How To Host An Open House

First, lets assume you don’t have much business right now and have decided to hold some houses open for other agents in your office. Open houses are time consuming, so many real estate agents who are unable to find the time themselves will be thrilled if you offer this assistance to them.

1) Always take a trip to view the property BEFORE you agree to host an open house there. Sometimes there are big differences between what you see in the listing online and what you see when you actually get to the property. Make sure to inspect each room carefully, basically check it as though you were a potential client walking through the house for the very first time; check the backyard, check the bathrooms. I have a checklist with me where I grade every area of the house according to feature.

2) Now, you have found the perfect property to hold the open house. What items should you bring with you? Here are the items I usually include on my list:

* Small card table w/tablecloth

*Quality punch bowl, drinks, and ice

* Property flyers

*My own personal business cards

* A guest book

* An open bathroom for visitors

3. It’s not unusual for people to peek inside and simply ask “How much?” Don’t just give them the price and then let them leave – ask them to come in, offer them some water, and start a conversation with them about the amount they’re willing to spend. This type of situation is why it pays to be prepared.

Before you go to the open house, do a radial search around the house for 1/4 mile for all active listings. Organize them according to price in a notebook or binder so that you can study them before your own event. This way, if one of your prospects goes through the house and then tells you that they like the place but the asking price is $20,000 more than they had planned to spend, you’ll be ready for them. You simply take out your binder and flip through the listings, then say that there are three homes within their price range nearby – and when they’re ready, you would be glad to show them these homes.

4) After prospects have toured the home and are on their way out, thank them for coming and be sure to give them your business card and contact information. If you sense they are not represented or may be seeking representation than by all means try to chat them up.

5) I will just highlight some of the more basic posts, as there are already several such posts about Open House safety.

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