There have been a lot of articles in the past couple weeks extolling the virtues of the open house. However, they might not be for everyone or every property. Here are a few reasons to put aside your dreams of an open house.
• Security issues. Although it sounds like a horror story, it’s true: people have gone to open houses and walked out with jewelry, medicine, valuable knickknacks and more. If you have lots of valuables and aren’t willing to remove them from the home, then an open house may not be for you.
• People don’t arrive in a nice, orderly fashion. You’ll probably be bored out of your mind for most of the open house, then utterly busy and stressed for the remaining fifteen minutes. If there’s only one of you, it can be tricky to manage a crowd and you may lose out on talking to everyone.
• They cost money. Even if you just pick up a plate of cookies and buy a couple of signs, an open house does cost you some money. Anywhere from $50 to $500 might be spent on your open house – planting flowers, staging rooms and making packets of information are all costs you have to consider.
• Bids are rare. An open house is rarely responsible for selling a home. Rather, agents can use them to generate buyers’ lists – and these buyers will probably purchase another one of their properties.
• It’s a lot of work. In addition to cleaning up around the house, you’ll have to reduce the amount of clutter in your home. Many real estate agents will advice you to pack up half your books and knickknacks to store somewhere else during the open house.
• Keeping up with the Joneses. You’ll have to deal with your nosy neighbors from down the street who just want to peep inside your home as well as people who want to chat your ear off, but have no intention of making a bid. Are you ready to deal with these folks?
While an open house can be a wonderful tool for selling a home, there are also many reasons why you should consider using other means. Virtual tours are getting more and more popular and let you show off the home without inviting strangers in. Next time you’re selling a home, consider all your options for showing your home to others.
