Open House With Audio Components

Pack it up. We held a couple of open houses a few years ago and you would not believe how many people were distracted by the gear instead of looking at the house. Fast forward a week, all the gear was put away, and suddenly the realtor got "real" questions and an above asking price offer. 

And like others have said, there is simply too much risk with strangers wandering around. 

My system was in a non-dedicated room (living room) and absolutely required packing it up for several reasons: no one (practically) cares about my audio hobby, even those who say they enjoy music; for couples looking to buy, perhaps a rare guy might appreciate it, but most certainly his female wife will not; people WILL touch your gear - they cannot help it; accidents happen so it will be at risk.

However, I was without my stereo for months and I missed it dearly. So I'd say if you will be living at the house while for sale, and if it is in a dedicated room, you could leave it so you could still enjoy it. You could advertise it as a media/home theatre/man-cave/craft room. But only if you could somehow rope off the doorway and only allow supervised entrance to adults. Realize, people often will have their kids with them running free so one rope will not be efficient - electric fence perhaps? But if not in a dedicated room, then pack it up.

   

Why do an open house at all?  They don't really help sell your house, but are actually a marketing tool for the broker to collect names of potential customers.  That said, there are other really good reasons why you should disassemble your system when attempting to sell your house.  Good luck!

Pack it up, guns too. Get names of who enters the house, sign in.

It’s hard to predict what potential buyers and looky loos might do. I wouldn’t take a chance. If you’re contemplating changes to your system in the new home, this is a great time to sell some equipment. If your realtor stages the house, which they do very successfully in California to help sell the home, it will all end up in the garage anyway. I’m speaking from my own experience.

I would pack it up. People who don't appreciate audio will see it as wasted space. Usually when staging you want to take a minimalist approach. Comfortable but with space, potential buyers want to imagine how they will use the space.

I would at least pack up the turntable if you have one.

Suggestions to rope it off are good, but if your move will be soon, why not pack the whole system up now, and not have the possibility of damage?

The suggestion of leaving the room open might be problematic. Remember that in most situations, the home owner is not at the residence during a showing. I have never viewed a house for sale with the owners there.

The reason I would pack it up is that the home will probably stage better without the audio gear.

Oz

You should pack it away you do not want it messed with or i would not want my stuff messed with you never know who will want to touch or mess with it.

I would agree with aewarren...have the room opened but "roped off". Have the system playing something that creates warmth and ambiance. It saves you from having to stage the room and pack the equipment, and will probably help you sell the home and, maybe, add the system into the sale price if you are so inclined...

Yeah, listen to Papa, he knows what he is talking about.

How about having an open door to the room for potential buyers to look into the room but having it roped off so they cannot enter? You can escort seriously interested buyers into the room yourself. That would save you the hassle of having to pack up your audio equipment and having to furnish that room as well.

Nobody  comes to see my system unless they are very good friends.

Thank you MC and Mapman. It does feel right to do it that way.

Nothing good will come of leaving it out for anyone.  Pack it away and out of sight.  Unless you are looking to sell it with the house.  

willgolf sold his with the stereo. In fact they buyer's specifically had his Raven Reflection MkII included in the sale. https://www.ravenaudio.com/product/reflection-mk2/ Well, I mean, who wouldn't?

@oregonpapa Thank you Frank. I think thats the safest thing to do.

After spending 40 years in the residential real estate business, I'd advise packing your stuff up and putting it into storage. It is very rare to see a  high-end audio system in a resale home. I think I saw a total of two in the entire 40 years. People touch things they don't understand. Kids do too. 

Frank