It’s Open House Season!
When getting ready to sell your mobile home you want to be sure to schedule at least one or two open houses. This article will walk you through with a few simple tips on how you can have a successful open house!
Whether this is your first time, or maybe you just need some fresh ideas, there always are tricks available on how to be certain your home is ready for potential buyers or renters.
Schedule in Advance & Set Goals
The very first thing you want to do is be sure you schedule your open houses way ahead of time. This gives you enough time to have the home ready. Start by adding the open house to your calendar and also set mini-goals before the event. By spacing out any home additions or improvements with plenty time in advance you avoid feeling overwhelmed and set yourself up for a stress-free event.
Lists Lists Lists
Now that you have the date on the calendar and you have added any home improvements needed, start a list of the smaller to-do stuff too. Everything from exterior to interior decor, to repairing a squeaky cupboard or adding some additional flower beds. Don’t forget about the cleaning list too!
If you live in the space daily, then basic cleaning is an obvious. However, there are some deep-cleaning tasks that can take some planning. Maybe renting a carpet cleaner to freshen up the space a few days before the open house, or if it’s been while since the exterior of the home has had a good power-washing, add extra time for tasks that require rental equipment or more physical exertion. These tasks need planning and should be added to the list and set throughout as mini-goals. I say “mini-goals” because, of course, selling the home is the primary goal.
Advertise The Open House
As Spring approaches it’s important to be sure and get the word out on your open house as early and often as possible. This is an area of advertisement that professionals are all over. So, to be sure your home can compete you might want to use a few professional tactics.
Local print and social media are great options for reaching a specific audience. However, just like everything these days, online advertisements are consistently the most effective.
There always is the free option on Craigslist or other local options, but if your home is on MHVillage we have a pretty simple and effective way of advertising an open house.
The MHVillage Open House product gives your home a big bold banner across the top and it will place your home at the very top of the search result page in your area for up to a week before the open house. You get all of this for a one-time fee.
To apply this option, all you have to do is log into your account, select the “View/Change Listing” option and then to the right of the home you will see an “Add Open House” option. That page will have all of the details you need.
Prepare the Space
Not only do you want to be sure that repairs and cleanliness are taken care of, the space itself might need a little love. Staging a home is a specific industry term. The idea is to arrange furniture and decor in a way that best sells the home. Here is a great article we have about how to approach staging your home to sell.
The Little Things
Once you reach the day of the Open House it can sometimes be the little things that make a difference. We all know the age old trick of realtors baking cookies, right? Well, this trick not only offers a great aroma it also provides snacks.
On that note, it is not a bad idea to spend a little bit of money on a few professionally done meat and cheese or vegetable platters too, since typically when home shoppers are attending open houses they are going to multiple houses a day, so a little nibble can be a thoughtful addition. Also, bottled water can go a LONG way.
Controlling as many of the elements in the home as you can is key. You want your guests to have a pleasant memory associated with the home. Here is a quick cheat sheet of ideas:
Look:
Clean surfaces, organized items, and inviting lighting (not too bright!) Also check out the above mentioned article on staging the home!
Smell:
The cookies trick is a solid one. You can also try a few mild candles as a nice alternative too. Avoid air-freshners or strongly scented candles though, since they can be abrasive and sometimes give off the opposite impression.
Feel:
Be sure the temperature of the home is cozy but not too warm. Depending on where you are located your guests might have coats or jackets. So either set the temperature to keep them comfortable in coats or be prepared with a designated coat rack.
Listen:
Music is a nice way to eliminate too much awkward silence between questions. By creating a simple playlist online you can set a nice tone for the experience. When making your selections, be sure your selection is not too specific, since everyone has their own taste. So choose songs that are upbeat, but also accessible by all. Swing/standards are pretty harmless and tend to have an easy optimistic feel to them. Or you can avoid songs with lyrics all together and do a bit of research on instrumental pieces.
Whatever your playlist includes just be sure it isn’t too loud, it’s really there as a soft buffer and shouldn’t require any change in speaking volume.
Hopefully this article gave you a guidebook on how to successfully plan your next open house! If you have any questions about how MHVillage can help with advertising your open house please contact us!
