Open Houses, Day 2

DAY 2

Tuesday’s Objective: To become an expert on the home you will be sitting and the area in which the property is located.

Knowing the Home:

  1. Ask the listing agent to walk the house with you and point out the house specifics, features, improvements, upgrades, plumbing, electrical, heating, roof, etc. Get ALL the information, more than what is listed on the MLS.
  2. Have HOA costs, taxes, school districts, CC&R, shopping and neighborhood info.
  3. Be an area expert. Research the area and comparable pricing, pull neighborhood comps. Try to tour other nearby ‘for sale’ homes before the open house.

Knowing the Area:

  1. Have market statistics for the area prepared and know all similar inventory.
  2. Know school districts, shopping and neighborhood info.
  3. Research the area and comparable pricing, pull neighborhood comps. Try to tour other nearby ‘for sale’ homes before the open house. This comes in handy when handling price objections. For example, the home you are sitting might be $10k more than a similar property why? Is it because your property has been completely remodeled? The only way to know these things is to tour other homes. Do your homework!

Action Items:

  1. Call the listing agent – ask to walk the house with them (preferred) or if they are unable to, have a detailed phone conversation with them and ask questions about the home (features, improvements, etc). Complete all tasks in “Knowing the Home” section.
  2. Go to listreports.com and sign up for a free account. Once signed up go to your dashboard and click on “New List report” follow the tutorial and enter the address of the property for the open house. It will take a day for Listreport to generate the reports. You will receive an email with a link to your property marketing materials. Download the Open House Flyer, Open House Sign in Sheet, and Neighborhood Report for the Buyer. (See bottom of post)
  3. Contact the title company of your choice and ask for a prelisting package that includes a copy of the CCR’s etc. You might also ask the listing agent if they already have the info on file.
  4. Log into Paragon and pull a list of all listings in the immediate neighborhood. Depending on the number available try to preview as many as possible prior to the open house to familiarize yourself with as many of the competitors as possible.