1. Open House
Marlene Cerreta
Cerreta Realty Group

2. The Cerreta Team started holding open houses one year
when our business was slow. It was 2006
and the housing market in Arizona had really taken a nose
dive. There were a record number of
homes on the market, prices were dropping and home
owners did not want to accept what was
happening, At this point in time it was necessary to do
something to find buyers and sellers and
we decided a great open house program was the way to
do it. Holding open houses really
worked for our team. We were able to meet tons of
people by doing this and the program really
brought our business back to life.

3. The Team had been farming a subdivision called
Marshall Ranch for about four years and
consistently had listings in this area. We decided to
start our open house program in this neighborhood.
Not only was it our farm area, it was a great
location for other reasons as well.
Marshall Ranch is located just north of a main
street. One of the main entrance streets is
located right where a huge church has its main
outlet. Another street into Marshall Ranch takes
you to a big local high school. Either of these
entrances would be easy to use with the open
house traffic signs.

4. Our open houses were always very successful in
this area. We were able to meet new clients,
reconnect with old clients and get a lot of
recognition with our sign placements.
We had a full pipeline of potential clients in a
matter of a few weeks. Even though the housing
market was starting what would become a
major correction, the “Open House” still
worked. This is when The Cerreta Team decided
to make open houses a big part of our
prospecting program.

5. Holding an open house makes most of your
client’s happy and it is a great way to meet
potential Buyers and Sellers. Yes, that’s right, I
said Sellers. Many people begin looking for a
home driving through a neighborhood where
they want to live and many of those people have
a home to sell as well. For this reason it is very
important to have your act together and have
enough marketing materials to look impressive.

6. I have visited many open houses and the agents
inside have very different ways of holding homes
open. One was outside smoking, this was a turn off
to me (but probably not to all), one was sitting at
the dining room table where all could be seen as a
customer walked through the door and others
greeted me at the door. All of these are probably
acceptable but you want to give a great first
impression to your potential new clients and so
here is what I recommend.

7. When a person walks through the door, greet them
with a friendly welcome and guide them to a place
where you have all your marketing items set up.
Hand them a clip board that asks them for feedback
on the home and a flyer telling about the home. Tell
them to take a tour of the home and to please stop
by to ask you any questions they may have. Be
overly prepared for any and all questions. Here are
some of the most common questions I have heard
in the past.

8. •What type of AC unit does this home have?
•Has the AC unit ever been replaced?
•How old is the roof?
•What is the name of the neighborhood school?
•Are there churches nearby? Be careful
answering this one, unless you know ALL of the
churches in the area.

9. •Are there any parks in the area?
•How far are we from the nearest freeway?
•What are the home values in this
neighborhood?
•What year was this home built?
•What are the utility bills like in this home?

10. •Are there any similar homes like this for sale in
the area?
•If you don’t want to get all hot and sweaty it is
best if you are prepared to answer these and
other questions about this home and area.

11. PREPARING FOR AN OPEN HOUSE
For Vacant Homes
In this section you will learn how to prepare for
a successful open house event. I LOVE open
houses as does my team of agents here at
Cerreta Realty Group. It’s a great way to meet
the neighbors,( who can become clients in the
future), show that you are the neighborhood
expert and most importantly a good way to sell
the home.

12. When holding a vacant home open, it is necessary
to take a few extra steps before the BIG EVENT!
Since no one is living in the home, sometimes the
home needs a little touch up to make sure it’s in the
perfect condition for showcasing.
I will walk you through the steps we take before
holding a vacant home open. It’s best to do the leg
work prior to the open house so that you can be
prepared for guests on the day of the event.

13. •Drive the neighborhood and decide where to place
directional signs.
•Visit the property you are holding open and make
sure all the specialty yard signs are in place.
•Get your open house tool kit and start your mini
inspection.
•Walk around the exterior of the home and look for
any trash that may have blown into the yard since
its last cleaning.

14. •Walk to the front door to see what it will look like
to prospective buyers – is the porch clean? Does
the front door look inviting or does it need a quick
wipe?
•Walk the entire home to see if any counters,
cabinets or windows need a little sprucing.
•Flush all the toilets and run some water down the
sinks.
•Check flooring to make sure it looks presentable.

15. •Set up your display materials.
•Leave your candle warmer – but don’t plug it in
until you are there to watch it.
•If you have extra time, walk the neighborhood
and leave some flyers on the neighbor’s doors
inviting them to your open house.

16. • Leave knowing that you will have an easy time
the day of the open house – all you have to do
is place your directional signs and welcome
your guests.

17. How to Hold an Open House
Hosting a Successful Open House
When you have a listing that is presentable,
clean from top to bottom, priced correctly and
located in an easy to find area, you can use
these tips to improve the odds of selling your
listing at an open house event.

18. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise
• Newspaper
• Place an ad in the local paper
• online
• Craigslist, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Local MLS if allowed

19. Door Hangers or Flyers
•Have door hangers or flyers made and deliver
door to door in the neighborhood. If you can
chat with a few neighbors this will build your
sphere data base as well. Many times neighbors
know of people looking for homes in their area.

20. Signs
•Put extra yard signs in the yard a few days
before the event.
•Plan out your open house signs. Try to have 10
signs, this will really get your name out there as
the neighborhood expert.

21. •Make sure there are no vehicles in the
driveway and ask neighbors not to park in front
of the home that day.
•Open the drapes, blinds and window coverings
– really let in that natural light.
•Find some kind of candle warmer that smells
like baked cookies and plug it in.
•Have cookies to offer.

22. •Turn on every light in the home, unless they
are attached to a loud fan.
•Turn on soft music to create a relaxing
environment.
•Have color flyers available with all the positive
attributes of the open house.
•Have neighborhood comps available.

23. •Put out flyers that contain financing options so
buyers can see a rough estimate of what the home
will cost them per month.
•Set up an easel with a sign that says Welcome and
maybe offers some of your services.
•Set out all documents pertaining to the home. We
make up a binder with all pertinent information for
easy access to all. Include inspection reports,
appraisal and comps, major repairs, upgrades and
warranties. Blueprints for additions, or future plans
if applicable.

24. •Be upbeat and cheery as you greet each buyer
who enters the home. Find out what the buyers
are looking for and, if possible, show them why
this home fits those requirements.
•And finally, ask for feedback. Use the feedback
form provided.

29. Let’s face it, one of the main goals of an open
house is to gather leads and find warm bodies to
add to a data base. Most buyers are hesitant to
give their contact info for fear they will be
hounded in the months to come. What will
interest the buyer enough for them to give you
that all important contact info? Bottom line, it is
the expertise of the Realtor holding the open
house.

30. Let’s say you are holding a home open that is pre-
market, meaning it is in control of your brokerage
but it is not yet listed. A couple driving around
looking at neighborhoods see your many signs and
feel comfortable enough to stop in to see the home.
When the couple walks in, give them a friendly
greeting, offer them a brochure about the home
and let them look around a bit. Two things will most
likely happen:
1. The couple does not like the home for one reason
or another.
2. The couple falls in love with the home and really
wants it.

31. In the case of number one, you could ask the
couple why they don’t like the home. Whatever
the issue is, have back up homes to offer them.
Don’t just hand them the homes and say “here,
go look at these”. Try to have enough knowledge
of the surrounding area to be able to offer them
a specific home. Say something like, “have you
seen the home at 6533 W Palo Verde Lane? It’s
similar to this one but has (add the feature that
the couple is looking for here). There is also
another nice home at 123 Lovebird Lane that
might meet your needs.

32. If the couple is truly ready to buy, they will be interested
in giving you their name and number so that you can
email the homes to them when you are finished with
your open house.
• In case two you can offer to take their information and
let them know as soon as the home is available or
follow the same procedure you did in case one.
The important message is that you should be very
familiar with the area in which your open house is
located. You should be able to easily converse about the
schools, parks and nearby shopping as well as know
about the homes available in the surrounding area. This
will give you the ability to sound casual and confident and
demonstrate your expertise. This is something that will
inspire visitors to give you their information more readily
than usual.

33. How do you become a neighborhood expert?
The best way to learn about a neighborhood is to
pretend you have a buyer that really wants to move
there. Look on MLS for homes within the price
range of your open house. Depending on how many
homes are available and neighborhood similarities
you may want to search anywhere from a one-five
mile radius around your open house. Select at least
ten homes of interest and go out (yes, actually go
out) and see them. Take copious notes about each
home, neighborhood amenities and nearby
shopping facilities.

34. The more open houses you hold open, the more
of an expert you will become and soon you will
be the “go to” Realtor for all of the buyers you
meet.

35. AN OPEN HOUSE THAT GENERATES LISTINGS
The term public open house just means that you
are holding a home open and giving the general
public the opportunity to tour the home without
an appointment. Of course, you will need to
have a listing to do this or know someone in
your office that will allow you to hold their
listing open. Holding an open house is a great
way to generate listings if done properly

36. Here is the easiest and best way to do it.
Pick a time frame to have the home open, say
from 12-2pm. We have found that the two hour
time frame is sufficient to have a successful
open house. Any more time than this could
result in wasted time and your boredom. If you
hold the open house for two hours, it will allow
you to do as many as three homes per day.

37. You need to generate interest in the open house
and there are multiple plans that you can use to
do this. Most times our office will place an ad in
the newspaper.

38. You will always want to use lots of signage as
well. Use about 10 signs to get people to your
open house. This is also great advertising for you
and your company. Seeing 10 signs will definitely
have an impact on the neighborhood and let
everyone know you are there.

39. If your office does not have signs that you can
use, make your own on foam board and post
them to poles or buy stick in posts. The main
point is that you need a lot of signs to get traffic
to your open house.

40. • We also like to deliver flyers to the
neighborhood. Hand deliver flyers, door knob
hangers or postcards to at least 30 homes on
the street of the open house. Don’t be shy. If
people are out in their yard, chat with them
and let them know you are holding a home on
their street open.

41. Believe it or not, most people are friendly and
will gladly talk to you about their neighborhood.
This is a great way to meet new people to add to
your data base.

42. The Marketing Materials
In each home held open there should be an area
to place marketing materials. Most kitchens
have ample space on a counter. Below is a list of
the items that can be used. This list will change
with market conditions and should always
highlight some “HOT” topics for the current
housing market.

43. •Professional looking flyers about the home
being held open. Use the back of the flyer to list
other homes for sale in the general area.

44. •If the home you are holding open is your own
listing, provide a copy or copies of the MLS
Plano Sheet so that everyone can see what a
stellar job you do for your clients.

45. •A list of comparable homes, sold, pending and
available

46. •Some type of giveaway that people will keep.
Magnet calendars, game schedules, etc.

47. •Pamphlets about pool safety, mold, home
inspections, short sales, home warranties

48. •Nice folders to put all the info into so it is nice
and neat.
•Clipboards with feedback forms,
•Pens with your name and number.
•Your business card.

49. YOUR OPEN HOUSE CLEANING KIT
I put together an open house cleaning kit so that
I am prepared for any type of situation. When
you arrive there may be some smudges on the
windows, stray leaves on the porch or a counter
that needs wiped down. It’s better to be
prepared than to have your visitors focusing on
the small imperfections in the home rather than
the actual qualities of the home.

50. CLEANING KIT
•Small broom
•Windex wipes
•Hand wipes
•Small trash bags
•Small vacuum or feather duster
•Scented candle warmer with cookie smell
•S-hooks
•Small hammer and plier set
•Notecards and pen set
•Kleenex
•Folding chair if the home is vacant.
•Flashlight
You may find other things that you need as you go, but this is a
good startup kit.

51. OPEN HOUSE RECAP
• Choose your home.
(If you don’t have one, call other agents at your
office to see if you can hold one of theirs open).

52. • Have your Title Company make flyers,
postcards or door hangers for you.
(Include all the info that you will have available
at the open house).

53. • Place an ad in the local newspaper.

54. • Place ads on all free online sites available

55. • Make a flyer to post on your Facebook Page.
•Tweet about it.

56. • Place signs on the property a few days before
the open house is planned, announcing the
open house

57. • While you are in the neighborhood drive
around and become familiar with the
community schools, nearby grocery stores and
parks.

58. • Run extensive comps on your MLS, include,
rental comps (for investors), sold comps and
other homes available in the sub-division or
one mile radius.
• Gather all the information you will offer at
your open house – short sale info, what your
home is worth, neighborhood comps, etc.

59. • A few days before the open house go door to
door and invite all the neighbors to your open
house. Leave something of value with them
that touts all the services you offer.

60. THE DAY OF THE BIG EVENT
• Get dressed in something nice but also comfy

61. • Place signs around the neighborhood

62. • Park your car in front of the home and have
some magnet signs or other advertising on
your car so the neighborhood knows you are
the “go to” Realtor.

63. • Get to the home early

64. • Place your sign in sheet by the front door with
a pen

65. • Place all your marketing supplies on the
kitchen counter. Use clear plastic holders so
the info is upright and easily seen.
• Set out a plate of treats.
• Set up your candle warmer with a fresh baked
cookie scent.
• Turn all the lights on in the home.
• Get ready to greet your new clients.