Property Open Days. Sellers Can Sell or Let Quickly Says Lawrenson of LettingFocus
Want to sell fast?
One thing you can try is to have an open day when you get would be buyers or prospective tenants round.
Keeping a house tidy for viewings by potential buyers can be a real pain.
Washing up, putting away toys, chucking old papers and anything else that detracts from having the house looking like a show home just has to be done.
And if you are doing viewing on a let property where the old tenants are still in situ, keeping a place tidy can be a real pain for your tenants too.
Most landlords don’t want to be bothering their tenants every evening and whilst some tenants may be kind and make an effort to tidy up the first night, they are under no obligation and after a few evenings will probably come to see the effort as being just too much.
House Open Days
Therefore there is a lot to be said for having an open house day where potential tenants or buyers can come round altogether.
The open day is actually an “open hour” (or two hours for bigger houses) and they usually take place on a Saturday with the big advantage being the sense of competition between the viewers that is engendered.
With an open viewing you can really make the effort to have the property looking at its very best as it will be seen by a number of interested parties.
You can offer viewers some wine and nibbles and try to give them a sense of the lifestyle that they will be buying or renting into.
Open Day Success Depends Upon Level of Demand
Of course, it helps if the property is a good one and reasonably desirable. Also, it helps if the market is buoyant and there is lots of demand from would be purchasers or tenants.
If parking is a problem, an open day may not be a good idea.
Always make sure that prospective viewers know where they can and cannot park as you don’t want to fall out with the neighbours. If getting there by public transport is possible, have a sheet prepared and email this to them with the journey options and times.
If your existing tenants are still in situ agree the open hour time with them. They may want to be out of the house at the time which is fine, but if you want to move things around to better present the property, ask them first.
Having less people around can in itself help to “de-clutter” the house and give an added sense of space.
However, if there are just one or two tenants and they can be relied upon to rave about the house, then it may help if they are around and viewers will appreciate the possibility of asking them questions about the property and the local area; questions that you may well struggle to answer.
Don’t do the open house too early if you have tenants in situ. Some tenants can struggle to get up on a Saturday and their best intentions of tidying up and clearing away the old pizza may fade in the bright light of the morning.
"Open Day" Security Issues
All prospective viewers should be checked out. Don’t feel guilty about asking for a land line number and always call them back to confirm the viewing. Don’t let people wander out of sight. Follow around discreetly (which means if you have a busy open house you may want a few people to help you)
All valuables should be put away out of sight, just in case.
Ideally, space the viewings about 15 to 30 minutes apart as you don’t want too many people at once – just enough to create a sense of demand and competition.
ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM
LettingFocus.com are the experts on landlord issues and I’m David Lawrenson, the author of “Successful Property Letting” – which has been the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
We aim to help landlords and property investors make money in property by coaching them in ways that work, that are ethical and which involve minimal risk.
I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years.
At LettingFocus we offer independent unbiased buy to let advice for property buyers and landlords both on a one to one mentoring and coaching basis as well as through occasional group seminars.
Property syndicates and property advice in the UK is still largely unregulated and “advice” is more often more about making the promoter money than giving useful information
With no link to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers, at LettingFocus, we aim to give unbiased independent advice on where and what type of property to buy for investment, when to buy and how to buy property at a low price.
We also show you how to manage tenants properly and in ways that take up as little of your time as possible.
CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AT OUR SITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:
THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investing Seminar and Networking Event
We have GREAT OFFERS on a range of products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
For general info on our SEMINARS AND CONSULTING click here: Property Seminars, Networking Evenings and Consulting
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTING click here: Property Mentoring
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS from past customers click here: Testimonials
BUY THE BOOK click here: Buy the Book at Amazon
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!
IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR OUR WEBSITE?
Selling services to landlords and property investors and have a national coverage? You could be a partner, please get in touch!
Copyright Lawrenson 2007
One thing you can try is to have an open day when you get would be buyers or prospective tenants round.
Keeping a house tidy for viewings by potential buyers can be a real pain.
Washing up, putting away toys, chucking old papers and anything else that detracts from having the house looking like a show home just has to be done.
And if you are doing viewing on a let property where the old tenants are still in situ, keeping a place tidy can be a real pain for your tenants too.
Most landlords don’t want to be bothering their tenants every evening and whilst some tenants may be kind and make an effort to tidy up the first night, they are under no obligation and after a few evenings will probably come to see the effort as being just too much.
House Open Days
Therefore there is a lot to be said for having an open house day where potential tenants or buyers can come round altogether.
The open day is actually an “open hour” (or two hours for bigger houses) and they usually take place on a Saturday with the big advantage being the sense of competition between the viewers that is engendered.
With an open viewing you can really make the effort to have the property looking at its very best as it will be seen by a number of interested parties.
You can offer viewers some wine and nibbles and try to give them a sense of the lifestyle that they will be buying or renting into.
Open Day Success Depends Upon Level of Demand
Of course, it helps if the property is a good one and reasonably desirable. Also, it helps if the market is buoyant and there is lots of demand from would be purchasers or tenants.
If parking is a problem, an open day may not be a good idea.
Always make sure that prospective viewers know where they can and cannot park as you don’t want to fall out with the neighbours. If getting there by public transport is possible, have a sheet prepared and email this to them with the journey options and times.
If your existing tenants are still in situ agree the open hour time with them. They may want to be out of the house at the time which is fine, but if you want to move things around to better present the property, ask them first.
Having less people around can in itself help to “de-clutter” the house and give an added sense of space.
However, if there are just one or two tenants and they can be relied upon to rave about the house, then it may help if they are around and viewers will appreciate the possibility of asking them questions about the property and the local area; questions that you may well struggle to answer.
Don’t do the open house too early if you have tenants in situ. Some tenants can struggle to get up on a Saturday and their best intentions of tidying up and clearing away the old pizza may fade in the bright light of the morning.
"Open Day" Security Issues
All prospective viewers should be checked out. Don’t feel guilty about asking for a land line number and always call them back to confirm the viewing. Don’t let people wander out of sight. Follow around discreetly (which means if you have a busy open house you may want a few people to help you)
All valuables should be put away out of sight, just in case.
Ideally, space the viewings about 15 to 30 minutes apart as you don’t want too many people at once – just enough to create a sense of demand and competition.
ABOUT LETTINGFOCUS.COM
LettingFocus.com are the experts on landlord issues and I’m David Lawrenson, the author of “Successful Property Letting” – which has been the UK’s top selling property and buy to let book for the last 3 years.
We aim to help landlords and property investors make money in property by coaching them in ways that work, that are ethical and which involve minimal risk.
I have been a landlord and property investor myself for over 25 years.
At LettingFocus we offer independent unbiased buy to let advice for property buyers and landlords both on a one to one mentoring and coaching basis as well as through occasional group seminars.
Property syndicates and property advice in the UK is still largely unregulated and “advice” is more often more about making the promoter money than giving useful information
With no link to property firms, developers or bridging loan providers, at LettingFocus, we aim to give unbiased independent advice on where and what type of property to buy for investment, when to buy and how to buy property at a low price.
We also show you how to manage tenants properly and in ways that take up as little of your time as possible.
CHECK OUT THESE PAGES AT OUR SITE LETTINGFOCUS.COM:
THE HOME PAGE OF THIS BLOG click here: Blog
THE HOME PAGE OF OUR MAIN SITE click here: LettingFocus Home Page
NEXT SEMINAR AND NETWORKING EVENT for Landlords and Property Investors:
Next Property Investing Seminar and Networking Event
We have GREAT OFFERS on a range of products for landlords too; click here including landlords insurance, tenant referencing, tenancy agreements and more: Services and Products for Landlords
For general info on our SEMINARS AND CONSULTING click here: Property Seminars, Networking Evenings and Consulting
ONE TO ONE PRIVATE CONSULTING click here: Property Mentoring
CLIENT TESTIMONIALS from past customers click here: Testimonials
BUY THE BOOK click here: Buy the Book at Amazon
To JOIN our Free QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER simply send an email to david@LettingFocus.com - Please note we WILL NOT send spam or sell our mailing list to advertisers!
IF YOU HAVE A SITE WHY NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG OR OUR WEBSITE?
Selling services to landlords and property investors and have a national coverage? You could be a partner, please get in touch!
Copyright Lawrenson 2007
Labels: House Open Days, Open days, Open House Days, Selling Houses Fast
This entry was posted by lettingfocus, on
Tuesday, July 17, 2007.
