Compass Greater NY, LLC
Ann Marie Damashek, GRI, CBR, SRES, Compass Greater NY, LLCPhone: (917) 623-0624
Email: [email protected]

4 Tips for Your Open House

by Ann Marie Damashek, GRI, CBR, SRES 12/10/2017

Open houses are essential for selling your home. They give buyers the opportunity to tour your home and visualize them living there. But an open house can also have a negative affect on buyers if the proper steps aren’t taken in advance. Let’s take a look at the tips below to help ensure a successful open house.  Clean & Organize: It is very important to clean and organize your home before your open house. A clean home gives the buyers an opportunity to see the home for what it is, and not all of your stuff and clutter. While touring your home, it will give the buyers the opportunity to visualize themselves living in the home and how they would set up each room. Clutter makes it difficult to do this as it makes rooms look smaller and covers up the true potential. Remove Personality: It’s best to remove your personality from your home when selling, and especially before an open house. You can always add your things back in after the open house. Things like pictures and picture frames, your children’s drawings on the refrigerator, other personal belongings, and so on. Removing your personality and creating a neutral home will better allow for buyers to visualize themselves living there and making it their own. Photos & Video: Since online research is often the first step one takes in the home buying process, the photos and video of your home will be the first impression that a buyer has. And you want to make that the best first impression possible. Having amazing photos of your home and posting them with your listing and online will likely attract more interest and therefore attracting more buyers to your open house. Photos that are not so great may make even the most amazing home seem drab and not worth the travel to the open house. The photos you place online could make or break a homebuyers interest and desire to see more. Social Media: Utilizing social media is the best way to get the word out about your home being on the market and your upcoming open house. Realtors and agents are already using it, but you should also be taking advantage of it. Sharing or creating posts of your online listing and asking your friends to share will only benefit you. You’d be surprised how many will comment on posts to tag their friends and family. It may bring more buyers and in turn speed up the sale of your home. Follow these tips for the most successful open house possible. It’s important to be mindful of the market and your home when determining what successful means, but what is important is an offer or multiple offers if you’re lucky. So spruce up your home and follow these tips and you should be on your way to placing a sold sign in front of your home in no time.
About the Author
Author

Ann Marie Damashek, GRI, CBR, SRES

Ann Marie Damashek has always been a natural at helping people prepare their homes for sale. She started out with a successful business selling goods for people on eBay. "Nine times out of ten they were hiring me because they were down-sizing,” Ann Marie says. "So I decided to get my license. I said, ‘Might as well sell their house too.’” The transition was a smooth one and for nine years she’s had a thriving full-time real estate business that allows her to marry her entrepreneurial spirit with her passion for helping others. With an office in Larchmont, New York, she serves all of Lower Westchester County, with her primary market in the Sound Shore region. The majority of her business is "sphere of influence” with former clients referring her to friends and family. A gifted communicator, Ann Marie quickly builds trust and rapport with her clients by being both thoughtful and responsive; she understands that during the purchase or sale of a home, a quick response time is crucial. "I am very accessible,” Ann Marie says. "I always make time for my clients. They can call me, text me, email me up until 10 o’clock at night and I will respond. I’m available on weekends. I get back to people very promptly. I’m very customer service-oriented.” Her clients appreciate her professionalism, passion and enthusiasm and as a result her repeat and referral rate continues to grow each year. While selling real estate is serious business, Ann Marie knows that at times humor and a moment of levity can be a relief to clients. While she has a laidback and easygoing personality, she can be assertive when needed on her clients’ behalf. She loves being of service to them, and the continually changing nature of the work keeps her engaged and fulfilled. "It’s never boring,” Ann Marie enthuses. "Every day is different. That’s probably what I like most about it. But I also enjoy helping people sell or buy and educating them about the process. I love helping them achieve their goals.” This ethic of service has resulted in well-deserved recognition. Ann Marie has received the Westchester Magazine Five Star Real Estate Agent Rating four years running, in 2015 and 2016 she was the #1 agent in her office, and she’s a Zillow 5-Star Premier Agent. To keep in touch with former clients, Ann Marie sends cards to mark special occasions or reaches out via email. To market her listings, Ann Marie uses Multiple Listing Services (MLS), as well as Listingbook.com, a service that allows both agents and their clients access to MLS data. She also uses a Facebook business page and ads to boost new listings or promote upcoming open houses. "That drives a tremendous amount of traffic,” Ann Marie says. She also uses the most popular real estate websites such as Zillow and Trulia. A strong believer in giving back, Ann Marie sits on the Board of Trustees of her church and is involved in a variety of social justice projects. She’s affiliated with Furniture Sharehouse, a furniture bank for Westchester County, which collects and distributes gently used furniture free of charge to those in need. "I love it on so many levels because as a realtor, it’s helps my sellers downsize through charitable donations. I like the environmental aspect of it as well. And it helps people who truly need things.” She’s also involved in Impact 100, a women’s philanthropic giving organization. In her free time, Ann Marie enjoys gardening, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. For the future, Ann Marie wants to continue expanding her business and developing her brand, and she someday hopes to grow a strong team. But her main goal is to stay in the real estate business, helping her clients to achieve their dreams.