Now, if your agent is properly marketing your home using the latest, cutting-edge techniques, an open house is an inconvenience for the owner at best, and a serious risk for the owners, at worst.
Below are excerpts from some open house articles:
- An open house can be an opportunity for drug-related crime…real estate agent Kyle Rovinsky learned first hand after showing a high-end home in Frisco. He claims a woman deliberately distracted him, while her boyfriend raided the medicine cabinet. He said, "At that particular house, it was a bottle of Vicodin, and it was a full bottle. I think there were 30 pills in it. It created all kind of problems for the homeowner, because they had to go get the prescription refilled." Kyle claims to be a little bit nervous about the liability of this new crime. A n anonymous recovering addict said this type of crime is more common than one might think. He said, "Kind of 'Sunday paper' shopping…see what open houses are in rich communities. That's what my friends used to do. They would look in the paper to see which homes to raid for medicine." The value of pain pills have risen on the street, which also may have led to an increase in these crimes.
- A man posing as an interested buyer at a real estate open house stole a wallet from one of the Realtors in west Morgan Hill, and police are still looking for the suspect, authorities said. The suspect, described as a white male in his 40s and about six-feet tall, also stole an iPod from the homeowner while on a self-guided tour of the home, according to Realtor Shannon Farrell Pate who sent an e-mail to the Times and other residents alerting them of the crime.
- While most criminals will seek small items and anything they can fit into their pockets, sometimes these “buyers” are actually scoping the home for a future burglary.
- In advance of an open house, homeowners should remove all valuables, including jewelry, artwork, and electronic equipment.
- Additionally, money, mail, bank statements, credit cards and keys should never be kept lying around, or even in a drawer with easy access.
- Prescription drugs should be kept in locked cabinets, to prevent anyone from stealing them or using the information on the label.
- Professional burglars often linger in rooms, looking for items they can dispose of quickly. They also search for ways to get in and out, scouting possible escape routes and checking for security devices. Couples up to no good often split up so one can check out the house and its belongings, while the other keeps the agent and/or seller occupied
- Apex, N.C. — Police said Friday that they are searching for a man who stole jewelry from at least three Apex homes during open houses hosted by real estate agents. The thief grabbed more than $18,600 in jewelry from two homes in the Scotts Mill subdivision and one in the Walden Creek subdivision between Feb. 11 and Feb. 17, police said. Police have only a vague description of the suspected thief.
James Shaw, team leader with Keller Williams, which listed one of the homes that was robbed, said homeowners need to hide valuable items when they prepare their properties for an open house.
And, lastly, a recent article from Realtor Magazine (Natl. Assn. of Realtors official publication):
Who Benefits from an Open House?
Public open houses may be more beneficial for the agents themselves than for the home sellers…The weekend open house is a time-honored tradition in real estate sales, but it has outlived its effectiveness…according to a new survey conducted by the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. The survey results hint at the notion that public open houses may be more beneficial for the agents themselves than for the home sellers.
In interviews, agents responded that the main benefit to an open house was NOT the chance of selling the home held open, but to create opportunities for agents to sign listing agreements with neighbors who stop by to see the open home. Fifty-five percent of the survey respondents agreed with the statement that open houses help them generate new listing contracts. Agents have always known that ‘nosy neighbors’ always make up a high percentage of open house visitors. And a great deal of all open house visitors either refuse to fill out the sign-in forms or give fake names/contact information (now come on, don’t tell me you haven’t done that)
By putting up signs, and letting anyone enter, there is no way to know whether a visitor is a serious buyer, Is qualified to purchase, is just curious or has more sinister motives.
So, before your agent convinces you that an open house is something that “separates them from the other agents”…think again! And, make sure that they are utilizing ALL of the available ‘high-tech” ways to reach ‘real’ buyers.
Thanks for reading…Steve Jackson…561.602.1258
