4 Ways to Host an Open House for Expired Listings
Prepping expired listings to relist is no joke. There’s a reason they didn’t sell the first time. But once you nail down those reasons you can start to fix the problems and get the property sold. One great way to showcase the house and to get valuable feedback is to host an open house. Put the time and effort into making the open house a success, and you’ll be off to a great start.
1. Do the preliminary research
If you’re a newer real estate agent to the area or haven’t done an open house in a while, do your research first. Go to other open houses in the neighborhood. Ask questions. See what home features they’re pointing out as the main selling points. What’s the median asking price for comparable homes? Listen to buyers’ reactions of what they like or don’t like or how they feel about price, ect.
Once you have a good idea of what points to highlight in your expired listing’s home, set a date when there are other open houses in the area. This way you can get more foot traffic.
2. Create a detailed flyer
The next step is to create an eye catching and detailed property flyer describing the specs of the home. This will come in handy as you draw up the listing online as well. You want to list all relevant data on the house. And have plenty to hand out at the open house.
Include all these details:
address
asking price
your contact info as the realtor as well as the url or link to the property listing online
short description of the property including number of beds and baths, square footage, appliances included, any outdoor space and any other highlights/amenities
nearby school info
real estate tax info
a couple stand out photos of the property
3. Get the home ready
Staging the home is the next big step. This one is vital to the success of the open house. Dirty or cluttered homes will immediately turn away buyers. It could be part of the reason the listing expired even. Help convince the sellers to deep clean, declutter and depersonalize. You want the home to be a neutral but appealing space where buyers can picture themselves settling in. Recommend any home improvement projects based on your client’s budget and what comps have going for them. Could your clients change out hardware and doorknobs? What about a fresh coat of paint throughout? Is the tub in need of caulking? Would fresh window blinds or new drapery help? Think about the most important projects that need to happen for this home to be staged and ready to show.
4. The day of and follow up
Now you’re ready to let the house shine and to help it make the best impression to buyers. If the sellers have pets, have them arrange for their animals to be away that day. Have them hide personal effects like medication or paperwork. Do a final clean sweep throughout. Offer a light snack and water or coffee. Hand a flyer to each guest who comes in, welcome them and point out a key feature or two. Provide a sign in sheet for guests to leave their name, email, and a contact number. Be present for any questions guests may have and as they leave ask for any feedback they’d like to share on what they liked or didn’t like and what their interest level is compared with the other homes they’ve seen.
The day after the open house, send a nice thank you email to all the people who stopped by. Follow up with a phone call the next week to check in and see if there’s interest. If not, ask again for feedback. This is a good opportunity for you to gain valuable insight into what’s working for the house and what might still need some tweaks.
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