Doors Open, Standards High · Self-paced course

Module 1 · The week before · Lesson 1 of 11 · free to read

Seven days out: the marketing plan

An open house serves three groups at once. The seller, who wants to see their home shown with care. The buyers, who want to see it without an appointment. And the neighbors, who have wondered about the kitchen for eleven years. A good week-before plan speaks to all three.

The standard is the same at every price: treat a starter condo with the same care as an estate. That starts days before the door opens.

Day	Do this
7 days out	Confirm the date and time with the seller in writing. Agree on what stays out, what gets locked away, and where pets will be.
6 days out	Update the listing: open house date and time added the way your MLS requires, and a fresh look at the photos and copy.
5 days out	Neighbor invitations go out (next lesson). Order or confirm signs.
4 days out	First social post: one strong photo, the date, the time, one detail that makes someone want to see it in person.
3 days out	Print the property story and the sign-in materials. Book a partner so you are not hosting alone.
2 days out	Second social post: a short video walk-through or a detail shot. Reply to every comment and message the same day.
Day before	Walk the home with the seller's prep list. Check the weather. In hurricane season, have a plan B date agreed.

What the social posts say

Describe the home, the time and the address the way your broker allows. One detail beats five adjectives. "Morning light across the lanai" does more than "stunning, gorgeous, must-see."

Fair housing applies to every post: describe the property, never the kind of person who should live there.

Try it now

Pick your next open house (or an imaginary one) and put all seven days on your calendar right now, each as a fifteen-minute task with a name.

Check yourself · not graded

What should a social post for an open house lead with?

A stack of adjectivesWho the home would suit bestOne specific detail about the home, plus the date and time

Why confirm with the seller seven days out?

So there is time to agree on valuables, pets and what stays outBecause the MLS requires a week's noticeTo ask them to host

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Module 1 · The week before · Lesson 2 of 11 · free to read

The neighbor sneak peek and the signs

Neighbors are the most overlooked guests at an open house. They know the street, they know people who want to live on it, and they are going to come look anyway. Invite them properly.

The neighbor sneak peek

Offer the neighbors the first half hour, or a separate short window the evening before, if the seller agrees. A printed card or a short note works well, delivered the way your local rules allow.

You've been curious about this one for years. Here's your chance to see it first, before the weekend crowd.

Just out of curiosity, is there anyone you'd love to have as a neighbor? Bring them along.

That second line is an invitation, not a request for anyone's details. Keep it light. The neighbors choose who to tell.

A few notes on the card:

Address, date, sneak peek time, your name, your brokerage name, and how to reach you.
One line about the home that neighbors will care about ("The kitchen was fully redone last spring").
No mention of who the sellers hope will buy. Describe the property only.

Signs

Directional signs are useful and heavily regulated. Cities, counties and many HOAs and condo associations have their own rules about where signs can go, what size they can be, and when they have to come down. Rules differ from one street to the next, so check the local code and the association's rules before you place anything, and ask your broker what your office does.

Ask the seller for the HOA or condo rules at the listing appointment, not the morning of.
Never place a sign on private property without the owner's permission.
Collect every sign the same day. A forgotten sign on a corner is a small billboard for carelessness.

Try it now

Write your neighbor sneak peek card in under ninety words. Read it aloud. If it sounds like an ad, rewrite it until it sounds like a note from a friend.

Check yourself · not graded

Where do the rules for directional signs come from?

Local codes plus HOA or condo association rules, which you check firstOnly the MLSThere are no rules on weekends

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End of the free chapter

That was chapter one. There is more waiting.

Thank you for reading. Here is what the rest of Doors Open, Standards High: Hosting the Open House, Start to Finish covers.

Module 2 With enrollment

The estate-showing experience

Arrival, scent, sound, temperature and light
The property story, refreshments and the route

Module 3 With enrollment

Safety and sign-in

Safety habits that go with you every time
Sign-in: consistent, respectful, fair

Module 4 With enrollment

Conversations at the door

The first thirty seconds
Are you working with an agent?

Module 5 With enrollment

After the doors close

Same day, three days, two weeks
The seller report
Your checklist and your first run

The rest of the course

Enrollment opening soon. Join the list.

You have the first chapter. The remaining 4 modules and 9 lessons open with enrollment. Join the list and Cara will write to you once, when enrollment opens.

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