Sunday Open Houses haven't been generating much traffic for us in St. Petersburg, Florida - maybe's it's the sunny days for boating to nearby islands; maybe it's the Bucs football game; maybe they just want to look online. So - let's vary things a bit - we'll have a Saturday afternoon Open House! This home at 7327 2nd Ave S in Old Pasadena will be open tomorrow, Saturday, November 1st, from 1-4. The main house has 3 bedrooms with 2.5 baths, and there's a detached 3 car garage with a 1 bedroom 1 bath guest quarters over it, all … (3 comments)
open houses: Teresa Boardman shared coffee with me this morning
- 06/28/08 06:50 AM
Teresa Boardman shared coffee with me this morning. No, she didn't fly down from St Paul to St Petersburg. I was up early and reading the St. Petersburg Times. When I opened the Home section there was an article on Open Houses titled "Walk right in" that I started reading. Halfway through the article I had to smile because here was Teresa! The article said, "Open houses were invented during a time before the Internet, when consumers had to rely on Realtors, yard signs and newspaper ads," says Teresa Boardman, an agent in St. Paul, Minn., and founder of www.stpaulrealestateblog.com. "Those … (9 comments)
open houses: Trying Open Houses Again
- 09/08/07 12:04 PM
Just because Open Houses haven't worked in the past, and we haven't done them in a few years, doesn't mean they wouldn't work in today's changed market, right? So, in my neighborhood, we planned an Open House today: we have four team members, three agents and one admin, and we each held one house open from 1-4. We do a two-sided insert in our quarterly neighborhood newsletter, so in the one that came out this week we talked about each member of the team holding a house open this afternoon and we invited the neighbors to come and bring their friends. We had … (8 comments)
open houses: Sign Restrictions - Open Houses
- 11/21/06 09:48 PM
Agents have recently been notified by our Association of Realtors that Florida state law does not allow any signs to be placed in the right of way (which, of course, is where most signs ARE placed). We've been notified that the local governments will be taking the signs, and also issuing fines. They add, we CAN put signs on private property, and remind us that this must be with the permission of the owner. This takes me back to when I was first in real estate, when I would always knock on the door of the corner homes where I wanted to … (6 comments)
open houses: Open House for Neighbors
- 11/21/06 09:34 PM
Sellers often complain that Open Houses allow nosy neighbors a chance to see their house. I think that's good, not bad, as many neighbors know people that want to move in to the community. Take advantage of the neighbor curiosity - Let's say you're planning to enter the property into the MLS on a Friday, and that's when the sign will be going up. Call the neighbors before either of those happen (or send a note, or best of all, knock on their door) and invite them to a Private Preview Open House, with wine and cheese, on Thursday evening - one … (6 comments)
open houses: Less Buyers Coming to Open Houses
- 10/18/06 12:32 AM
When I'm explaining to the owners of my listings why I don't feel Open Houses are a good use of my time or theirs, I point out that less and less people are visiting Open Houses - and when you eliminate the "looking for decorating ideas", "My house is being held open" and "I need to use the bathroom/cool off/rest" visitors, how many REAL buyers have come through? I feel a lot of this decline in buyer visits is due to the new consumer - who wants to see things when he wants, where he wants and how he wants. Why … (7 comments)
open houses: Credit Cards Stolen
- 09/20/06 12:34 AM
We've had a report from the Pinellas Realtor Organization that in both Pinellas and Hernando Counties, Florida, there have been incidents where two or three people visiting an Open House have stolen a credit card from the agents. In either case, one of the group starts asking questions and engaging the agent, while the other one or two rifle through the agent's purse or in one case, purse in the car. They only steal one credit card, so sometimes it hasn't been discovered for a few days. There are benefits to Open Houses, but there are risks as well - personal safety … (3 comments)
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