Nearly every homeowner selling their property holds some type of "open house," where interested buyers can take a look around. However, there's some debate as to how useful these events are, reports Moneyville.ca.
According to the news source, open houses are generally a good idea, as they maximize the number of potential buyers for the home in a short amount of time. Yet there are some steps that homeowners need to take before putting on an open house.
De-cluttering the house is step one, as a messy house will actually decrease the bids you would otherwise get. It may be a good idea to temporarily rent a storage locker in order to store excess furniture and other items.
Theft is a very real threat at open houses – it's entirely possible that criminals will come in and look to get away with easy-to-carry items like jewelry, hard drives, financial statements or more. Again, these items are good candidates to be put into secure storage while the open house is going on. It is also a good idea to ensure that the real estate agent will be there the entire time and is on the lookout for potential crooks.
Jiffy Self Storage, a leader in Toronto storage solutions, is currently running a contest on their website for a free iPad 3. Visitors to the site simply need to match a few Canadian landmarks and they'll be entered to win the iPad or one of several other prizes.
