Don't Burn the Toast!

My first Open House was a success! For Utah County standards at least. That means that people actually showed up, lol. But I'm not joking, it's normal to have a no show open house here, but if you are well prepared and vigilant about them, people may actually show up and I'm so glad they did for mine. There was even one couple who was very interested in buying the house. That was a plus.

However, let me tell you about some of the OMG moments that I will remedy the next time (this weekend).

1- Always bring extra shoes/socks: While pounding my little Open  House signs in the ground, I broke my shoe. And since lopsided walking is worse than bare feet, because there is only a 50/50 chance people will notice your fugly little toes with half the paint chipping off, then it's a good idea to just go barefoot and act normal and professional. Just pretend that you are one of those patchouli smelly hippies that prefers to feel mother nature's vibrations under your feet to keep you in tune with all of Earth's creations, before you slaughter them and put them in between a bun, of course. As far as bringing socks, the home owners didn't want people to wear shoes in their house anyway, so it almost worked out. If not for the frigid temperature the owners liked to keep their home at, leaving the floor feeling like a sidewalk on a chilly spring morning....brrrr. So, next time, I will keep a pair of fuzzy, yet warm house socks in my open house kit. If I ever have the energy & time to actually make an open house kit that is, warm socks will be there. 

2- Market to the RIGHT  people so you spend less time & energy: I did a good job by making flyers and knocking doors in the neighborhood of the open house, however, I forgot to hand the flyers out to the people who have the biggest influence over the real estate market. That would be other agents...duh! I'm in a room & office full of real estate agents and brokers everyday and yet I failed to mention it or even give a flyer to any of them. Finger & thumb in the shape of an L on my forehead, for sure! Oh, and make sure you put the date and time on the flyer as well. Using a blue pen as an after thought does not look very professional.

3- Bring the Noise. One word...awkward. For the normal, nice couples, a silent house is no big deal. They have no problem signing your little sign-in sheet or answering buying or selling questions. But then, there's the weird couple. The ones who act like timid deer caught in a car's headlights when you ask them a simple question like, "so are you working with an agent?" I'm pretty sure the scared little couple was crying of fright on the inside. I would have offered them a cookie, but I thought so much hospitality might break their fragile little bones. So, next open house, I think I'm going to bring a little radio and some happy tunes. It's like they say, "If there is no silence, there can be no awkward silence." Okay that was dumb. I made it up.

4- The last thing is to be professionally prepared. Know the answers to questions the guests might ask you, like who is the builder of the home, do the appliances come with the home, and where's the bathroom? Yeah, that stuff helps. Don't do what I did and stress about it for days but not prepare myself with the information so I spent half of my time reading the How to Have a Successful Open House manual while sitting at the open house. I guess what it really comes down to is preparation. Just freakin' be prepared.

So what does "Don't Burn the Toast" mean? Pretty much what it sounds like. It's just having common sense. If you want successful toast, do the right things, set it to the right temperature and don't burn it.