a buyer is super excited about your home and wants to put in an offer right then?
Are you prepared? You will probably need them at some time, so you might as well include this on your open house checklist: "Have some for sale by owner contracts available."
The easiest and best way to obtain those forms, is online. They are written by lawyers and are country or state-specific and kept up to date.
To view my recommendations and the reasons why, just go to, For Sale by Owner Contract Forms.
J: When we are ready, I guess I'll just put an open house sign out front.
M: Shouldn't we have some directional signs as well?
J: Why? People will know where to come from our ads. It would just be a waste of time to put up more signs.
Sigh! Just when I thought our for sale by owner stars were making good progress. :( *
Open House Checklist Tip #2 Go all out when you are doing an open house.
Put up as many directional signs as needed. For more on where and why to place your open house directional signs, go From Open House Checklist to Open House and Directional Signs
Open House Checklist Tip #3 If someone on your street is listed with a Realtor® and they are having an open house, try to have your open on the same day and same time. You may want to start 1/2 hour earlier and finish 1/2 hour later.
As an example, if your neighbor's open house is on Saturday from 2:00-4:00, you might have yours on Saturday from 1:30-4:30.
J: OK, you've convinced me. I'll put up those 4 directional signs just before we start our open house. Now, what else? (looking at his checklist)
M: Well sweetie, I guess we better clean everything, make sure there is no clutter and maybe I'll bake some fresh bread before the people arrive.
J: Do we have to feed them as well?! It's not on my checklist! (laughing)
M No silly. I read somewhere, that even smells make a difference on how people view your home.
J: I guess that does make sense.
Open House Checklist Tip #4 The reason having open houses when for sale by owner is more important than when you are listed with a Realtor,® is because of different agendas.
Although a Realtor,® would love to sell the property they are holding the open house in, they usually spend the majority of their time, looking for new business.
New business includes:
A) Buyers that are looking for a different home than the one they are viewing. In other words, the Realtor® can show them more homes for sale.
B) Sellers looking to list their home for sale. Unfortunately, this is one of their main objections.
You as a for sale by owner:
A) Couldn't care less about the people that drop by, that are looking for something different.
B) Have no interest in those looking to sell their own property. (Unless of course they want to put a conditional offer on your house).
Therefore, you can concentrate on one thing and one thing only. Find a buyer for YOUR home.
Open houses will give you lots of exposure that you may not have otherwise. This is why you want to try and have them at the same time as others in your neighborhood.
If they look at one home on the block, there is a very strong chance they will also view your property. Make sense? Good.
Some people may not want to call you when you are for sale by owner, but will look at your open house.
Buyers, (this is a big one) that are working with a Realtor,® in many cases will go out on open house weekends without their Realtor,® and look at open houses.
What happens if they just LOVE your home? Well one of two things most likely. They will buy direct from you, or drag their Realtor® kicking and screaming to your door.
This is one reason why you might want read the sections of this website about Realtors.® fees. It will explain how to handle different situations when a Realtor® brings a buyer that viewed your property privately.
If you wish, you can check Realtor Fees now.
Here is a two part article on another website about Why to have an Open House as a For Sale by Owner
No matter which way it goes, you should save a big old pile of money! :)
Our heros have everything ready to go. The ads are arranged. The open house directional signs are ready and they are well on their way to having everything spic and span.
They hired a couple of kids from the neighborhood and drove them to various areas to deliver flyers. Mary has even chosen her favorite raisin bread recipe to make in the morning.
M: Well, I think we are basically ready. Let's hope we have lots of people and the weather holds out.
J: I'll keep my fingers crossed. I have a real good feeling about this. We've completed everything on our checklist.
M: Me too. I think our luck is about to change.
Good for you Joe and Mary. You were down in the dumps and you brought things around to your normal positive ways.
To be continued......
If you are following this story in sequence, please proceed to #10 below.
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