When it comes time to getting your home ready for an open house it’s always nice if you have time to clean things up a bit. Sometimes, however, you don’t. Whether it’s because you’ve had a crazy day or because the showing request came in 5 minutes before the time request – sometimes you just don’t have all the time you would like. It’s important, regardless of time, to make sure your home is at its best for showings. So with this in mind you will find a list below of 10 things to quickly do to get your home ready for an open house when you are short on time.
Open House Preparation: Short on time? 10 things to do quickly
- Put away coats, hats, and shoes. Clean up, especially around the foyer. You don’t want clutter to be the first thing a buyer sees on their open house visit.
- Turn on all lights and lamps. A home that is bright looks larger and more inviting.
- Put on some soft music. Easy listening is the best choice. Don’t play rock or jazz music because some people might find it distracting. Think elevator music.
- Make sure the toilet lids are down. Even when a washroom is sparkling clean, a raised toilet seat gives the impression – however incorrectly – that things are less than hygienic.
- Relocate the pets. Put pets in the backyard or basement, or at least segregate them in a separate room. Better still, take them away from your home entirely for the open house.
- Close the garage doors. Most garages don’t look great on the inside.
- Hide the waste bins. Keep them out of sight.
- Wash the dishes. If possible, don’t leave them on a drying rack.
- Put them away. Put away personal items. Put family pictures, bills, and other personally identifying information away. You want the buyers to visualize themselves living in your home, not you.
- Open all curtains and blinds. This makes rooms look bigger and brighter, even at night.