Selling your home
is an exciting journey, and hosting an open house is your chance to dazzle
potential buyers! By inviting numerous prospective homeowners all at once, you
create a vibrant showcase of your property. If you're selling in the St. Louis
or St. Charles County, Missouri area, follow these ten essential open house
etiquette rules to ensure your event is a success and leaves a lasting
impression.
1. Clean and Declutter
Since the condition of your home is a place that your participation has the most effect, you’ll want to make your home look its very best by cleaning and decluttering. This includes paint touch ups, organizing, making room in the closets and cabinets to make them look spacious, removing extra furniture and collectibles to make the rooms feel larger, and other projects. For a complete list of projects to prepare your home to sell, read our blog Preparing a Home to Sell.
2. Stage
Staging a home to sell goes beyond cleaning and decluttering, it is looking at the home through the eyes of potential buyers and setting up the home to most appeal to them. This may mean repainting dark-colored walls to neutral colors, moving furniture placements, and removing personal items and photos that keep potential buyers from envisioning themselves living in the home.
Although in most cases
staging is extremely advantageous, selling a vacant home is not always a
problem. Often the design, finishes and architecture are sufficient to
demonstrate the home in its best light. For more advice on staging check out
our article Advice
From Award Winning Home Stagers or bring in an experienced real estate
agent to give you advice on what buyers are looking for.
3. Get the First Impression Right
Don’t forget to clean and declutter the outside of your home and landscaping as well. Cut the grass, trim the shrubs, touch up any paint and put away any toys or yard maintenance items. This will create nice curb appeal and give potential homebuyers a good first impression of your home.
4. Use Light
Brighten up your home with lots of light. Remember to replace any burned-out light bulbs, use light bulbs with the same warmth in each room, clean the windows, and open the curtains and blinds. Light makes the home appear larger and lighter. Read Enhance Your Home With Lighting for more extensive tips on lighting a home.
5. Smell Test
One of the first things potential buyers will notice is if a home has a smell. Check your home for any lingering odors. This can be difficult because we often become nose-blind to the scents in our home. We recommend having a trusted friend visit and tell you if they notice any smells. For more great info on home smells and how to get rid of them, check out our blog How to Remove Home Smells.
6. Temporarily Remove Pets
We understand that pets are part of the family. However not all homebuyers are pet owners, and some may even have a fear of certain pets. Show potential homebuyers that you respect their desire to inspect your home without pet interruptions. Also, your pet may be able to avoid any stress from the open house by removing them from the property during the event.
7. Secure Valuables and Medications
Though a real estate agent is present to show potential homebuyers your home during an open house, it is not always possible to keep track of multiple people viewing the home at once. A good rule of thumb is to secure valuables and medications in a safe place or off the property during open houses and home showings.
8. Park Somewhere Else
When hosting an open house for potential homebuyers, park your car somewhere other than the driveway or garage. This will provide a more spacious view of the garage and allow visitors to use the driveway, just as they would if they one day owned the home. It’s a great way to set the stage to make them feel at home.
9. Let the Agent Host
Potential homebuyers will be more open about their thoughts on a home they’re viewing if they are viewing with an impartial third party. By letting your agent host the open house you can get valuable feedback that divulges the true thoughts and feelings of those viewing the home. Then you can use that information to make any improvements to create a more positive impression for future homebuyers viewing the home.
10. Be Patient Waiting for Feedback
Your real estate agent may need up to 48 hours to gather all notes and feedback from the open house. Why so long? The agent hosting the open house may have follow-up to do with homebuyers who saw the home, particularly if homebuyers had specific questions the agent couldn’t answer at the time of the open house. The agent will then get back to the potential homebuyers with the answers and may be able to get even more information from those potential buyers. So be patient. Your agent is working hard to make sure they can give you a full report.
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Is moving on your mind? If you are thinking of selling a home in St. Charles or the anywhere in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area, be sure to interview The Boehmer Team. We would be honored to prove our experience and expertise in person. Or you can learn more about The Boehmer Team at www.TheBoehmerTeam.com.
Originally Posted 4/12/2018 - Updated 5/27/2026
