Don't Be An Open House Fool

Weekend open houses have always been a tool utilized by agents to drive potential buyers into their listings and to meet new clients. Sellers are happy their home is being marketed, and the listing agent is getting exposure to buyers. It was a win-win.

Recently I have noticed a disturbing shift in the Modesto and surrounding areas though when it comes to buyers attending open houses. Attendees are standoffish, reluctant to share even the most basic of information with the host and not asking any questions about the property they are viewing. To make the most of your time viewing open houses, follow the following 4 tips to maximize your experience and not be an Open House Fool.

1. Make an Entrance When you arrive, the host agent will likely introduce themselves to you. Introduce yourselves back. You know- like how your mom taught you when you were 5. The host is not going to bite or turn into your own personal stalker. I promise. I can’t tell you how many times I have introduced myself to an open house attendee only to be brushed off and not given the courtesy of a reciprocal introduction. Not only is it rude, but it is unnecessary. It tells the host that you are not an interested buyer in the home so they will likely focus their attention on other attendees, leaving any questions you may have unanswered while they attend to other parties.
2. Make Your Intentions Known If you’re a nosey neighbor, just say so. It does not bother the host to chat with neighbors. If you hide it, they will be able to tell anyways (trust me, we can tell) and it just makes you look silly. If you have an agent already, that’s great! Let the host know that too. You can even tell them who it is- they will likely know each other already which may help you if you end up making an offer, which leads to number 3.
3. Make a (good) Impression If you are even semi-serious about the house, take some time to endear yourself to the host agent. When your offer is presented to the seller the agent will be able to personify your offer to the seller that may make them more apt to accept your offer over someone else’s. Conversely, if you are rude, terse, and short with the host and spend the time you are there bad-mouthing every feature of the property and the seller’s belongings that may not bode well for you at the negotiation table either.
4. Make it an Opportunity If you are new to your home search and do not yet have an agent, an open house is the PERFECT opportunity to casually interview and assess several agents in a short amount of time. You can ask questions, chat with them, see how well you connect and even watch them in action with other open house attendees. Don’t be afraid to let them know you are looking for an agent, and definitely do not be afraid to ask questions about anything real estate related. Consider it a job interview on your terms.

Ultimately the open house can be a great tool for buyers if used properly. Just remember- mind your manners, the host agent will not turn into your personal stalker if you chat with them, and take advantage of the learning opportunity in front of you and ask as many questions as you can.

Attitude is Everything

Picture this: You have lived in the same house for a decade. The family is growing and it is time to move up. And it is a BIG move with BIG financial implications. You hire a Realtor and begin your search. In a short time you find what you think will be your dream home- 5 bedrooms, 4000 square feet and lots of upgrades. But there's a "but". It has been on the market for almost a year. In this market. There must be something wrong with it, right?

You task your agent to get the answers to a list of questions- why hasn't the seller accepted an offer yet? How many offers have been made? Why don't some of the sprinklers work? Why is the carpet worn in a strange pattern on the stairs? All of these questions are completely valid, especially when you're going to be spending more than half a million dollars.

Since the house is vacant and there is no direct contact with the owner, your agent has to turn to the listing agent to glean as much information as possible to make you comfortable enough to make an offer. The listing agent is much like a gatekeeper of information- they will either already know the answers to your questions or will go back to the seller and get the answers and relay them back to your agent.

But what if they don't??

Well, as you can probably tell by now I am in this situation with clients. And unfortunately the listing agent is completely unwilling to give up any information the buyers are asking for. When I asked him how many offers had been made and when was the most recent one made, his response was "that shouldn't matter to the buyers or effect their willingness to purchase the property". HUH? It is a simple question that should yield a simple answer. When asked about the sprinklers and the carpet, his answer was "the buyer needs to investigate that through inspections once an offer has been accepted". Wait, what?

His attitude and affect towards my buyer's concerns is so negative and unhelpful it is no wonder this house is still for sale. So, in thinking about this at length, I have to conclude that his terrible attitude towards cooperating agents MUST be a contributing factor in the house sitting on the market for so long. I know for certain his attitude has effected my client's willingness to purchase the home. His evasiveness is making them uncomfortable, and when spending a large amount of money being comfortable is paramount.

What is the lesson here? If you are a seller, it DOES matter what kind of attitude your agent has when representing you. You have to remember- they are your voice to the other side of the transaction, so their attitude and way they portray you can not only make or break a deal, it can cost you money.

Pictures: Your Agent is Doing it Wrong

I have been brewing up a rant for a while now about something that is at the top of my list of professional pet peeves: terrible pictures of listings. It is bordering on an epidemic and I honestly can’t take it anymore. The time has come to say what few have the guts to say. YOUR AGENT IS TERRIBLE AT TAKING PICTURES. It doesn’t matter you say? Keep reading.

 

Picture yourself in a position of needing to sell your home. You don’t know who to call, so you ask some friends for referrals and call around to a few local offices. You take the time to meet with more than one agent to pick just the right person for the job. After much deliberation you choose one- they come over and sign the listing paperwork with you- then THIS happens: Out comes their phone to take pictures of your house. That you just signed an agreement to pay them TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars to sell.

 

Ruminate on that for a bit, and let’s back up for a second.

 

Our market is changing. We have more inventory than we did a year ago, so we are returning to a much more normal market. People have equity, there are more regular (equity) sales than there are not, and there are more homes for buyers to choose from. Where are buyers looking for the homes they are deciding to look at? The internet. What are they looking at to determine if they want to see a certain home? THE PICTURES!

 

 Ok so back to you and your house for sale. A six percent commission on a $200,000 home is $12,000. TWELVE. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. And for your money, you get this. 15-20 sideways, poorly lit, blurry pictures of your house all over the internet.

 And by all over- I mean ALL OVER. Trulia, Zillow, Realtor, Movoto, Redfin, plus all of the individual local company websites and their international franchise websites. Your sideways pictures are viewable by the family relocating from Calgary to Ceres (that actually happened to us recently). Pictures are important to those people!

 

Then there’s my personal favorite. The “I-almost-forgot-to-take-a-picture-of-the-front-of-your-house drive by photo”. Who needs to actually get out of the car?? I, for one, think it is really important for potential buyers to see your door frame and side mirror.

 

 

Now let me be clear on a few things. First, bad pictures will not cause your house to NEVER sell. It will sell eventually- but maybe not for the price you originally thought it would, or it may take longer to the extent that it affects your ultimate goal you are trying to accomplish in moving. Secondly, bad pictures do not indicate that your agent is inept at representing you. All I am saying is that they are inept at marketing your home, and, in my opinion, lazy and therefore more apt to cut corners later.  Lastly I feel it important to note that all of these pictures were found in one short browse through our local MLS of active listings. It took me about 30 minutes and I ended up with way more photos than I had room for in this blog. This leads me to my next point.

 

EVERY SINGLE BUYER we have worked with in the last six months has complained to us on a regular basis about the (lack of) quality of the property photos available to them. They are not expecting professional photographer grade photos- all they want is for them to be straight, well lit, clear (not blurry), and not of just the occupants furniture! I promise you with 100 percent certainty that if your pictures met the (simple) criteria mentioned above, buyers would not pass up seeing your home before they look at all of the other homes available that have far more appealing pictures.

 

And before you say anything, I know what you’re thinking. Your agent is thinking the same thing. “Well my iPhone 5S has the best camera… yada yada yada”. Sure it is great at taking pictures of your latte, your fancy dinner and your kids baseball practice with that cool sunset in the background. You know what it is not good at?

This.

 

Or this.

 

And, to be perfectly honest, I have absolutely NO idea what this picture is. The garage? A laundry room? Your guess is as good as mine.

 

So after you sign that listing agreement- and the cell phone comes out for pictures- ask yourself if you trust that the agent you are hiring for the job has the right marketing strategy for your home, and will not continue to cut corners throughout the process. Or better yet- before you sign- while you are interviewing agents ASK them how they will take pictures, and ask to see other listings they have or that have sold recently so you can see what they have done for other clients. After all, you are HIRING someone to do a JOB for you, so why would you want to sell yourself short by choosing someone who is not willing to do the job correctly?