The Art of Open Houses

Open houses are mostly fun. I like doing them even though my success rate at picking up potential customers has not been overwhelming. Many people seem to think that open houses are some sort of practice round for new brokers and I have been asked by several friends if I only do them because I don’t have anything better to do, I presume they are meaning clients. I do have clients, trust me, but as said I like doing open houses, and as a matter of fact I know several well established brokers that always keep their listings open themselves. By well established, I mean those brokers that hit the top ten sales lists frequently, for whom talking about hundreds of thousands would be crumbles, millions are peanuts and we start talking when we hit tens of millions. Not quite there, and not sure if I’m aiming there right now, as I do want to see my family too.

So, on Saturday I worked with a client, and on Sunday I did an open house prior to meeting with a client. And yes, I did have a great weekend. I did get to spend time with my fam. Went to Coldplay concert on Century Link Field with hubs, and did not need a day off on Monday. However, I ended up with a child with mild concussion on Monday morning, rushed out of my meeting and spent rest of the day asking him very basic questions and building a bat cave out of Legos.

But, back to open houses. At open houses, you get to meet people, and I have categorized - like every other broker – open house clients in a couple of groups. Can you spot yourself?

The Neighbor

There are always neighbors. They peek in through the door, and apologize. Then they tell me they are just neighbors and ask if it’s still okay to take a look. Yes, it is absolutely okay. We like neighbors. Neighbors usually give us some information about the neighborhood, and most of the time they are not curious. They either know someone who is looking in the neighborhood, or they are pricing their own home. The underlying question would be how much their home would be worth compared to the home they are viewing.

First Time Homebuyer

I love first time home buyers. They are not afraid of brokers yet, and they ask great questions about the price, the area and the home. I have some of my best discussion with these people. Still sincere and ready to share information and engage with a broker.

Just Looking

Just looking comes in avoiding eye contact, and either tells me from far away that they already have a realtor or try to get in without saying "hi" to me. I know most of them don’t have a realtor as when you have a realtor you either tell me whom you are working with, or you look at homes with your realtor. These people believe realtors will force them to either buy the home they just walked in or will make them sign some sort of paperwork to bind them to work with him or her. I am more than happy to answer your questions. I will not push myself onto you as an agency relationship is a two-way street, and it works best if you want to work with your realtor. Most of us will not hold on to you with invisible claws. I try to make myself approachable. I let you look at the home without following you to every room, but I am there to help. No strings attached. Just tell me, you are not ready yet, or that you just drove by, or that you’ve always wanted to see this home on the inside. You do not have to be actively buying or selling a home to come to an open house. You are not alone, a lot of people do it just for fun.

DIY

DIY is actively looking for a home but does not believe in realtors. It does not help to tell them, that a buyer’s agent gets paid by the selling firm, not the buyer. A DIY believes the realtor will fool them one way or another, and that they will save a bunch of money if they go through the process without a broker. What they don’t know, is that they are missing a wealth of free information and lack access to knowledge held by a real estate broker.

Unrealistic Expectations

This is the person or couple that has nothing good to say. They expect everything they look at to be absolutely immaculate. Everything they see is overpriced, and they see only the faults. Yes, there are faults in every single home. I hate the vinyl floor in my kitchen. I have never liked the hardwood as every speck of dust shows on it, and I live in a rather small house. Yet, for the price we paid for it eight years ago, we are pretty darn lucky to live here. But for this person a home built in the 1970’s should look like it was brand new. A small home should have a large chef’s kitchen, and the all new bathroom just won’t cut it. For this person, they have no clue on what you get for your dollar. It looks like this person came in just to find flaws and feel that they are obliged to point them out to you. Um, I know about the popcorn ceilings, the dead lawn or that the home only has one bathroom. This person has looked the home up online, seen the pictures and the information, so I'm pretty sure these things are no surprise for them. No, I know the market is crazy, and there are times when I look at the final sales price and wonder what happened. How on earth did a home listed under a million, sell over a hundred thousand over asking. But in this market, it does happen, and it happens quite a bit.

Most people are fun to work with. They ask great questions and are genuinely interested in the home I’m showing. If not, they ask questions about the market or the area in general. Before going to an open house, I always pull up everything else that is listed in the same price range in the area. I look at the recent sales to have an idea on how it has gone for others, I drive around the neighborhood, and I take a peak at the school information. I carry a binder with me with commute times and other pertinent information. I may not know what the pipe in the neighbor’s yard is for, or if the backyard trees are healthy as I’m not an arborist and will not pretend to be one. But I like chatting with you, even if you already have a realtor or you have no intention of buying.