For Sale By Owner - How to Host An Open House

by Rebecca Sabot / Copyright © 2022

Open houses are a great way to get potential buyers into your home and hear their feedback. I always try to do an open house because my excitement about the home can help encourage a potential buyer to make an offer. If you are selling your home on your own, I would recommend doing a minimum of one open house every week the home is for sale. Here are some tips to help you make the most of an open houses. 

Prepare

Make sure you the home looks clean and tidy. Create handouts, flyers and a sign in sheet. Make sure your attire is also clean and tidy, as you are a reflection of the home. You want to make a good impression on all the guests. Choose a good time. The best times to hold open houses are when people are out and about and would have time to stop for a quick tour. Weekdays from 4-6pm is a good time and I like Thursdays and Fridays. For weekends, Sunday afternoons seem to be the most popular time in Bismarck and Mandan. The best plan is to hold open house on both Saturday AND Sunday the first weekend if you can so you can get the most buyers in the first weekend. 

Advertise

The more people that know about your open house the better. Try to advertise too far out in advance so that buyers forget but you also want to make sure they see it before they plan their weekends. I like to advertise on Thursday and Friday. Advertise it on all the real estate portals like Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, Homes, etc. Make sure to also create an event on Facebook and invite all your contacts. It is also smart to create an email and send it to all your contacts with details about the home and the open house.Your friends may know someone looking to purchase a home like yours.  I also recommend making sure you have an open house sign in the front yard. Home buyers are used to seeing these and they may feel uncomfortable knocking on the door if they are unsure if the open house is happening. If you have time you could also create a Facebook promotion to reach an even larger audience. The cost is minimal for the number of eyes that will see the ad.

Welcome

Make sure the home has a welcoming feel. Turn on all the lights, make sure everything is tidy, and sweep the sidewalk. Weather permitting I leave the door ajar or open to encourage people to enter. As guests enter ask them to sign in and hand them a flyer with the details of the home. Give a brief introduction to the home and then allow them to walk through the home on their own. Don’t hover. As they finish the tour ask if they have any questions. I also ask ‘What did you think of the home” or another similar questions to engage them in conversation. Guests are usually up front if it is not a good fit. Thank them for coming and wish them the best of luck in their search. 

Follow Up

Later in the day or the next day reach out to all contacts and see if they have any additional questions about the home. If they have provided an email address,  I send a thank you and more information like a property condition statement. Text or call as well to thank them for attending. I would recommend directly asking if they would like to make an offer. That way you know right away if you should stay in touch and you don’t waste your time chasing leads that are not really serious. 

With these tips you can hopefully have a fun and stress free open house. It can be awkward to invite strangers into your home but buyers need to see your home before they will want to buy it. Don’t take any comments personally and try to have fun.

If for sale by owner is not the right option for you or it’s time for a backup plan, please send me a message. I am happy to show you my expert process for marketing homes to attract the most buyers and the best offers.