We are investors who buy and sell quite a number of homes in the Greensboro area. You may be thinking about an open house to sell the home you live in. I highly recommend having one.
I LOVE having open houses. We do, however, prepare for them.
Of course,we have our signs and flyers in the yard. I send out, on average, 350-450 letters to surrounding homes telling neighbors the day and time of the open house and that we pay referral gifts for finding our buyer.
The day of, I put out directional signs to the house from every direction with balloons tied on each sign. I almost ALWAYS have people in the house the entire 2 hours we’re open (2-4pm on Sunday). We us NO newspaper advertising. Huge waste of money.
We consistently get TONS of business from having open houses. Neighbors come by and watch to see how fast we sell. They call later and say “can you buy my house?” People who are looking for a home to buy learn about our programs and sign up.
I have actually had Realtors call me after our open houses to ask how I drive so much traffic. It takes more than sticking a sign in the yard and putting it on the MLS. I constantly hear that Realtors get few if anyone to their open houses. Ours are typically too busy for me to talk with everyone who shows up. Hooray! Nothing beats the face to face. No other marketing can match that.
We also have a good following on our selling website – over 2500 unique views per month. Lots of people say, “I’ve been watching your site and I know how fast your properties go.” I have had many open houses where I write the sales contracts at open house. Love IT!!
The number 1 way all houses sell is the sign in the yard. Number 2, for us, is Craigslist. We put houses all of our houses on the MLS. I do this mostly so the public will find our properties when searching on free sites like Listingbook.
Most important thing as an investor: BE CONSISTENT. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER SLOW DOWN YOUR ADVERTISING/MARKETING. We have had people watch us for 2 years or more to find the property they want.
Good luck with selling your house. Open houses work.
For more tips, read: How to Have an Open House and Unique Ways to Sell Your Home.
I would love to hear your experiences.
