Not all Open Houses are Equal

Depending on where you are attending an open house, the parameters may vary from state to state or even from house to house. In Charlotte, NC many open houses will follow a new home builder display model type of timing and thus may last 4-6 hours depending on the day. In Sioux Falls, SD most open houses only last two-hours. Having moved to Sioux Falls from Charlotte, I found this odd and asked a listing agent why the open house hours were so short. She explained that many Realtors may have multiple listings and thus multiple open houses on the same day. She also noted that no matter how long you are open for showing, people always seem to show up 10-minutes to close. Keeping this in mind, the window of opportunity is cut down to avoid standing around for many hours when most the time a prospective buyer won't show up until the last half hour anyway.

When my wife and I were looking to purchase a home in Sioux Falls we visited numerous open houses and found the same Realtor from the first house we visited now hosting another open house at the sixth house we visited. In Charlotte, Realtors tend to enlist the help of other agents in their office to "open house sit" for them when they are unavailable. This process allows Realtors without open houses or listings for that matter, to meet prospective buyers and ask to represent them in their housing search.

Should I stay or should I go?

When you have an open house for your property, most Realtors ask that you leave the property for the time of the open house. They ask this for several reasons. 1- They don't want you jumping in to a negotiation or presentation. You hired them to sell your house, so let them work with potential buyers. 2- If you have children and/or pets, they can distract the buyer. As well, kids and pets do not understand the words, "don't make a mess."

Pros and Cons-

There are many pros to having an open house. The most obvious is the ability for a buyer to actually walk-through the property and imagine their furniture in each room, etc. But alas there are cons as well. One time during an open house a small child that came with his parents to see the home needed to poop. To discourage people from using the bathrooms, the sellers removed all toilet paper from the bathrooms. This didn't stop the little boy. The listing agent noticed a foul odor coming from the master bathroom but couldn't locate the source. Later, when the owners returned, they found a once very nice fabric hand towel covered in poop stuffed in one of the bathroom cabinets.

Another con is theft. Usually there is only one agent at an open house so they can't follow every visitor every where. Sometimes there are organized gangs that visit and open house a couple or family at a time just minutes apart. One family distracts the listing agent while the others take whatever they can find of value. Once, a Realtor was answering questions in the garage of an open house and when she returned to the family room, the 50" flat screen was gone.

I once walked into an open house in Florida and the agent on site was fast asleep on the couch. We walked the entire house and the agent just kept on snoring away.

If your home is vacant and you are not available (out of state, etc.) to check on your property, you have to trust your listing agent to be your eyes, ears and security guard. Some agents do not walk the entire house prior to leaving. They leave lights on, doors unlocked, toilets running, etc. A person with criminal intent may intentionally unlock a back door or garage entry door so they can return later and gain access to the property. Unless the agent on site checks every door and first floor window before leaving, your property could be violated. Even if vacant chances are you have appliances in the home or window treatments. Unfortunately, criminal intent is not limited to stealing. Some people just get off on vandalizing a property or using it for a party and thus trashing it. Unauthorized parties happen more often than you may think.

To best protect yourself from the cons of an open house, use the services of a local Realtor who works and lives in your area. They may drive by your home several times a day simply because they live in the same neighborhood. Also, enlist the services of a seasoned professional agent/broker. Nothing against newbies but some learning is based on trial and error so if you can avoid being a learning experience for a brand new agent, I would strongly recommend it. Not to say a broker with 20-years of experience can't be duped by the criminal element, but there is much better chance that they will check every door and lock prior to leaving your property.

Lastly, when your home isn't on open house display, insist on an electronic key box versus a combo box. The electronic key box records every real estate broker/agent who visits the property. A combo box does not offer this capability. Let's say on Tuesday your listing agent or you for that matter, notice a terrible stain on the family room floor. By checking the electronic key box records your agent can see which brokers visited the home and when. Knowing which buyer agents to contact about the problem helps get the problem resolved in most cases.

#houseforsale