With many buyers opting for virtual open houses, at least for their first round of viewings, sellers are finding that they need to prepare for this new type of open house. How can you make sure your virtual open house is a success? Start with the basics. You’ll need to do many of the same things you would for a regular in-person open house. From there, there are a handful of things you can do to instantly enhance the virtual aspect of your showing. Let’s dive in:

Prep Your Home

You want to get your home ready as if you were having an in-person showing. This means going through the list of cleaning, organizing, and removing some things like large family photos that may make it difficult for buyers to imagine themselves in the space. While you don’t have to create a completely blank canvas, you want it to be easy for viewers to see themselves in your home. You might also think about rearranging furniture, grabbing a few plants, and making your home feel as spacious as possible.

Make a Script

While you certainly don’t need to read a script word for word, it’s important to have a list of the points you’ll want to hit as you walk through your home. What are the things you want to make sure viewers know about? What details are important to mention? Getting clear on these things in advance is key.

Do a Test Run

Whether you record yourself giving a practice tour or you video call a friend and ask for their suggestions, doing a test run is important. Will it just be you holding the camera? Or will someone else hold the camera and you’ll lead the tour on screen? What is the most logical order to progress through the home? How long do you want the tour to take? These are all things you’ll want to hammer out ahead of time.

Promote

Like any open house, virtual ones require promotion. Social media is a great place to start for this. If you’re working with an agent, they’ll help with promotion as well. Either way, it’s important to get the word out so that potential buyers are aware of the date and time.

Schedule

Speaking of date and time, what kind of schedule will you offer? While an in-person open house may be in a single window, a virtual tour may need a bit of a different structure. Perhaps you host several tours throughout the afternoon each starting on the hour, for example. Making a clear schedule so that buyers know when they can tune in is important.

Save

Finally, it’s a great idea for sellers to record one of their virtual open house tours. This way, they can use that video in additional online promotion. Maybe a buyer wasn’t able to make it to one of the time slots you offered. When you have a recording you can share afterward, you can reach more people.

 

Have you hosted or attended a virtual open house? What do you think the biggest challenges are? What about the benefits? I’d love to hear your thoughts!