Sitting an Open House - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I'm on the board of directors at our broker's office and we recently had a meeting about open houses. Our office usually has between 60 and 70 open houses sat each month. However, last month we only had 37 sat. There were a couple of reasons for this.

The first reason is that our broker decided to start cutting down on newspaper ads and promote everything at our company website. Now instead of advertising open houses 4 times per month in the local paper, we only advertise 2 (and eventually none). This has a lot of the "old timer" agents upset and they refuse to sit at an open house that isn't advertised in the paper. On one hand I can see their point, but on the other hand, based on my experience, only about 1 out of every 50 people that come to open houses say they found out about it through the newspaper. Most say they saw an ad online or they simply saw the directional signs I put up.

Now, as one of the board of directors, I'm in charge of boosting moral and try to get agents to sit at open houses with or without local paper ads. This is what prompted me to writing this article.

I've talked to a lot of agents in our office and there isn't one that actually likes to sit an open house. Sure, they'll do it, but they don't like it. The main reasoning is because they feel that nobody will show up and it's a complete waste of time. Although it may be true that nobody will show up, it doesn't have to be a waste of time.

For instance, I'm sitting at an open house right now as I'm writing this article. So for me, this isn't a "waste" of time. I'm actually using the time in a productive manner. And that's what I think everyone needs to realize. Think of it as 3 or 4 hours where you can do something productive for your business instead of agonizing over having to just sit there.

Here's a list of some of the things I've done while waiting for a customer to show up at an open house.

Write my blog articles
Fold and label mailers
Practice taking listing photos
Research listings for current customers
Update my website
Enhance my listing photos in Photoshop
Write thank you notes
Design upcoming postcards

These are just the few that I can think of right now. I'm sure there are other things I did (or can do) in that timeframe.

Ok. But what happens when you do get the customer to arrive. How can you latch on to them (if they don't already have an agent) instead of the other open house sitter? I have a couple of weapons in my arsenal that seem to work well and have gotten me clients.

First I have my Homebuyers Kit. This kit consists of brochures, flyers, and my Home Buyers Survival Guide. I give it to any customer that I feel could become a client. When speaking to them, I watch their body language and I also ask them questions to get a feel if they are true buyers or just shopping around. If they seem like true buyers, then I'll give them my kit. They are usually surprised with it mainly because none of the agents at the last 5 or 6 open houses gave them anything but their business cards.

My second weapon is my laptop and my cell phone. These two things allow me to access the internet and the MLS. Sometimes I'm lucky and the home has wireless internet access which I can hook in to. If not, my Treo cell phone gives me access since I have the broadband data plan. I just plug it into my laptop and I'm ready to go. It's similar to the air-cards that you can purchase, but saves me money since I can just use my phone instead.

So a typical scenario would be a customer comes through the home. Kinda likes it but it doesn't fit their needs. So I tell them, no problem. Let me look up some others for you right now. I jump on the MLS and put in their search criteria. We look at what comes up and if something is nearby, I'll either set up the appointment to see it after the open house, or set it up to see it at the client's convenience. I'll then hand them my homebuyers kit and away they go. Happy and confident that they just found an agent that cares about them.

So basically, yes, open houses can be a pain, especially when it's gorgeous outside and you're stuck inside. But with the right attitude and the right tools, you can make them productive and possibly get new clients....which is why you're there in the first place.

Mike

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House Sitting - A Mexican Experience

After 30 years with DuPont I finally decided to take my retirement. Rachel and I have our house in Dallas up for sale 3 months ago. Unfortunately for us, the market began to tumble at the start of the year gone, and the broker was open when he tells us that there is probably some time would get it all near our asking price. We were pretty financially well positioned, so we told him we could wait. Was after numerous vacations in Mexico, we decided long ago that we would sell it,> Home and relocate outside of Guadalajara, Lake Chapala. The largest ex-pat American community was there and the weather was eternal spring. We were in Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel de Allende as possible nesting sites, and looked. Each had its own charm and appeal.

While surfing the Internet I came across a Google ad advertising a website, house sitting opportunities in Mexico. Well, it was not long before I connected with a homeowner in PuertoVallarta need a couple, their vacation for a few months, watch as they return to Canada to visit family.

After many emails and phone calls Rachel and I were on our way to Mexico. The house was located just a few blocks from the beach in the town of Bucerias. The owners greeted us warmly and for the next 2 days gave us a tour of the area and all the information we needed to leave home for their care. Finally, they were gone, and we were alone at home in a very comfortablefull house.

Over the next few weeks, we got some learning to know the ex-pat neighbors. Everyone was very friendly. We have learned, all inputs and outputs on life in Mexico.

Since the casa was only a few years old, there was very little to do maintenance. I fixed a few holes in the screens and kept the little garden in order. We started the feeling of living in a small Mexican town to visit the few grocery stores for our needs preserved. We found a local Spanish teacher,Juanita, which came into our house 3 times a week. After 2 months, we actually have a working knowledge gained around, and some beautiful enough to visit.

Most of our time spent enjoying long walks on the beach at sunset. During the rainy season, there were some incredible storms that would pass through the bay cooling of humid summer days. Of course there were some leaks in the doors and windows, which I easily repaired.

Every few daysWater guy would past our house to the "garfons" of drinking water, we must be replaced. After a while I could speak Spanish with him and learned a bit about his life and his family. Each month, would go to pay for the Telmex office to the telephone bill. These bills were delivered by hand in the house as the Mexican postal unreliable. The Internet service, the house was supplied by the company and cable TV channels and their statement was delivered byHand. As was the custom, I had on the local bank to these accounts, generally will pay to wait in long queues.

There was a week at a meeting of the inhabitants of the house to chat and a barbecue. These social events provided the opportunity, share gossip about real estate in general and dealing with questions of the Mexican bureaucracy, driver's licenses, immigration, vehicle registration, etc.

It took a valid 2 months was not long before we were and it was time to move on. Of course, had our housenot been sold, and we were not sure what to do next. It was an invitation from one of our children come to them to remain at Rhode Iceland, was sold to the house. We love our 4 grandchildren, but do not really want to live with them. We had not yet decided which part of Mexico, we would come for retirement

With only a few weeks ago we were sitting on the terrace to figure out what to do next with our lives, when Rachel checked our e-mail and called "Yahoo". We had justan e-mail from the website home sitting on a house sitting position in San Miguel de Allende. Three weeks later we had packed the SUV and were on their way to San Miguel for another adventure.

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