Preparing Your Home for an Open House Inspection

First impressions count when it comes to open inspections. The expert team of real estate agents behind Minus The Agent have had years of experience guiding sellers through the process of preparing for open house inspections. It is important to prepare for an open house inspection to present your property in the best possible light to maximise the opportunity for find the right buyer. Attracting potential buyers with the open house inspection is critical in achieving a higher sales price and selling in a quicker timeframe.

It can seem overwhelming, so we have compiled the best advice that we give to our clients in order to help streamline your preparations to make your property appealing for new buyers and effectively focus your attention.

Make a First Impression

Clean and De-Clutter

Your home probably has a lived-in feel right now as it has been your home for many years. When buyers are walking through your property, they want to visualise themselves living in the space. Before your home inspections begin, clean your home from top to bottom. Declutter and tidy inside cupboards, clean the oven, clean window frames and skirting boards, clean underneath and behind furniture and all the hard to reach places that may not be a part of your regular cleaning routine. Consider getting your carpets professionally cleaned so they are bright and don’t have any lingering smells. Once your home has been deep cleaned, it will be easier to maintain and just require a quick tidy up and refresh before each inspection.

In preparing your home, make any easy and obvious repairs to the property that would be off-putting to buyers. For example, leaking taps, cracked glass, broken light bulbs, holes in the walls and broken tiles are all quick fixes that will help you make a good first impression.

You want buyers to walk through the property and fall in love, easily visualising themselves in the space. Remove any personal items such as photographs or ornaments and pack them away for the inspections. Depersonalise the space so that buyers can see it as their new home.

Light and Air

Buyers are attracted to light and airy spaces. Prepare your space to allow for fresh air and natural light to enter the property. Open your home regularly leading up to open inspections to air out the space. Fresh air flow will remove mustiness and lived in smells. Avoid cooking meals with overpowering and lingering scents, and carefully clean up any areas that pets use as lingering scents from pets can be particularly off-putting for buyers. Artificial scents like air fresheners or candles are not recommended as they can leave a negative impression on buyers. In addition to letting fresh air flow through your property, consider an air diffuser with a fresh and natural essential oil blend.

Allow natural lighting wherever possible so rooms feel more spacious and alive. Consider removing curtains and drapes during the open inspection period if they are reducing the light. In the lead up to the inspection, open all blinds, curtains and shutters.

Style Your Home

Consider removing some of your furniture and only leaving key neutral pieces, and removing or covering bright ornaments and wall coverings. Many sellers consider staging consultants. Advice or a package with staging consultants can assist in making your home more appealing and have an impact on the final sales price, however can be expensive.

Increase Curb Appeal

Repair any broken light bulbs, clean the front windows, remove any cobwebs and even consider a fresh coat of paint on the front facade of your house.

Final Touches on the Day

Turn on your air conditioning or heating so the property is inviting depending on what the weather is doing outside.

During the Inspection

It is best to make yourself scarce during the inspection. Prepare to to leave the home and take other family members or pets with you during the time that the potential buyers will be walking through your space. You want them to feel relaxed and feel as though they can take their time and visualise themselves in the space. If you are coordinating the open home without a real estate agent, welcome the guests but them stay in one place without hovering over the buyers. Allow them to walk freely through the space, but be able to find you easily if they have questions.

Open home are all important when it come to selling your property. At Minus The Agent, our expert real estate agents provide advice and support throughout the process of selling your home. You can save thousands in agent fees by listing your property with Minus The Agent on our easy to use platform, while also having the peace of mind knowing that you have real estate agents in your corner to guide you through the process of preparing for open home inspections.

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