I am doing an open house right now at Lyon Hill in Arlington and its one of these terribly hot DC days where no one wants to step out of the AC! Knowing it would be slow, I brought along my computer to get some work done… being here has me thinking about Open Houses and I thought I would share my thoughts on Open House Do’s and Don’ts!
Do's:
- Feel free to stop in Open Houses, even if you would/could not buy the property, its ok to let an agent know you are just curious!
- Sign in (legibly, please) and let the agent know how you heard about the Open, even if it’s just that you were walking by.
- Keep an eye on your children, make sure they are not playing with anything breakable or dangerous and use the house’s powder room to wash up any dirty hands that may touch walls or sofas.
- Be a nosy neighbor! Looking into open houses in your area helps you keep tabs on what is going on in your marketplace. Just be mindful that the houses original list price may not be the price that it eventually sells for.
- Use open houses as a chance to see the new trends in renovations and new homes, it’s a great way to get inspired for a renovation or decorating project
- Open closets! If you are interested in a house, you need to see the storage spaces, even though I know if feel invasive.
Don'ts:
- Fake interest, you won’t hurt our feelings if you don’t like the property or it won’t meet your needs, providing honest feedback can be very helpful.
- Ask questions about the population make-up of the building or neighborhood. Due to Fair Housing laws we cannot comment on the race, religion, age, sex, family status, etc… of a population. Examples of questions not to ask: “Are there a lot of students renting in this neighborhood?” or “I noticed a Mosque on the corner, are there many Muslim families in this condo building?”
- Try to pressure agents into telling you a sellers’ “bottom line” the only way to find that out is to make an offer!
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