Tips from Waratah Estate Agents to prepare a house for an open inspection:
Love at first sight!!! The first impression is the last impression….
An open inspection day is your chance to show off your house at its best to prospective buyers. So here are some tips on how to prepare a house for an open inspection
• Clean inside and outside of the house – Dust, vacuum, scrub, and wash; buff and tidy up all the rooms’ n bathrooms, have no smell like cooking or pets’, clean ovens, cupboards and wardrobes, maintain garden, do weeding, blow dry leaves, have a well painted house, do all repairs and fixes, remove any hazard from entrance, de-clutter the house, clear mailbox and rubbish bins
• Switch on lights, open the curtains, and let air n light come in
• Smell pleasing with air freshener, fresh flowers and scented candles
• If possible leave your pets with your family or friends’ on the day of inspection
• If you have two kids room, shift them to one while marketing your property and leave the other room as spare or guest room and let the buyers decide what they can do with that extra room
• Remove all unwanted stuffs from garage and store room. Store room can be used as small separate study, home office or toy room for kids
• A bowl of sweets or cookies, some coffee for the buyers to show hospitality
• Highlight the selling point of your property… anything that you offer better than other vendors. Newly renovated or if you have customised any area like having an entertainment area like a thatched hut, a lapa or a bar near the pool, built-in braai or barbeque or a Bon fire area, koi pond
• Keep your precious and valuable safe on the day of open inspection
• Gather up some photos that show off your house at its best and put them on in a digital frame on rotation, for people to see
• You must leave the house with the agent and prospective buyer for open inspection
• Have a soothing and right temperature in the house, whether warm or cool
• Arrange furniture and furnishings artfully
• Play light music or some soft instrumental music on the day of open inspection
By Rimmi Singh
Waratah Estate Agents
Thursday 15 August 2013