Innovation Engineers:
Add a Little Color to Your Realtor® Toolbox When Hosting Open Houses
By Michele Lerner
When potential buyers arrive at an open house listed by Linda Zenker, an associate broker with Re/Max Choice in Fairfax, they are often greeted by a life-size cardboard cut-out of Fred Flintstone.
“I think it’s fun to add some color to a room and make a house seem less vacant,” says Zenker. “For years I’ve used cardboard cut-outs of friendly and inviting cartoon or movie characters at my open houses to add some whimsy. I think this works well for buyers so they have an identifying feature that will help them remember a house, rather than something like ‘the one with the hardwood floors’.”
While staging a home with furniture has become a popular technique for both empty and occupied homes, more inventive and creative marketing techniques are sometimes required.
Innovative Open Houses
Denny Horner, a Realtor® with Evers & Co. based in Washington, D.C., combined an art show with an open house at his listing on Lake Barcroft in Falls Church.
“This was actually my client’s idea since there are a number of local artists who live in that area,” says Horner. “The house really lent itself well to this type of activity, which not all homes do. The artists were happy to display their work since it gave them exposure, and there was the added benefit of using the art to stage the house. The art has stayed in the house while it is being marketed.”
Horner created top-of-the-line brochures for this home, which is listed at $1,899,000. Information about the art and artists also appears in the brochure. In addition to the traffic generated by the weekend open house when the art show opened, the artists have brought potential clients to the home.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback for this and some of the artwork has been sold,” says Horner. “We’re thinking of doing another art event, and I may try this on a smaller scale in a vacant condo.”
Associate Broker Nancy Steorts, with Century 21 New Millennium in McLean, believes in suiting an open house theme to the property.
“When I listed a penthouse with fabulous views, a huge terrace and about 3,000 square feet on two levels, I decided to [serve hors d’oeuvres] one evening,” says Steorts. “That party set the stage for a lot of success in my business. I had about 350 guests and people lingered, meeting each other and having fun. It brought me a lot of new buyers and sellers, too.”
Steorts says that particular home was designed for entertaining on a grand scale, so she hasn’t repeated that type of open house. Last summer, she hosted a daytime event on the patio of a multi-million dollar home.
“This property had 6,000 square feet of living space, so we emptied it and staged it before the party,” says Steorts. “By the time of the party we had an offer on it, but the paperwork hadn’t been signed. We had three more offers made at the party.”
When Leslie Hutchison, a Realtor® with Re/Max Distinctive in McLean, has a listing for an unusual home, she sometimes hosts a gathering on Friday evening for people who might not visit during a Sunday open house.
“Sometimes we get lots of people, sometimes none, at [these events],” says Hutchison. “I have also done ‘pool party’ open houses for Realtors® on Tuesdays during the summer. Anytime there is a holiday I hold a themed open house. During the winter holidays, many families are together, spending too much time indoors in close quarters. If anyone in the family is house hunting and they know my house is open, they will bring the entire family. On Mother’s Day, I advertise ‘A rose for every lady’ and hand out roses. Halloween means candy or mini pumpkins.”
Hutchison prepares for all of her open houses with a snack basket, bottled water and toilet paper in the bathrooms, along with wall signs that point out the little details that buyers might miss or be curious about, such as the year the home was remodeled, how large the yard is, how old the appliances are or pointing out a walk-in closet behind a non-descript door.
“I get so many compliments on those signs, I am amazed that more agents don’t use them!” says Hutchison.
In addition to having fun with cardboard cut-outs of Popeye and other characters, Zenker always buys rolls of cookie dough and then cuts them into bite-size pieces before baking them at an open house. This allows potential buyers to eat them easily without dropping crumbs around the house.
For open houses in a community with reserved parking, Zenker recommends parking away from the house and identifying the reserved spot with an “open house” sign. “If buyers have trouble parking at the open house they will think they can never park there,” she says.
Zenker also makes sure there are directional signs to the property, when allowed. She also places a sign on the door stating that the property is open and inviting guests to walk right in.
Virginia and many local jurisdictions and home owner associations have imposed restrictions on signage. See the side bar on page 27 and check with home owner associations to ensure compliance.
Reeling Them In
Talk of traffic can make most Northern Virginians groan, but when it comes to open houses, it is just what agents want. Realtors® say that in addition to directional signs, one of the most important elements to a successful open house is heavy marketing.
Suzanne Colmer, a Realtor® with Weichert Realtors® in Fairfax, says she walks through the neighborhood of an open house approximately one week before the event to leave door hangers or cards for neighbors. Sometimes she also mails a letter to people in the area to alert them to the open house.
For brokers’ open houses, Colmer calls individual agents and offices and advertises the food being served. She also offers a door prize to increase Realtor® traffic.
Hutchison says she sends about 500 postcards to the closest neighbors and 500 more to the closest renters, since first-time buyers are such a big part of the market. She emails a flyer to everyone who has attended a past open house and to all Realtors® who have shown one of her listings, especially if they have shown that particular house. Hutchison says that she gets lots of traffic at her open houses because she extensively promotes them and uses directional signs.
“On average, I would say that more than half of the contracts for my listings come from buyers who saw my postcard or ad and came by without their Realtor®. Then when they fell in love, they called the agent to come see it,” says Hutchison. “If I didn’t hold open houses, my business would be down at least 25 percent. Many buyers don’t want to ‘bother’ their agent to show them every house that comes up, and they prefer to look on their own to check out neighborhoods and schools.”
In 2009, Trulia.com surveyed home buyers about the sources they turn to for open house information. Sixty-two percent said they use online sites, with 53 percent using information provided by real estate agents and just 31 percent using print sources, including newspapers and flyers.
Judy Radvanyi, a Realtor® with Avery-Hess Realtors® in Tysons Corner, says that in addition to open house postcards within a neighborhood, she makes sure her open houses are listed on as many online sites as possible.
Adding Warmth to an Empty House
While many Realtors® dread selling an empty house and finding inexpensive ways to make it appealing, Steorts says she actually prefers listing empty properties.
“I have my own storage facility and stage homes myself for all my sellers,” says Steorts. “I require that my sellers have their property in top condition before I put it on the market and, if they aren’t moving out, I have them move as much of their things out as possible and put it in storage. Then, if the home needs help to make sure that prospective buyers can visualize themselves living in the home, I’ll bring in some of my furniture or decorative items.”
Eve Thompson, a Realtor® with Long & Foster Real Estate in Fair Oaks, usually lists homes in Reston where she knows many local artists. “I love to add pieces of art to an empty home because it adds warmth and color and helps define the space,” says Thompson. “Sometimes we display sculptures as well as paintings, and the artists are willing to display their work for the added exposure. I always include a sheet with information about the artist and a price for the artwork if it is for sale.” Thompson also keeps inexpensively framed photography to hang in empty rooms to add interest.
“Obviously staging is great if you can get the seller to pay for it and if you have a good stager who can match the furnishings to the style of the home,” says Thompson. “Every seller should strive to have the home look as much as possible like a Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel room, with every room as clean as possible. It lowers buyer anxiety astronomically to know that they will be able to store their belongings in the home. Cleanliness also sends a subliminal message that the home has been well-maintained.”
Colmer says she sometimes will recommend full-blown staging on an empty house, but often simply adds a little warmth with plants, a painting propped on the mantel, a cookbook on the kitchen counter and towels in the bathroom.
“As long as it isn’t too cold, I usually buy potted plants for the front entrance which also makes the house look nicer in photos,” says Colmer. “Then I leave the plants there for the buyers as a gift.”
Horner says he has tried to arrange for a custom furniture maker to display samples in an empty house, particularly in a contemporary-style home, but found that furniture stores wanted him to pay for the furniture. He says perhaps an individual furniture maker would be more amenable.
“It sounds very simple, but I get great comments from the fact that I always set up a folding table with a tablecloth and a few chairs with a note that says ‘take a seat, visualize yourself in this home’,” says Radvanyi. “People are happy to have a place to sit.”
Zenker recommends buying small up-lights at Home Depot and plugging them into a socket linked to the light switch nearest the door to add extra lighting in a room without overhead lights.
“I always think that photos are so important to have online and I also have my husband draw a floor plan for each listing,” says Zenker. “This is especially important when the home is empty so that buyers can get a better sense of how to use each space. The best thing of all is to see a buyer walk through the house while marking up the floor plan with notes.”
Selling an empty house and holding a successful open house requires plenty of energy on the part of Realtors®, but those with the creativity to add some pizzazz should be quickly rewarded with the best embellishment of all: a “Sold” sign out front.
Sidebar: ‘Give Me Some Kind of Sign’
Signage Scenarios: Do Yours Comply?
All jurisdictions honor these state laws regarding signs:
» There may not be more than one sign per lot, except on a corner lot where two signs are permitted.
» Signs may not exceed six feet in height nor four feet in area for single-family dwellings.
» Offsite signs addressing the sale, rental or lease of real estate are not permitted. However, offsite directional signs, limited to three feet in area and four feet in height, may be permitted only in those locations approved by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Signs should be free-standing. They should not be posted on trees, utility poles, traffic-control signs, fire hydrants, or any other public property. Localities may limit the placement, number and posting duration of off-site signs.
» Reflectors or flashing lights are prohibited, and real estate signs should not be illuminated in any way.
» Moving signs intended to attract attention (i.e. balloons, streamers, pennants, etc.) are forbidden.
Realtors® should always obtain permission from home owners before they place signs on private property. (Some jurisdictions even require that written approval from the affected home owners be submitted to the Zoning Administrator.)
If applicable, abide by all home owners’ regulations in regards to sign placement.
The public right-of-way, a distance from the curb to a certain point inward, varies for every highway and street. Contact the local zoning office for specifications. Please note that a median strip is characterized as a public right-of-way and signs are restricted in that area.
No signs may be placed in the public right-of-way unless otherwise specified by a jurisdiction for a certain time period. In districts where signs are prohibited in the right-of-way, no special permits will be issued for signs to be placed in the right-of-way.
Realtors® who display signs in violation of the ordinances can be fined, and signs can be removed and disposed of without notice.
Visit the Government Affairs page on nvar.com to read sign ordinance information for select jurisdictions.
At press time, legislation was pending in the General Assembly that would affect signs in the rights-of-way in Fairfax County. VAR had also introduced legislation relating to the removal of signs by volunteers and the necessity of contacting Miss Utility for sign installation. Information on new laws affecting Realtor® issues will appear in the May/June issue of Update magazine.