The next step in the home selling process is to get your home in top shape for “showings.” This can be a challenging task. There are a lot of things that have to be done in a short amount of time. Once your home is looking its best and on the market, the next step is dealing with interested buyers wanting to come and take a look at the property for themselves. But how do you make sure they get the full experience? This blog looks at how you can give a great impression and have a successful open house in Savannah, GA and Chatham County.
Depersonalize Your Home
Deep cleaning and decluttering your home is always the first step to putting it up for sale, but carefully depersonalizing your living space is just as important.
Depersonalizing means removing any personal items and heirlooms from your home. Family photographs, jewelry, and other items of high sentimental value are all on the table. Keep in mind that during a showing or open house in Savannah, GA and Chatham County, complete and total strangers will be touring your home and searching every nook and cranny for things they may or may not like about the property. During this time, less-than-trustworthy individuals could then have an opportunity to pocket something that means quite a bit to you or gather information on your family through photographs.
It’s best to remove all of these belongings for your own safety and to help focus the buyer’s eye on the house itself.
Prepare for All Possibilities
As clearly stated in the previous point, there are measures you want to take in order to help secure the property during your open house in Savannah, GA and Chatham County.
It’s critical to have some kind of emergency plan in mind in case something goes south and you find yourself needing to think on your feet. This can be as simple as a genuine medical emergency up to an open house guest thinking this is the chance to aggressively negotiate with you and thereby becoming belligerent.
We strongly advise having a sign-in sheet that includes your address and the date along with spaces for all attendees to provide their name, address, and phone number. This acts as a way to contact these potential buyers in the future if you deem it advantageous as well as giving you a log to provide to authorities if something untoward occurs and requires evidence or investigating.
Do Your Follow-up Work
After your open house has run its course and you believe everyone has left, there are a few things you can do to conclude everything for the day.
First, do a thorough room-to-room, floor-to-ceiling inspection of your home with the intent of both making sure all guests have left the premises and that nothing is out of the ordinary or missing. Next, create a copy of your sign-in sheet as a backup; we recommend taking a photo of it with your phone, if possible.
Last, double-check that any entrances to the home are secured properly before considering everything said and done.
Enlist Some Help
Finally, likely the biggest thing you can do to help ensure the success of any open house is to find some assistance from your agent, friends, or family.
Depending on the size of the property you’re showing, you could find yourself needing to be in many places at once, and the weight taken off of your shoulders by having additional trustworthy people around cannot be overstated. Something as simple as having someone staying near the sign-in sheet can make a big difference.
Recruiting friends and family to act as tour guides throughout the home can keep the buyer focused on the strengths of the property while ensuring no funny business happens while moving from room to room.
Guidance for Hosting a Successful Open House in Savannah, GA and Chatham County
As a seller, you want to make sure you’re ready for a home inspection. It’s a chance to get a potential buyer to take a deeper look into your property and let you know if there are any issues that you might need to address before the sale is finalized. This can be a stressful time as a seller, but as long as you’re prepared, it can be a good learning experience as well.
If you need some help to make your open house in Savannah, GA and Chatham County as safe and successful as it can be, contact us today at 912-756-2448!
