When selling your home, one of the first things on your mind is the open house. An open house tour essentially allows potential buyers to walk through your home and see if they like it or not. Many real estate agents boast about the increase in interest after one of these, but are they as great as they are made out to be? Here are some potential cons of conducting an open house and how to fix them.
Open Houses Work!
There’s a reason why so many real estate agents push for an open house, and it’s not because they believe it’s going to bring you an offer. The harsh reality is that most people who come through your door will not put in an offer. Think about it, when’s the last time you made an offer on a 100K plus purchase after seeing it once or twice? No, the open house event is made to benefit the real estate agent as it allows them to network with potential clients. Instead of wasting your time with an open house, ask your agent to find potential buyers and set up a private tour of the home for them. This is more likely to bring in an offer.
You Run the Risk of Burglary
When you set up an open house, you are expecting a certain type of people to come into the home. These may be young couples or a family seeking a new place to call home. However, an open house also attracts would-be thieves. With so many people in one location, it’s difficult for your real estate agent to pay attention to every single person. This can lead to valuables being stolen or your property being vandalized. You can minimize this risk by implementing the same tactic as above, which is to plan private tours. Planning a private tour of the home can not only allow your agent to keep an eye on your stuff, but the people chosen are often vetted and confirmed to be actively looking for a home.
You May Create a Bad Image
Most homes won’t sell quickly unless it’s an incredibly desirable spot. This can lead to having multiple open houses, which can be quite frustrating and may even send out the wrong message to potential buyers. Buyers might see this and think that there is something wrong with the home otherwise, it would have sold already. Therefore, it is imperative that you simply skip over the open house event and keep things between yourself and serious buyers.