In a survey released by the National Association of Realtors in 2009, 46 percent of homebuyers said that they used open houses as part of their research, but only 12 percent reported buying a home because they saw it during an open house. With the virtual tours and all the other home-selling marketing tools the Internet provides, the impact of open houses may have dimmed somewhat, but there's still no better way to showcase a home for sale than an open house. However, home sellers know that this necessary form of marketing a home is not without its headaches. They must perform necessary tasks such as these:

• Put away most personal objects
• Thoroughly clean the home
• Fix cosmetic flaws
• Stage the home properly
• Get out of their own home for a morning or afternoon
• Hide their valuables

In addition to the predictable tasks, the dirty little secret of open houses is that there is a whole other set of considerations and even hazards that current homeowners must sometimes endure to attract that one qualified homebuyer who sincerely wants to buy the home. Any Louisville real estate agent or realtor will tell you that some of the people at open houses aren't buyers at all; they just want to get out and walk through someone else's home. This leaves homeowners dealing with the aftermath, which includes the following:

• Scuffed and stained floors and walls
• Missing tableware and other items
• Broken fixtures
• Unlocked windows and doors that thieves unlock during their walk-through for returning later
• Other unintended and unpleasant surprises

If you're thinking of selling your home in the Louisville area, contact Louisville Properties today at 502.744.9504. The agency offers a variety of services for home sellers such as flat-fee real estate listings for FSBOs, full-service real estate brokerage services and much more.