Real Estate Investing

This post by Pacita C. Dimacali, Alameda & Contra Costa CA real estate over at the Active Rain blog had me laughing. She was showing a foreclosed property that was apparently priced VERY WELL and when people driving by saw the home open, they came on in, too.

Turns out that another realtor arrived to show the property to her clients, but that folks came to the property and wanted to see it, too. That realtor made the mistake of leaving the door open, so folks came in. And they came. And they came.

That realtor couldn’t leave without locking the house, but because there were so many people there, she couldn’t get them all out. She called out for help: “IS THERE A REALTOR IN THE HOUSE?” To which my co-worked responded, and said she would lock up. Big mistake!

It’s so common to have people walk in houses when Realtors are present because they think it will be a GREAT time to also check it out!  Of course there are liability issues, legal issues, and issues related to common courtesy.  My only question is … WHERE ARE ALL THE BUYERS WHEN I WANT THEM TO COME TO MY OPEN HOUSES?  Ha.  They’re over at the houses they shouldn’t be in, apparently.

Fantastic photo by Chickens in the Road.

I just read about an agent whose mummified body was found 24 years after an open house - with a plate of hard cookies still sitting on the counter next to his open house flyers. 

Captain James Dangle with the Melbourne Police department said, “It appears Mr. Mackerel died of heart failure during an Open House some time in April of 1964. His Open House flyers and a plate of cookies were still on the kitchen table, untouched. It’s absolutely bizarre that no one found him before now.”Captain Dangle is pretty sure twenty four years sets a world Open House record. He plans to contact representatives of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not to find out. “Hey maybe they’ll come to Melbourne and do a show about it. You just never know.”

Then I started laughing at the obvious joke.  Had he disappeared in 1964, it would’ve been 34 years (not 24).  Some people love open houses, some hate them.  My feelings are mixed.

If it’s a new construction home with an Internet connection, I love them.  I’m able to get a lot of work done and sometimes even get to meet people coming to tour the home.  If it’s an existing home, I’m not crazy about them.   People don’t come often enough to justify my intrusion into someone’s schedule, sitting in their private space.  I feel awkward if I sit on the couch and mess up their pillow arrangement.  And God help me if I have to use the restroom.  That’s when sheer paranoia strikes!  What if someone rings the bell at an inopportune time?!  What if (and I shudder) there’s no toilet paper*?

What do others think of open houses?  Mortgage News Daily writes a hilarious yet brutally truthful review,

First, open houses can be monumentally boring. Agents who used to hate crossword puzzles have completed dozens on strangers’ dining room tables while praying that at least one customer would show up. Alternatively there can be chaos and an agent hard pressed to keep track of five or six different groups of customers with unruly children and poor manners. Murphy’s Law of Open Houses decrees that 115 minutes of a two hour open house will lend itself to watching a playoff game but mobs of visitors will arrive within a ten minute period. This usually happens when the agent has turned off the lights and music and has started to lock up.

Actually, most of my open house customers do come strolling through about 5 minutes before closing time.

What do you think? Are open houses worth it? 

*Reason #3 that I keep toilet paper in my car … right after reason #2 - I have chilluns.

Cartoon from Agent Advantage Learning Center.

Another agent from my company recently told me about a lost listing.  The seller was very protective about the impeccable home.  It was beautifully cleaned from top to bottom (and every vent in between) so it was obvious they took great pride in the condition.

The agent should’ve known better than to try to do her job.  Unfortunately, she held an open house one weekday and provided some barbeque, potato salad, and finger desserts for agents in her community to come and preview the beautiful home.  This is typically a sound marketing idea as a way to make the home memorable in the minds of the people who will bring the buyers.

What the agent didn’t count on was the fact that a visiting agent - one invited to the barbeque - wore heeled shoes.  Sharp heels.  Very very sharp heels that dug into the hardwood floors with every step she took.  Throughout the house - wherever the shoes led - were little indentations on the floors.  It was like a water hole drying up on the Kalahari with little tracks going everywhere.

The damage was in the tens of thousands.  The flooring in the entire house had to be replaced.  The agent lost her listing and I’m waiting to hear if she’s being sued for the cost to repair.  Ouch.  I would’ve never thought of the possibility of that happening in a million years, so I’m relieved it’s been brought to my attention to remember.

In any case, it’s a lesson we can all learn from.   When you tour a home - whether as an agent or a buyer - if the floors aren’t gross, it’s okay to take your shoes off.  Sometimes agents offer little footies with which to cover your shoes so you don’t track mud.

When you tour a home, be respectful of the other person’s property.  Don’t pick up a knick-knack… you’re not there to see their belongings but to see the structure, layout, design of the home.

Don’t unlock or lock a door without letting your Realtor either know you did or or doing it for you because there have been times when sellers have just walked next door during the showing and then can’t get back into their homes.  Or they come home from work in the evening to find their house has been open all day.

Be considerate of the homeowner when you tour or show a home.  It’s really just common sense and accidents DO happen, but an ounce of prevention does go a long way.

Photo by tealfroglette through Flickr Commons.