My First Open House

It’s early Friday afternoon when I open the trunk of my car and throw in a bunch of A-boards – you know, those “open house” signs – a box filled with brochures, a cute box with shoe covers, and several bags filled with random stuff. Yes, I have become a bag lady. I’m early, as it’s only two pm, and the open house doesn’t start until four. But it’s my first time, and I want to be early and prepared. I have a list of homes for sale close to the property I’m about to show, and my plan is to go visit each and every one of them prior to parking in front of my task.

Just to put things right, this is not my open house, but it is practice and practice is what I desperately need. Graciously I have been offered the opportunity to practice everything I have learned, and I have decided to do well with this opportunity. I’m nervous as anyone would be, however it’s the good kind of nerves. I know I can do this. I have practiced this and I have studied this property so that I know it by heart even if I have never been inside the home. I know it’s size and shape, when it’s been build and remodeled. I have looked up the materials, appliances and everything else I could think of. I know the neighborhood schools, parks and grocery stores. It feels great to be getting my toes wet. For weeks have I been sitting in classes, listening to those whom have been doing this for years speaking about how they do this; the art of an open house.

I stop at the first home on my list, park the car and get a feel of the home. I double check on my phone that it’s okay to go in and take a look around before stepping on the front porch. This one is already vacant. I open another app on my phone to open the key box, and I do exactly what I have done before, and then I wait, and I wait, and I wait… the box won’t open. I try again, and it still won’t open. Frustrated I hop back in my car, reload all the updates on my app again and drive to the next property in hopes that it was the key box and not my phone. This home is super cute on the outside. It’s smaller than the one I’m about to show in an hour and half, but the location is better in some ways, and it does look very pretty on the outside. I walk to the porch and try to open the box, and nothing happens. Now I’m getting scared, as the house that I’m showing has the same kind of key box, that is supposedly going to open, or at this point not open for me. I hop back in my car trying to figure out what my options are. There’s still time, oh boy am I happy, I left early. I drive to the closest MLS office and try my app with their test box, and it works beautifully. With a lingering feeling that I will still run into further trouble I decide to drive straight to the house instead of looking at all those other properties as I have already waisted way too much time.

I park in front of the home, and start emptying my bags and all that stuff from my car. Walk to the front door, and do the key box thing again… and it will not open. At this point I’m starting to freak out: What if I can’t get in? Will I actually end up blowing this because of a stupid key box app? She will never let me host another open again… Okay, calm down now. Think girl! Think! There is no room for panic! I call the MLS office, and then I call the key box company. Ten minutes later I’m inside with my heart beating twice the speed it should, sweaty and frazzled in every way imaginable.

A couple of hours later, when I reverse my actions by carrying the bags and boxes back to my car, my heart feels light, and I’m happy. I stop at the A-boards sticking them back in the trunk one by one feeling like a real Realtor. I had fun! I got to meet tons of fun people, answer all those questions I had prepared for and some that I didn’t think of beforehand. It was a busy showing. It was great!