In my casual quest of finding a new home, I’ve been rolling through tons of Sunday open houses lately.  Granted, I’m not completely serious about getting in a hurry to make a decision any time soon, but I am gathering ideas and gradually making up my mind nonetheless.

That said, I’ve developed kind of a short list of open house pet peeves as I make my weekly visits.  I don’t want to be nitpicky, but you’ve noticed the same things, I’m sure.  Here are the 6 costly mistakes that will kill any opportunity at an open house:

1.  Greedy Real Estate Agents –  I realize that most agents host open houses to gather leads and develop new clients rather than to focus on the particular home they’re hosting the open house at.  But please don’t push other properties to me while I’m touring the home that’s supposed to be aptly represented.  I find that somewhat disrespectful to the unknowing sellers and will probably avoid becoming a user of your services at a later time for that reason alone.

2.  Offensive Odors –  My sense of smell is pretty laid back and even then, mostly forgiving.  I’m not a bad person, really.  However, nothing turns me off more than the smell of dirty dog.  Here’s a suggestion for sellers with pets – have the carpets cleaned before the home is shown.  For that matter, remove any furniture that might be tainted also.  Freshly baked bread and warm apple pie candles just don’t cover up wet dog.

3.  Trendy Paint Jobs –  I’ll go ahead and apologize in advance here, but I can’t stand the sponge painting technique.  Even if I did want my bathroom walls to look like a big paint splatter, I’d rather have it splattered with neutral soothing colors instead of forest green.  There was a time and a place for 1994 and that was 1994.  Also, not everyone will appreciate the pastel flower wallpaper in the kitchen.  Better neutralize to appeal to the broad spectrum.

4.  Partly Finished Furnishings –  Most of us appreciate the benefits of home staging, a superb way to show visitors the potential and make them want to move right in tomorrow.  A home loaded down and overcrowded with belongings is one thing, but moving before selling and just leaving all of your junk that you don’t want is another.  Either stage or leave the house completely empty, but don’t highlight the unwanted clutter.

5.  Hide The Collections –  The home might be a museum of Precious Moments and that’s fine I guess, but go ahead and pack ‘em up nice and securely for the big move.  Same goes for the taxidermy and pelt collections that adorn the walls throughout the home.  Many people would prefer to watch wildlife at the zoo.  At best, collections just steal attention away from the sales worthy details of the home.

6.  Let Me Look Around –  No need to escort me in a rushed and pressured guided tour of the house.  Let me breathe and browse around awhile.  This could be the biggest purchase of my lifetime and I’ll want to check the details.  I’m a fanatic like that.  I’ll be sure to find you when I’m ready to ask questions.

So there it is… I’m not trying to be overly demeaning, but just constructive instead.  Open houses are a great opportunity to attract potential buyers, especially those who aren’t yet convinced they’re ready to take serious action.  Appreciate this and don’t scare them away from the market with overzealous pressure or showing obvious turnoffs.