Your Tips To Preparing Your Home For Open House: A helpful blog about steps to take when showing you

Your next open house is tomorrow and you're suddenly feeling like you should have done more. Don't be discouraged! There are plenty of last minute tips that can help make your home look great for potential buyers.

While showing your home to prospective buyers, it's important to remember that you want to showcase and highlight some of your special features. These could include lighting, flooring, paint colors and trim. You should also take into account how the outside of your home looks as well as the inside. If there is a messy yard or cobwebs around the windows, it could have an impact on your asking price so you will want to make sure those type of details are in order before an open house. While showing your home during an open house is something you can't easily control (not to mention no one wants to clean their entire house or fix all the problems in their yard just for the open house), there are a few steps you can take when preparing your home for buyers. Here are some helpful tips to get you started!

When you're getting ready for an open house, it's important to make sure that your home is in tip-top shape. Not only will this help your property sell faster, but it'll also give potential buyers a good impression of how much effort you put into preparing the house for sale.

De-personalize your rooms and your spaces.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when preparing their homes for an open house is adding too much personalization. This includes everything from artwork, bookshelves and knickknacks to furniture and rugs. While these items may make the room more comfortable for you, they can actually take away from the overall appearance of your home when trying to sell it. Remove as many personal items as possible so that buyers can envision their own things in those spots instead.

The most important step to preparing your home for an open house is decluttering.

This seems obvious, but it's not just about having a good vacuum and wiping down the counters. It's about making sure that everything in your house is organized so that buyers can envision themselves living there — and that they won't be distracted by clutter.

- Get rid of stuff you don't need or use. If you're not using it, get rid of it! Don't let things collect dust in your attic or garage; it's time to let them go!

- Organize remaining items into categories on shelves or in boxes so they're easy to find when needed.

- Go through closets and drawers and throw out anything that doesn't fit anymore (or never did).

- Make sure all surfaces are clear of papers and other items that could be distracting during an open house — even artwork should be moved aside if possible!

Give it a professional clean.

Your house should be spotless when people stop by to take a look at it, but try not to do too much cleaning yourself. You'll want to hire a professional cleaning service or use an affordable tool like Merry Maids Home Cleaning to give it the deep clean it needs, but don't overdo it on your own. You don't want to ruin the carpet or paint with chemicals, so leave that part up to the experts.

Repair anything and everything that's not in good condition.

Fixing anything and everything that's not in good condition. If you have peeling paint, fix it immediately. If there's water damage on the ceiling, have it fixed before the open house so buyers don't wonder what caused it. If there are cracks in the wall, fix those too.

Check for odors, and get rid of them

People who are considering buying a home are likely to do an inspection first, so make sure to remove any lingering scents that might make buyers think twice about moving in. Consider using air fresheners or candles to mask smells or make them seem less noticeable.

If there's anything you take away from this blog it should be that preparing a home for an open house is not all that difficult. In fact, simply cleaning the house and getting rid of clutter can go a long way in creating the impression that your home is clean and well-maintained. After all, there's nothing wrong with presenting your home to its best advantage. What you need to remember is that an open house is a stressful time for sellers as much as it is for buyers, so try to stay relaxed and keep things in perspective. Remember that nothing bad can come out of giving people an opportunity to see what your home has to offer.