Selling or renting a residential property can be stressful, especially when you don’t know where to start. But with the help of your agent, home maintenance professionals, and an excellently mounted open house, you can find the best buyer or tenant.
If you are selling or renting your residential property, here are some essential reminders and pointers for preparing it for an open house.
Clean the place from the inside out
The first step to preparing your property for an open house is ensuring it is spotless from the inside out. Here is an essential checklist you can use to ensure that everything is adequately scrubbed and maintained:
- Mind your front yard and backyard. Hire professionals to mow the grass, trim the bushes, and prune the trees.
- Hire a pressure washing service team to thoroughly wash your home’s exteriors. Debris and grime can make the exteriors of your home appear worn out and decayed, making the property look less valuable and appealing. By making sure that the exteriors look sparkly clean, you increase the chances of people being more drawn to living in it.
- If you haven’t yet, unclutter the home as soon as possible. Remove old magazines, books, and other unnecessary items from it. Sort everything into three categories: Keep, sell, or donate. Throwing anything away should always be the last resort and should only be the fate of items that are no longer salvageable.
- Consider hiring a team of professionals to disinfect, sanitize, and deep clean the home before you move furniture around.
Keep the interiors as basic as possible
One of the functions of an open house is to provide potential buyers an opportunity to envision themselves staying in the property. They can’t do that if the interior has your stamp on it. Ensuring that the home remains chic and somewhat stylish is vital.
However, what you want is a basic and neutral space enough that the guests can imagine their belongings and style in the home. Here are some pointers for achieving a stylish but neutral interior space:
- Freshen up the paint where it’s needed. Check areas where paint might have chipped or become dirty due to time and grime.
- Consider doing a soft redesign. It doesn’t have to be anything big like building a new kitchen island or tearing down some walls. Even something as simple as doing a quick repaint can do the trick. Do not underestimate the power of changing the color of the walls to something brighter and more neutral. White walls and other softer colors help the eye see the space as more of a blank canvas, and it helps make any room look bigger, too.
- Use neutral colors for the furniture and other smaller design elements. As tempting as it may be, avoid adding splashes of color for now. You never know when a potential buyer or tenant might be put off because you have touches of fuchsia or yellow in the home. Stay within a more neutral color palette.
- Here are the bare bones of a home: The main furniture like the couch, coffee table, dining table, and chairs. Some additional design elements you can incorporate are fuzzy blankets, area rugs, lamps, candles, throws, pillows, and plants. The former is a necessity; the latter can be additions. If you must incorporate smaller design elements and accessories, make sure that they are basic enough that any person from all walks of life can own those items. Remember that the point of an open house is to help the guests imagine themselves living in the house. Basic does not have to mean boring.
Do not neglect basic interior design rules
Here are some basic interior design principles you need to remember when preparing the property for an open house:
- Balance
- Scale and proportion
- Rhythm
- Emphasis
- Harmony
These general design principles exist for a reason. When it comes to design, there is a proper method to the madness. Designers and stylists don’t just throw everything against the wall and hope something sticks. Follow the math and science of interior design, and you will be able to style rooms that look well put together even if you’re a layman.
Letting go of a home can be an emotional journey, but if you keep things as organized as possible, it may make the transition much easier for you and your family. Believe that the end of a new chapter means the beginning of a new one. You can look forward to receiving a lot of good offers, thanks to an excellent open house.
