Are you ready for your open house?
A good agent knows how to prepare for their open house. In fact, the best ones treat the event like a party – they are ready to entertain and act like the good host or hostess that they are. Having a welcoming attitude and the right environment can make all the difference between selling a house and watching it sit on the market for another week.
In San Francisco, we sell a lot of condos. That process is more complex (no pun intended!) to hold open. So here are a few suggestions for doing it right:
DO: With a condo listing, have a helper in the lobby to guide visitors to the unit. You don’t want to lose people.
DO: Make sure you can be easily reached when you are inside the home. Being certain that the buzzer will reach the unit is important – again, you don’t want to lose people.
DO: Have a doorstop. There’s nothing worse than propping open your front door with a pillow (see accompanying photo) or a statue of some sort.
DO: Have toilet paper. It’s necessary.
DO: Have a way for visitors to get rid of trash. A small trash bucket under the sink will do the trick nicely.
Here’s my suggested Open House Bag of Tricks:
- Trash can
- Toilet paper
- Cleaning rag
- Scotch tape
- Duct tape
- Tape measure
- iPhone charger
- iPhone speakers
- Doorstop (again, see accompanying photo for illustration of exactly why you should have this)
Remember, if you’re throwing a party, you should be the best host or hostess you can possibly be. You’ll be so grateful once that deal goes into escrow!
Dreaming of San Francisco? Cece Blase offers local advice to San Francisco buyers, sellers and owners– and feeds the dreams of those who wish they could live in Tony Bennett’s ‘City by the Bay.’ Call 415-577-0809 or email cblase@paragon-re.com. www.ceceblase.com