Mention the words “open house” to a real estate agent and many of them will cringe immediately. Agents just don’t enjoy doing open houses, for a variety of reasons that I won’t jump into here. Making a home stand out during an open house in someones mind may be the difference between a house that sits on the market and a house that draws an offer. Try these 5 quick tips to bring out the “warm and cozy” feelings in people as they walk through your listing:
- Make sure the house is temperature appropriate. You don’t want a sauna or ice box, but having the home at an appropriate temperature depending on the season will help people feel at home.
- Lights should be turned on throughout the home, and when possible the window treatments should be open allowing natural sunlight in.
- Remove pets from the house for the day. This reduces the chance of an animal bite, or having to shut off part of the house from viewing because that’s where the pets are.
- A plate of cookies never hurts!
- And since you have a plate of cookies, you should have feedback cards near by. People are more likely to fill out a feedback card if you are offering a free snack. Use these feedback cards to obtain new leads, and make sure you follow up quickly!
Before you jump in to real estate investing, it’s a good idea to take some time to put together your real estate “Dream Team”. These are the professionals that you will reference when it comes to buying, selling, researching, and handling day to day operations of your investments. Having a strong team behind you will help ensure your success throughout your time as a real estate investor.
(This post is part of our “Landlord Basics” series, which seeks to help the new landlord / investor understand some of the basics of tenant relations and property management. Click 
I decided I needed a break from the real estate writing for a day, so I’m posting my baked mac and cheese recipe. I modified a recipe that I found online at Food Net*work, to better suit my needs. This yields 8 servings, easily, and probably more if you are serving it as a side dish along with something else.
