An open house represents a valuable opportunity for a home seller. If a seller plans ahead for an open house, he or she may boost the likelihood of hosting an unforgettable event that showcases the full beauty of a residence. As a result, this seller may receive multiple offers on his or her home as soon as the open house reaches its conclusion.
Believe it or not, preparing for an open house can be easy. Now, let's take a look at three tips to help a home seller get ready for an open house.
1. Perform Extensive Cleaning
A neat, tidy home is ideal, particularly for a home seller who wants to enjoy a fast, profitable home selling experience. Thus, if you allocate the necessary time and resources to clean your residence now, you may be better equipped than ever before to host a successful open house.
To clean your home's interior, you'll want to take a room-by-room approach. Wipe down each room's walls, mop or vacuum the floors and remove any debris.
Moreover, you should spend some time mowing the front lawn, trimming the hedges and performing assorted home exterior maintenance. And if you need extra help along the way, don't hesitate to reach out to a professional landscaping company, either.
2. Declutter As Much As Possible
Clutter can make it tough for a homebuyer to envision what life may be like if he or she buys your residence. Therefore, you'll want to remove as much clutter as possible prior to an open house.
Oftentimes, it helps to rent a storage unit where you can store assorted clutter until you finalize a home sale. A storage unit generally provides a safe and affordable option for home sellers who want to safeguard various belongings over the course of several weeks or months.
On the other hand, it may be beneficial to sell excess items online or host a yard sale. Because if you can sell items that you no longer need, you can declutter your home and earn extra cash at the same time.
3. Collaborate with a Real Estate Agent
Hosting an open house may prove to be challenging, particularly for those who are trying to work alone. Fortunately, real estate agents are available who can help you take the guesswork out of getting ready for any open house, at any time.
A real estate agent is happy to provide comprehensive support at each stage of the home selling journey. As such, he or she will help you enhance your home and ensure it is open house-ready.
Usually, a real estate agent will offer personalized recommendations to help you prep your residence for an open house. This housing market professional also will promote your open house in the weeks and days leading up to the event. And when the open house ends, a real estate agent can provide honest, unbiased event feedback as well.
Host a successful open house – use the aforementioned tips, and you should have no trouble achieving the best-possible results during an open house.
Garden edging is an important element of landscaping design that serves many purposes. There are a variety of different materials and techniques for edging, ranging from professional installation to DIY weekend projects. If you’re wondering whether to add garden edging to your outdoor spaces, here are some key benefits to consider:
The obvious visual aspect of garden edging is that it creates a divider between two pieces of the yard. You can use either straight or curved lines to surround flower beds, trees, vegetable gardens and lawns and set them apart from the rest of the space. Not only does this look aesthetically pleasing, it will help you establish traffic flow and set limits.
For example, if you want to avoid damage to your lawn or flowers, defining the edges of pathways will send a more obvious message. Clearly defining what is safe to walk on and what is not will help keep your garden healthy and tidy.
Edging provides some excellent benefits from a pure gardening standpoint as well. If properly installed, garden edging will extend below and above the soil line to create a solid barrier. This barrier can keep away many pests that could harm your plants, and will also keep spreading plants from growing out of control. You can also prevent the spread of weeds with garden edging, keeping your flowers, gardens and lawns free of uninvited guests.
Depending on the material and size of the garden edge you create, you can even discourage larger animals like dogs, cats and deer from trampling your flowers and veggies. This will help prevent cross contamination between different garden beds as well.
While it takes some work to install, garden edging will help you with long term landscaping maintenance. Trimming the edges of the lawn is easier when you have a solid line to guide you and you’ll avoid spreading grass into the flower beds that you’d need to clean up later. Any plants around the edges of the garden are a lot less likely to be damaged by mowing, weeding or general yard traffic which means you won’t have to replace them as often. This, combined with the bonus of keeping pests and weeds away, means more time for you to spend on other things.
Garden edging can be just as visually pleasing as practical. With the many materials and techniques available for edging, you can create a beautiful aesthetic and benefit your plants. Some edging can create contrast by drawing bold lines between parts of your lawn, while others can stay neutral. Neutral-colored edging will give colorful flowers and foliage a perfect backdrop to stand out against. Not to mention, in protecting your lawn, pathways and garden beds from damage and pests you’ll be improving the look of your entire yard.
Garden edging can be incredibly beneficial to a landscape. Along with the visual appeal it’s also helpful in maintaining a successful garden. With the wide variety of edging materials available, you’re sure to find something that will fit your aesthetic and practical needs.
Tackling projects around the house allows you to boost your skills, saves you money and ensures your home stays in peak condition -- usually. While DIY projects can be safe, successful and rewarding, there are some instances where you're better off leaving the work to a pro. From jobs that are dangerous to those that require specialty tools for success, the following projects can turn your DIY dreams into nightmares:
Don't DIY these Home Projects:
Both of these tasks take place off the ground and pose a significant risk of injury, even to those who have experience and are working with full teams. Taking down a large tree puts you and your home in jeopardy, while roof work is one of the leading causes of injuries for construction workers. Avoid these high-risk jobs and hire a pro with the equipment to work safely and well, even off the ground.
Most of us can swap out a light bulb or the fixture it belongs in, but more extensive and complicated repairs and upgrades require a pro. In some larger projects, you'll need to have the work approved and ensure that it is up to code (particularly true if you are repairing or readying a rental property). In others, the risk of injuring yourself is just too great. Even if you avoid injury, a single mistake in your work can lead to a fire hazard and put your home and family at risk. If you need specialized tools, have a job that requires a full inspection or that could result in a fire hazard, leave the work to a professional.
You may be able to scrape away that mold, remove smoke odors or strip the lead paint in your home, but it is generally a bad idea. Any project that exposes you or your home to environmental hazards needs to be done by a pro. You could injure yourself during the process -- and even if you escape injury, you could end up missing part of the pieces you intend to remove. In this case, you'll actually increase your family's exposure to dangerous mold, lead or asbestos. Leave these hazards to a pro for your own safety and well-being.
Skip these projects and use your time, talent and tools to tackle just about anything else around the house -- you'll stay safe, save money and get the results you want. too.
