How to prepare your home for open houses and showings

Open houses and showings are an opportunity for buyers to test drive your home and determine if they want to make it their own.

When selling your house, you want to highlight your property's best features, from its architecture to its functionality. This can be achieved by staging and marketing the home online. When buyers finally set foot on the property, you want to show them the best version of the house.

Finalize home staging plans

Staging is a tactic to present a move-in-ready feel to a home. To accomplish this, the house needs to feel depersonalized yet homey. Having furniture and home goods set up helps buyers visualize themselves living in the space.

"Keep it simple. A clean, streamlined space with neutral colors and photographs appeals to the broadest range of buyers," said Amanda Elhassan, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Livermore, California. "A few intentional touches, such as fresh greenery, soft textures or well-placed lighting, can also subtly enhance the warmth and flow of a room without overwhelming it. When in doubt, simplicity and neutrality win every time."

Sellers living in a home that's on the market will need to devise a plan to keep each room as clean and perfect as possible. You can do this yourself or work with an agent or a stager to set up the home for showings.

If you have already moved out of the home and it is vacant, consider hiring a stager to temporarily furnish key rooms, such as the living room, dining room and primary bedroom.

"It is important to have your home staged in a very neutral way so the potential buyer can imagine living in your home," said Maureen McDermut, a real estate agent with Sotheby's International-Montecito in California.

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Marketing your online listing

A majority of buyers will view online pictures of your home before touring it. Once your staging is complete, take high-quality photos of your home. These 30 to 40 images posted on multiple listing services — private databases that local brokers use to share information on homes that are for sale in their areas — or real estate websites need to draw buyers.

Having help from a real estate agent or a professional photographer can make your home stand out online. Use either a picture of your home's facade or a high-quality shot of an important room, such as the kitchen or living room, as the lead photo. For empty rooms, consider using a virtual staging service to fill in the space and help buyers visualize digitally.

Talk to your agent about boosting visibility of your listing with marketing tools. You can also help your house stand out by getting a 3D Matterport tour. This tool allows potential buyers to “walk” around your home with just a few clicks. This helps them get a sense of the space and layout to see if they want to tour in person.

Aside from the imaging, you need to build your home’s search engine optimization by providing as much information as possible. When people look for a home, they use filters to narrow their search. Besides the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage, they can filter by details such as architectural style, walk-in closet, kitchen island or basement. Having as many details filled in as possible will help the multiple listing service match your property with buyers.

Ensure that the photos and information accurately represent what your home is actually like. If a buyer comes in person, they will set their expectations based on the online listing.

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Hosting open houses and showings

When it's open house day, you need to refresh the staging and make it as pleasant as possible inside. Minimize any reminders that you still live there.

"One of the most common missteps is leaving signs of day-to-day life out in the open, such as dirty dishes in the sink, laundry piles, or clutter on counters," Elhassan said. "These things may seem small, but they can make a home feel less well-maintained."

Simple things such as keeping the counters clear and removing extra furniture to make the room feel bigger go a long way. "Buyers are looking at whether or not their lifestyle can be accommodated by your home," said McDermut, who has more than 20 years of experience in real estate.

You can try to stage the home to meet popular wants, such as outdoor spaces or home offices. Place some chairs and a table on a porch to showcase its functionality and set up a desk in a spare room.

Apart from physical appearance, buyers will judge other aspects of the home, including the smell.

"One of the most overlooked factors is scent," Elhassan said. "Smell has such a powerful and emotional impact, so it’s best to avoid cooking anything with a strong or lingering odor right before an open house. Instead, focus on finding a neutral, fresh scent that can help buyers feel comfortable and allow the home itself to shine."

You will also want to ensure the home is comfortable for buyers to visit in all seasons.

"When hosting in the spring or winter, keep some mats out for wet shoes that could mess up your carpet or flooring," McDermut said. "Be sure in the warmer months to keep your AC on a bit to help keep people comfortable. You want the attendees to peruse the home in comfort."

As buyers come in, this is an opportunity for your agent to gather feedback on your home and identify areas for improvement to enhance buyer appeal.

"For open house, listening is the best thing one can do," McDermut said. "Listen to what is being said by others in attendance. Go when it is busy so you get more opinions and observations."

Rely on your agents to listen during open houses and showings to be your eyes and ears. You should not be in the home when a buyer is there.

"Buyers need to be able to walk through freely, linger where they want, react naturally, and talk openly with their agent and/or family," Elhassan said. "It’s difficult for them to do this when the seller is present, because it can make the experience feel stiff or uncomfortable."

Here are some last-minute steps to show off your house.

Week before

Deep clean: Even if you have deep-cleaned before, do it again. If professionals have already come, then try to do it yourself.
Mow the lawn: If you haven’t looked at improving your curb appeal, then be sure to trim overgrown hedges, pull weeds and mow the lawn during the growing season.
Invite outside perspective: Consider having friends come by and offer a fresh perspective on how the house looks. They could spot something you miss.

Morning prep

Plug in air fresheners: Start getting your home smelling good by using air diffusers or plug-in fresheners.
Erase evidence of you living there: Make the bed, hide the dirty laundry and put away all personal items. Get yourself ready and completely reset the staging.
Reset the kitchen: After using the kitchen in the morning, put away any dishes or appliances that were used. Avoid cooking anything with strong smells.
Dry the bathroom: If there are any water droplets in the sink, shower or on the floor, wipe them up. Remove any used towels, but display some clean, fresh towels.
Clean again: Vacuum and sweep. Wipe down the surfaces and freshen up the bathrooms.
Weather prep: If it’s raining, lay out some mats for wet shoes.
Temperature control: Set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature. This will depend on the season but aim for about 70 to 75 degrees.
Pets prep: If you have a pet, try to get them out of the house for the day and hide or remove all their accessories. Take the litter box out of the house and pick up the food and water bowls.

1 hour before

Walk-through: Give your home a thorough walk-through and try to view it from the perspective of a potential buyer. Fix any issues you see. You can always put some things in your car if you don’t have time to get to a mess.
Unplug air fresheners: Let them run all morning but unplug them about 30 minutes to an hour before the open house starts so the scent is not too overpowering.
Turn on all the lights: Flip on all the lights for all the potential buyers wandering through.
Prepare the listing flyers: Your real estate agent will likely take care of this but have some flyers with your home’s information on them for buyers to take.
Final touches: Pull open all drapes, close all toilet lids and shut all closet doors.
Sweetening the offer: If you want, you could offer cookies and water to buyers with the listing flyers.
Leave: Let your real estate agent take over from here and leave the home. Buyers need privacy and space to consider your house.