6 Easy Ways You Can Make Your Open House a Success!
Every now and then a member of my Real Estate Group asks this question: Is doing an open house more profitable when you do it as a licensed Realtor? I do open houses both as a Realtor, and as an investor in states where I don't hold a license and my answer is: I do both types the same way, no changes, and I always get traffic! First, you must plan your open house at least 5 weeks in advance.
This is not the time to do spur-of-the-moment things hoping for traffic.
You must plan in order to generate traffic.
I always do the following before I even schedule the date.
Here are 6 things I ALWAYS include to make my Open House work: ï,® If your house is listed ask your realtor to supply you with the names and complete addresses (including e-mail and phone numbers) for all the realtors who have sold at least one home in your zip code or within 3 miles of your property (if the neighborhoods are similar).
Then ask your realtor to break down the list to find agents who have sold 2 or more homes.
Don't worry, in most cases it is not more than 10 to 15% of list.
My recent list had 235 realtors and only 28 had sold more than 2 homes.
I know what you're thinking: I'm not a Realtor and don't have access to the MLS.
I am licensed in Georgia only, but have property in 6 States.
If you have your properties listed your realtor can supply the info.
If you're selling them yourself just ask a Realtor to get the information for you.
When I do it this way I pay $ 10.
00 per hour.
It takes about 8 to 10 hours depending on the size of your area and number of sales.
This will be a very targeted list as all names will have sold homes in your area.
And if you have ever bought a list from a names broker you'll know this is a low price.
After I have the names I sort them into in two groups (2 sales, more than 2 sales).
Then I do the following: The large list I send to Handy Mailing she handles most of my printing and mailing needs).
I also send her the flyer I had made for my property.
She prints and sends them to the names on the list so they arrive about 7 to 10 days before the open house.
Then I have my web guru (Steve Tickner upload all the e-mail addresses into my web server.
I send them emails at the following times: 2 weeks out; 10 days; 7 days; 5 days; 3 days; day before; and the day of the open house.
I have the Realtor e-mail the flyer to their office and contact lists.
I also upload the flyer to my social networking sites (like Yahoo and Face book) to let everyone know about my open house.
Now for the small list: this is the list of realtors who have multiple sales in your market.
I have a 3 page sales letter I send telling them the reason I'm contacting them is that I know they are among the top sales people in the area and I want them to see my houses and bring me a contract.
I offer the buyer a few bonuses such as $ 2,000 in closing costs and a home warranty.
For the agent I offer them 4% commission and $ 100.
00 gas card.
Along with the letter I have mock checks showing them what the commission would be and a DVD of the house.
(I have a DVD made of each house; cost is $ 99.
00).
The video company I use puts the DVD up on their web site with its own URL, so I go to Go Daddy and buy the domain name for my property.
(The URL's also go on all my E-mails and social media sites).
I send this packet to the top agents so they get it between 7 and 10 days before the open house.
Remember, they are also receiving the Emails as well.
Right before the scheduled date, I call each one of the top Realtors to see if they got the letter and answer any questions they might have.
I personally ask them to please show and sell my home.
Another media type I make use of is the local paper.
Most of the areas I have homes in have a number of papers, and I usually choose 2.
I include the number of bedrooms, baths, address, open house hours and the web site address.
I also buy extra 3 lines on top and 3 extra lines on the bottom and bold the whole add.
This way it's bigger than all the other ads and stands out.
And the final thing I do is put out signs.
I use a combination of hand-written and pre-printed.
I like to use the arrow open house signs that are pre-printed as they stand out better and the 'sign police' leave them alone.
I usually put the signs out late Friday; you need to do what is best for your area.
I also display a 4 x5 banner on the house on Wednesday before the open house date.
These actions and your advance planning will drive traffic to your open houses, whether you are a Realtor or an investor.
This is not the time to do spur-of-the-moment things hoping for traffic.
You must plan in order to generate traffic.
I always do the following before I even schedule the date.
Here are 6 things I ALWAYS include to make my Open House work: ï,® If your house is listed ask your realtor to supply you with the names and complete addresses (including e-mail and phone numbers) for all the realtors who have sold at least one home in your zip code or within 3 miles of your property (if the neighborhoods are similar).
Then ask your realtor to break down the list to find agents who have sold 2 or more homes.
Don't worry, in most cases it is not more than 10 to 15% of list.
My recent list had 235 realtors and only 28 had sold more than 2 homes.
I know what you're thinking: I'm not a Realtor and don't have access to the MLS.
I am licensed in Georgia only, but have property in 6 States.
If you have your properties listed your realtor can supply the info.
If you're selling them yourself just ask a Realtor to get the information for you.
When I do it this way I pay $ 10.
00 per hour.
It takes about 8 to 10 hours depending on the size of your area and number of sales.
This will be a very targeted list as all names will have sold homes in your area.
And if you have ever bought a list from a names broker you'll know this is a low price.
After I have the names I sort them into in two groups (2 sales, more than 2 sales).
Then I do the following: The large list I send to Handy Mailing she handles most of my printing and mailing needs).
I also send her the flyer I had made for my property.
She prints and sends them to the names on the list so they arrive about 7 to 10 days before the open house.
Then I have my web guru (Steve Tickner upload all the e-mail addresses into my web server.
I send them emails at the following times: 2 weeks out; 10 days; 7 days; 5 days; 3 days; day before; and the day of the open house.
I have the Realtor e-mail the flyer to their office and contact lists.
I also upload the flyer to my social networking sites (like Yahoo and Face book) to let everyone know about my open house.
Now for the small list: this is the list of realtors who have multiple sales in your market.
I have a 3 page sales letter I send telling them the reason I'm contacting them is that I know they are among the top sales people in the area and I want them to see my houses and bring me a contract.
I offer the buyer a few bonuses such as $ 2,000 in closing costs and a home warranty.
For the agent I offer them 4% commission and $ 100.
00 gas card.
Along with the letter I have mock checks showing them what the commission would be and a DVD of the house.
(I have a DVD made of each house; cost is $ 99.
00).
The video company I use puts the DVD up on their web site with its own URL, so I go to Go Daddy and buy the domain name for my property.
(The URL's also go on all my E-mails and social media sites).
I send this packet to the top agents so they get it between 7 and 10 days before the open house.
Remember, they are also receiving the Emails as well.
Right before the scheduled date, I call each one of the top Realtors to see if they got the letter and answer any questions they might have.
I personally ask them to please show and sell my home.
Another media type I make use of is the local paper.
Most of the areas I have homes in have a number of papers, and I usually choose 2.
I include the number of bedrooms, baths, address, open house hours and the web site address.
I also buy extra 3 lines on top and 3 extra lines on the bottom and bold the whole add.
This way it's bigger than all the other ads and stands out.
And the final thing I do is put out signs.
I use a combination of hand-written and pre-printed.
I like to use the arrow open house signs that are pre-printed as they stand out better and the 'sign police' leave them alone.
I usually put the signs out late Friday; you need to do what is best for your area.
I also display a 4 x5 banner on the house on Wednesday before the open house date.
These actions and your advance planning will drive traffic to your open houses, whether you are a Realtor or an investor.
