open houses: Labor Day Weekend Open House - 09/04/11 02:08 PM
Labor Day WeekendOpen House
I didn't see too many open house signs today, which could explain why my open house was very busy.
I have noticed over the years (that means since I started as a Realtor in 2005; I track everything using Excel) that open houses on holiday weekends are pretty good. I guess people are looking for something to do, especially those people who are looking for a new place to live!
This condominium is my own listing that I took back in January. We had an accepted offer by the end of January and spent seven months in … (4 comments)

open houses: My Open House Survivor Kit - 05/15/11 03:36 PM

 
My Open House Survivor Kit
The common perception among many real estate agents is that the only reason to do an open house is to make more contacts, and some agents will say even that doesn't work.
It's highly likely that your open house probably won't be the only open house that visitors get to that day. You can make sure, though, that even if your listing doesn't meet their needs, your name remains in their minds for a long time, what my marketing guru calls "Top Of Mind Awareness."
What I do to ensure that is to create … (15 comments)

open houses: If you are willing to work open houses properly, they can work for you, too! - 06/04/10 11:59 AM
A couple of months ago I had an escrow close successfully for a Client with whom I had worked for about 15 months. We had written five offers, and while the final one got accepted, my Clients were in Afghanistan, so it was a major headache to work with them overseas and their Power of Attorney in Virginia to get papers signed, dated, and in on time.
Then the appraisal came in $15,000 too low. Fortunately, the Buyer and Seller agreed to split the difference, so the purchase price was $7,500 lower and my Clients put in $7,500 of their own … (11 comments)

open houses: You can learn things from your Open House visitors! - 03/21/10 12:24 PM
I met a couple at my Open House today who are from Bismarck, North Dakota.
They are moving down here for their retirement years to get away from the cold and snow in Fargo.
While we were talking about homes, the wife casually asked if I knew what homes stood for.
Not understanding the question, she repeated it and told me that HOMES is an acronym for something.
I now know. Do you?
♫♫♪♫♫

If you're looking for a great San Diego Realtor, well,let me Google one for you. I'm available 24/7, so feel free to contact me by phone … (6 comments)

open houses: It was a weird open house today - 02/28/10 03:24 PM
After not holding an Open House for the past couple of weeks, it was good to get back in the groove.
I love holding Open Houses. There is just something I like about them. Maybe it's the number of contacts I make.
Whenever I hold an Open House, I always email the people on my contact list and distribute notices throughout the neighorbood.
Today I only had fourteen visitors, but three of them were previous Clients from several years ago. Two are interested in selling and want my advice on what the market might hold for them if they sell now. … (10 comments)

open houses: Open House update for Super Bowl Sunday, February 7 - 02/07/10 12:28 PM
My database indicated that Super Bowl Sunday is not a bad time to have an open house.
Today saw 16 people show up, and since the television was on the Super Bowl, a few people stayed and chatted with me and left additional information for me. So who knows?
I think a few of the visitors were disgruntled San Diego Chargers fans and were determined not to watch Drew Brees (traded by the Chargers) or Peyton Manning (due to the Eli Manning draft). They didn't look too happy that I had the game on.
 
♫♫♪♫♫
If you're looking for a great San … (10 comments)

open houses: Knowledge is power! - 01/31/10 01:05 PM
For the first time this year I didn't do a Sunday Open House.
The inventory in my farming area is somewhat totally abysmal, and all the possible properties either didn't have utilities on or the tenants said no.
I did take advantage of the day off, so to speak, to update my files with all the new information I could find regarding properties sold in 2009, new HOA fees, and things going on in many of the condominium complexes, such as new roofs being installed, exteriors being painted, parking lots being repaved, etc. I even ordered new CC&Rs from some of the … (3 comments)

open houses: A great open house in spite of the Chargers-Jets televised home game! - 01/17/10 02:44 PM
Not only did I have a successful open house today, my second best ever with 41 visitors, but I also had my longest open house, not closing up shop until 5:45, 1¾ hours past my advertised closing time.
I was not too far from Qualcomm Stadium where the San Diego Chargers were hosting, and losing to, the New York Jets, so I got some foot traffic from people walking to and from the game.
It was toward the end of the game when things got really interesting, though. A couple from White Plains, New York, stopped by about five minutes before … (11 comments)

open houses: I hope my open house turns out as beautiful as these flowers - 01/17/10 07:26 AM
After last week's fiasco open house over in Coronado, which was out of my knowledge area, I'm back in my farming area today, where I know everything about everything.
The only thing I didn't know was that since Spring is here, a lot of the condominium complexes have already done their Spring landscaping. I was just over here last Wednesday and it was still the Winter landscaping, so I guess they knew I was having an open house today and really wanted everything to look fantastic.
Following are four flowers that I really liked, although I haven't a clue what kind … (7 comments)

open houses: My worst open house ever! - 12/13/09 02:48 PM
They say that the Dallas Cowboys are America's Team, and my open house today might be proof of that.
I've had many open houses with the San Diego Chargers playing at home, or playing on the road in a televised game.
I've done open houses against undefeated teams, defending Super Bowl champions, winless teams, division winners, playoff games, etc., but I've never had an open house when the Dallas Cowboys were on television, and the fact that they were playing the San Diego Chargers today provided me with my worst open house since becoming a Realtor in May 2005.
Although I … (20 comments)

open houses: Thanksgiving Sunday Open House results - 11/29/09 01:59 PM
I know there are many people who don't like doing open houses, and many more who won't even do open houses, but I'm one who both enjoys doing them and does them. In fact, I like doing them so much that if I don't have a listing of my own that I can hold open, I'll ask someone from my company if I can hold their listing open.
What's interesting is that although so many people say that open houses don't work -- and we might have to get a definition of what "don't work" means -- no one has ever … (7 comments)