8 tips for a successful open house

1. Take advantage of technology

Holding an open house? There's an app for that.

Make sure your agent uses the latest technology to market your house. Agents can advertise open houses on a host of popular real-estate websites, says Joan Pratt, a real-estate broker with Re/Max Professionals in Castle Pines, Colo.

Because most buyers start their searches on computers, you need a professional presentation online, says Jeff Wiren, president of the Portland (Ore.) Metropolitan Association of Realtors and a broker with RE/MAX Equity Group. That means posting more than a few token pictures, he says. Post a good number of photos and "make sure the pictures are of good quality and really show the home well," he says.

Realtor.com has a free real-estate application for consumers. It finds and lists all open houses within a certain area, with maps and directions to each. It includes salient features, such as asking price and number of bedrooms.

But real-estate agents may have to take a few extra steps to get the open house to appear on the app and may have to buy additional services from the site, says Julie Reynolds, the website's vice president.

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2. Save paper, save money

High-tech can save you and buyers money and time, too.

Years ago, real-estate agents prepared hefty brochures with materials about the house for prospective sellers. These days, many agents put all of that information online, says Pat Vredevoogd Combs, past president of the National Association of Realtors and vice president of Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt in Grand Rapids, Mich. People are more likely to read the material online, she says. And she says that most of her attendees have reviewed it before they come to the open house.

Still, Combs also says she sometimes keeps a few printed brochures for folks who might not have access to or interest in the Internet.

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3. Use low-tech, too

How would you like to increase foot traffic with serious buyers for about $7?

Update that "for sale" sign with an "open house" sign exactly one week before your big event.

Called "riders" because they ride on top of your "for sale" sign, the attachments are available from home-improvement stores. Usually, you can get them preprinted with "Open house Saturday" or "Open house Sunday."

So for just a few dollars, "anyone driving by will know that they can come back Sunday and it will be open," Pratt says.

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4. Enlist the neighbors

The last thing you want when you throw open the doors for an open house is your neighbors nosing through your closets.

But that's actually not such a bad thing, according to some real-estate agents.

"The neighborhood people are the most important salespeople for the house," Combs says. "So I want them to come in. They're the people who want their friends to come move into the neighborhood. They're my scouts."

If you want to make the most of it, consider sending invitations or fliers — print them out cheaply from your computer — to invite the neighbors. You can also use email or Evites, if that's more your style.

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5. Create a neutral environment

If you have anything that could be considered the least bit controversial, such as an animal head on the wall or a photo of you with a polarizing politician, take it down for the duration of the open house.

Some real-estate agents recommend going as far as getting rid of anything personal — from family photos to drawings on the fridge — and say that a blank slate helps potential buyers picture themselves in the house.

Other agents take the opposite view.

"People are buying a house, and they want to live in it and they want to know that human beings have lived in it," Combs says. "I think it connects with them."

Either way, close all the toilet lids and get rid of those fuzzy or carpeted lid covers, Pratt says. The covers are dated, and "no one ever wants to look in your toilet bowl," she says.

Also consider removing area rugs in favor of bare floors, Pratt says.

"You want buyers to see the floors," she says. "It gives them a feeling of space that's not chopped up."

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6. Leave — and take your pets with you

If you have an agent, there's no reason for you to attend your own open house. So grab the pets and get out of the way. Buyers must picture themselves in the house. That's more difficult if you're around.

"Rarely does it work out for the buyers and sellers to meet in advance," Pratt says. From a practical standpoint, "when buyers are walking through an open house, they want some anonymity. And with the homeowners there, they can't speak freely. And they can't speak to each other."

Collect all your pets' ancillary items, such as food bowls and litter boxes. If you can't take the items with you, make sure they are pristine, Pratt says. While showing a 6,000-square-foot house, a soiled litter box in an out-of-the-way corner of a distant spare room caused one pair of potential buyers to write off an otherwise-spotless house because it "smelled like cat pee," she says.

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7. Be security-conscious

You're letting total strangers walk through your home. You're allowed to set a few ground rules before the big day. A few to consider:

Everyone signs in and shows a driver's license, says Patricia Szot, president of the MetroTex Association of Realtors and owner of Keller Williams Realty/Lake Cities at Firewheel in the Dallas area. Skip the ID, and you run the risk of a fake name and identification number.

No one uses the bathrooms. It's an open house, not a gas station, Szot says. With an open house, you never want a closed door between you and a stranger in your home, she says.

There's nothing in the medicine cabinets worth taking. Pharmaceutical theft is a hot crime at some open houses, Combs says. Dispose of anything you're not using and take the rest with you or lock it up.

Valuables are secured. Lock up anything that might tempt sticky fingers: cash, jewelry, credit cards, bills, liquor, valuable tchotchkes and personal electronics.

Guests always have a chaperone. Have whoever is manning the tour work in pairs or as a team to be certain that guests will have an escort as they view the house, Szot says.

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8. Choose an 'off' hour

Most open houses are Saturday, or more often Sunday, from 1 to 3 p.m. or from 2 to 4 p.m., Szot says.

"I highly recommend doing it from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.," she says.

Not only do you have less open-house competition at that time, but you also draw attention to your house. Chances are buyers will hit several open houses the same day. At the beginning, "they are excited about all the houses they're going to tour, Szot says. "They fly through them eager to see the next one."

But at the end of the day, if they're still looking, she says, you'll get serious consideration.

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