Open House / Check List

Open House

Guide

Open House / Check List

Interior Exterior Secure valuables

Tech devices, prescription drugs,

weapons, bills, keys, etc

Clean/Declutter Counters

Put away personal items

Organize/ Clean Refrigerator

Remove magnets from exterior

Set thermostat at a reasonable temperature

Empty trash

Minimize family photos

Clean bathroom(s) -

Toilet seat down, clean mirrors, bathtub, sink

Turn on soft music

Turn on all of the lights

Put out snacks and water

Put toys away

Check and replace any burnt out lightbulbs

Secure pet items —

Clean litter box

Hide feeding bowls, litter box, beds, etc

Scent

Bake cookies, light a candle, etc

Mow the lown

Trim back over ground shrubbery

Mulch

Paint shutters

Weed gardens

Address the trim

Fix walkways

Clean exterior windows

Power wash exterior

Clear pathways to and from the house

How & Where to advertise ?

Add the open house date and time on these websites

1. Mris

2. Crest—through 21online

3. Agent Marketing

4. Zillow

5. Trulia

Social media

1. Promote the open house in Facebook ( let your client share it )

2. Linkedin

3. Twitter

Old fashioned advertisement

1. Open Sign / Balloons

2. Flyers

3. Email agents open house flyer

4. Postcards

Agent Marketing

Press on Property—Properties

Click on the tool icon for the right property

Press on the open house dates

Add the date and the time

1.

2.

3.

4.

Trulia

Press on Sign-in

Press on the the Are you a Real Estate Profes-sional? Register here.

Fill in the info and sign up

If your listing isn't here press on add listing

After your listing is attached to your account

click on the open house None scheduled to

add date and time.

1.

2.

3.

4.

21online/ crest

Log-in to your 21online account

Click on crest Listing Management

Press on quick update listing

Find your property

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Add the date and time for the open house

Facebook / Linkedin / Twitter

Log-in to your Agent Marketing account

Press on Property -> Properties

Press on quick update listing

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Add the date and time for the open house

Click on the tool icon for the right property

Press on the HTML, Website Links & Sharing

First open another tan and login to your social

media , after that press on the social media you

want your listing to go to.

Facebook / Linkdin / Twitter

Add OPEN HOUSE DATE & TIME

And press post on FACEBOOK

6.

Create a property website.

Most people when they visit an open house, are pulling out their mobile phone to take more photos of the

house to remember / evaluate it later in the day or a day or two later. In addition, buyers usually end up visit-

ing 3 to 5 house in the same day, so how do they remember your house versus the other ones they saw?

A good marketing strategy is to create a property website where you already have photos of every room in the

house from multiple angles, as well as close up photos of all the interior and exterior features of the home.

Once you have this, then provide a simple flyer with a QR code / short url link as an easy way for visitors to

the open house to see all the photos, especially after the leave the house.

Advertise your open house on Facebook.

Open Houses: We’ve had great success promoting open houses on social media for our clients. Typically, we

include 4-6 photos of the home in a boosted Facebook post, which links to a landing page where visitors can

see a little bit more about the home, and fill out a contact sheet to be notified when the open house is taking

place. This is a great way for real estate agents to generate leads for themselves, as well as draw attention to

the open house they’re promoting.

Team up with other agents.

Talk to other agents with listings in the area and coordinate a “neighborhood open house weekend.” Having

multiple homes in the area held open will attract more traffic, and you can all take advantage of each others’

marketing efforts. Try something fun like creating a “punch card” or “open house bingo” where visitors get a

stamp at each house they visit and can turn it in at the end for a gift card or prize drawing.

Make sure you give attendees these 3 handouts.

Mortgage Loan Breakdown – Helps prospects understand the potential costs of financing the property.

Glossary of Home Ownership/Mortgage Terms – A single sheet of key terms and phrases can be extremely

helpful to both first-time buyers and move-up buyers who haven’t purchased a home in a while.

Neighborhood Information – Note local schools, grocery stores or restaurants and the “walk score” of the

home. And don’t forget today’s buyer concerns such as the best cell phone carrier/coverage for the area (very

important in hilly, mountainous and coastal areas).

Real Estate Open House Ideas

Come prepared with the right information. Here are some of the ideas from members of our team:

Know homes for sale, builders, and floorplans of the whole area around your open house. The people who

come into your open house may have no interest in that home in particular, but you can still be valuable to

them by knowing what is available and helping them to find the best home for them. For residents of that com-

munity, knowing the nearby builders and floorplans will allow you to talk to them with a degree of expertise,

potentially lending more of an idea to them of what THEIR home could be worth.

Collect email addresses to keep interested lookers informed about future open houses.

Collect email addresses the moment people show up. Do not bother them with advertisement, but have photos

sent to their email addresses immediately after they view the house. This will keep the property on their mind,

and expose them to things they may have not seen/noticed (ideally nice things).

List in the correct radius.

In order to have a productive open house, you have to invest time and effort–which is the same thing as mon-

ey. Before you commit yourself to such an investment, make sure that the property you want to hold open has

what it takes. Here are the five things you need:

Make sure it is priced right. Any neighbors who visit your open house probably have some idea of selling, or

at least refinancing, in the not too distant future.

Create good traffic flow with directional signs off a main thoroughfare. It doesn’t make sense to hold an open

house when no one can find it.

List within your service area. Don’t drive forty miles to hold an open house.

The sellers must be gone. Buyers only go to open houses to avoid contact with either owners or salespeople

who are too pushy.

Stage the home. The sellers must know that the house must be impeccably clean for starters.

Don’t forget about good, old-fashioned advertisement.

Regarding promoting the home for sale, I run several different ads in both local prints as well as out of area. I

promote via the web on several different websites. Open houses I often run an ad in the local newspaper,

which is also on the website. Along with that I put on other websites such as Zillow, Trulia and much more. I

put out several open house signs to direct prospective buyers to the house to view.

PROPERTY EVALUATION

First Impression from the outside

Low 1 2 3 4 5 High

First Impression when you entered

Low 1 2 3 4 5 High

Features you like-

Items you don’t like-

In your opinion, does the price seem fair?

Can you see yourself living here?

May I offer some recommendations for lenders?

If this is not the right house for you, please describe the right house.

ATTENTION PROSPECTIVE PURCHASERS

PLEASE READ THIS SIGN CAREFULLY

This is to advise you that the agent who is conducting this

Open House REPRESENTS THE SELLER(S) AND IS

REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROMOTE THE INTERESTS

OF THE SELLER(S).

ANY INFORMATION YOU GIVE THIS AGENT IS NOT

CONSIDERED CONFIDENTIAL under the Maryland Real

Estate Brokers Act and could be disclosed to the seller of

this property.

You, as a Buyer, are entitled to have someone represent you

as a Buyer’s Agent if you are interested in this property. The

duties of a buyer’s agent include helping you to evaluate the

property, prepare an offer on the property, and negotiate in

your best interests.

10/1/2016

PHONE: 410-230-6200 • EMAIL: dlmrec-dllr@maryland.gov • INTERNET: www.dllr.maryland.gov

LARRY HOGAN, GOVERNOR • BOYD K. RUTHERFORD, LT. GOVERNOR • KELLY M. SCHULZ, SECRETARY

MARYLAND REAL ESTATE COMMISSION

500 North Calvert Street

3rd Floor

Baltimore, MD 21202