This Sunday I did an open house on a new listing that I have which also happens to be a short sale. I couldn't believe how many people I had through even though it was raining (which is almost like a national holiday in California by the way.) Anyway, I had eight groups of people through the doors. One was the wife of an agent who really liked the house, but decided that the house was just a little bit too small for her family with four children.
The next group through was a neighbor who had the same floor plan and wanted to know why the price was "so low." She seemed a bit angry and just curious too. It is a sign of the times that many people in our market are just not aware of how dramatically prices have dropped - even within the past couple of months. I understand it must be frustrating that your home may have dropped several hundred thousand dollars in a very short period of time. I feel horrible for past clients of mine who have lost so much equity. But most of them got fixed rate loans that are not due for at least five years so they should be in much better shape in a few years.
Anyway, the next group through was a Realtor named Fran and her clients and what looked like the brother of her client. She was kind of grumpy quite honestly. She didn't seem to have the patience for a short sale and wasn't very optimistic, but her eyes perked up when she saw the flyer for some other listings I had that were in a lower price range. I wondered why she had her clients looking in the $350K range if they couldn't afford it. Maybe she hadn't pre-qualified them. Who knows. Honestly I wouldn't be excited to work with this woman. Ask me how I feel about it if an offer comes through from them.
The next group was another Realtor and her client. This Realtor was a 180 from the last one. Carole seemed like a very nice, normal type of agent I would really like to biz with. Her client had already put an offer in on another short sale property and was waiting to hear back from the bank. She didn't seem convinced that the listing agent was as "in the know" as what he had implied. She said they were told that they had "an in" at the bank and that they would be able to get an answer back very quickly. After a week in escrow, she didn't seem so sure. She even questioned about the listing agent taking other offers on the listing. Interesting. This relates to the whole "And More" I have in the title. There are so many people out there claiming to know this or that about short sales it makes me nervous. Especially if an agent tells you that you have to be "short sale certified" like one just told my brother in law this weekend. There are so many people out there that don't know what they are doing, it is scarey!!
A couple of Japanese men walked in while Carole and her client were chatting with me. They seemed to walk around the house and speak to each other, but had little to say to me. Lost in translation perhaps?
There was a couple from the neighborhood who had a similar house and had lots of criticism for my listing although it is in near perfect condition. I wasn't thrilled at the thought of working with nit-pickers. Next!
Nancy was a really nice Asian lady from the area looking for an investment. She wouldn't give me her contact info, but I hope she calls me about another listing I have in the area. She seemed really nice and serious.
The final group was a nice family who were coming through at the last minute when I was closing up shop. It always happens that way. You get ready to shut the windows and lights off and someone walks in when your hands are full and the flyers are put away. The house wasn't exactly what they were looking for, but I had a killer deal I had just seen when previewing earlier in the week. The house was all about the view. It was a definite fixer. So on my way out, I grabbed a couple of the open house signs and locked up to take them to go see the other listing. It wasn't a good one, but I'll stay in touch with this family.
All in all, it was a very successful open house on a rainy day. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Comments (1)Subscribe to CommentsComment