WHO COMES TO OPEN HOUSES?

Be prepared to have lots of company if you visit an open house held by a Century 21 office in the Berks County area during the month of October. October Open House Month is a national promotion, and our agents at Century 21 Advance Realty are hoping to meet lots of people from the Berks County communities at their listings.

So you thought open houses were just to “trap” buyers didn’t you? Open houses definitely give potential buyers a chance to see the inside of properties of interest, but they can do that now with Visual Tours and multi-photo exposure in Trend or any other multiple listing service.

People come to open houses to get a feel for a neighborhood, to get decorating ideas, to see if the agent hosting the open house would make a good listing agent, and sometimes even to see if that is the right house for them to buy. Agents get a lot of information to tell the sellers about how people at the open houses relate to their property. We recognize the hot spots that excite the guests at the open house, and it helps us show that property in the best possible light. REALTORS learn as much as they teach about homes in their inventory when properties are held open. Nosy neighbors are welcome to REALTORS and should be to sellers, because statistics show that buyers come from contact with people who live in close proximity to the listing. Picking your neighbors, so to speak!

Jim Fawcett, a REALTOR with our company, Century 21 Advance Realty, says “I like twilight open houses, because the homes look welcoming with the properties lit from within – especially during the fall. I always believed people would like to stop by on their way home from work rather than come out on the weekends”. We love this idea, so watch for twilights closer to Halloween.

A word of caution to potential buyers – don’t panic if the host agent mentions the Consumer Notice, the infamous “green form”. It’s not a contract, just a disclosure, and absolutely for the benefit of the buying public.

Which brings me to a great place to stop for this blog. Agency law is way too serious for a late Friday afternoon blog.