OPEN Houses and What Agents are saying about them....

I find it so interesting what my colleagues are sharing on Linked In about
OPEN houses.  Some say they absolutely love holding them, others say
they don't work. 

I read the discussion for every single agent and here is my thought or
comment on OPEN HOUSES. 

"I truly believe that it all depends on the area you're in. NY, Chicago
and other areas seem to do very well with open houses. I usually do AGENT
luncheons instead of OPEN houses to the PUBLIC. You get a lot of people
usually on Sunday after church that are just lookers never intending to buy.
We've had reports of couples coming through and while the husband was
asking the agent too many questions, the wife was in her large purse picking
up valuables around the house, including the agents purse. Then they jumped
in their car, drove off and agent discovered it after looking for her purse.
Anyone crossing the threshold should be PREQUALIFED before they go into
furnished home especially if you don't know who they are or where they came
from. When I was a new agent I used to sit at every agents from my office
OPEN HOUSES. I loved connecting with the public but these days things are
different. I have heard of good but also horror stories. We've had two agents
killed in Atlanta few years ago. My last OPEN house I offered FREE hot dogs
and appetizers and only people that showed ate the food and never bought
anything. If it works for you, hold the OPEN houses. Be cautious, let someone
know which home you're in and be CAREFUL. I'm glad to hear the success stories
. What works for me this year is INTERNET marketing, my virtual tours and
networking with other agents. We also have monthly meetups and monthly
sharing of Luxury Properties. Those work for me.

Dagmar Sands - Real Estate International Inc.
World Class Real Estate Broker