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Hi, I am trying to sell my home in IL. For that purpose I made a exclusive right to sell contract with a realtor after he agreed in writing to hold 2-4 open houses per month. This was 3 months ago and he never hosted an open house. Now my wife went back to the house to host one, since we believe that this will most likely lead to a sale. My agent however thinks that this is too short of a notice and that he cannot recommend to do this because my wife is no agent and cannot sell to the public according to licensing law. WTF? Opinions?
A seller can do an open house, they own the house. Just be leery of people who walk through and keep an eye on your possessions. Put away your prescriptions and other valuables. Be careful what you say and don't try to pressure people or "sell" the house. Be a good and vigilante host. Don't overload on what you tell people.
Open houses don't work as well since the internet except in high traffic areas.
You're agent is full of it. An owner can "sell" their own home without a license. You just can't sell someone elses house.
thanks! I will put out a sign then. We have a farm/estate, it is hard to get the whole picture based on a few shots online. I think that in our case the OH will bring the buyer.
Hi, I am trying to sell my home in IL. For that purpose I made a exclusive right to sell contract with a realtor after he agreed in writing to hold 2-4 open houses per month. This was 3 months ago and he never hosted an open house. Now my wife went back to the house to host one, since we believe that this will most likely lead to a sale. My agent however thinks that this is too short of a notice and that he cannot recommend to do this because my wife is no agent and cannot sell to the public according to licensing law. WTF? Opinions?
There are no laws, to the best of my knowledge, that prevent the owner of a home from holding an open house any time the owner wants. I guess it's possible that your contract has something to say on the matter, so read the contract.
The bigger question is; Why? If your agent committed to doing several open houses per month, hold him to that commitment. If he objects, call his broker and discuss it with him. Don't feel like you need to do work that the agent committed to doing.
I don't mean to cause trouble but, if I were you, I'd tell the agent to give you specific dates for the open houses he promised or you'll ask the broker to either assign another agent or end your listing agreement. To be fair, open houses are not very successful but they do work from time to time and a promise is a promise.
1. Your agent should be doing what they agreed to do. Personally, I think 2-4 open houses a month is too many. Maybe the first 2 weekends it is for sale, and then once a month after that. More often than that just gets stale. And if the listing has lasted 3 months already, your price is probably too high.
2. Open houses rarely sell a house. Most agents use open houses to pick up buyers who don't have agents, because only very rarely does the person who buys the house first see it via an open house.
3. If you really want to have an open house, there shouldn't be any reason your wife couldn't do it (unless as Bill said, your contract forbids it). In my opinion, it would be to your detriment to get into any sort of "price or terms" discussions, since inevitably a seller will blurt out something like "Well, we are asking $250k, but we would probably take $240k". If your wife is capable of keeping her mouth shut about price and terms and just keep it to "We are asking $250k", then she should do the open house. If she can't, and you know she will say things that will hurt your bargaining position, then she shouldn't.
One other note. You said this is a farm/estate. From that description, I assume there are outbuildings. Here is what I've seen on that type of open house. You really need 2 people to host the open house. Otherwise, when you are out in the barn with one prospect, another one is roaming free inside your house, unsupervised and unspoken to. They may walk around the house, and when they don't see anyone, just pick up and leave without looking around the rest of the property, and if they were your buyer, you lost them. And of course, there is the less scrupulous aspect: If someone less than honest sees you are out in the barn, they may find things to pocket, knowing you are distracted.
WTF (who the f) had the bright idea to hold ANY open houses at all?
Let alone to prescribe 2-4 per month?
Have ONE middle of a weekday OH for agents only. Serve brunch.
Otherwise... on the whole they are a complete waste of time.
Complete...no. My first sale came from an open house, that buyer listed with me, and that house sold at an open house! Fluke...I'd say yes...but complete waste of time, that's too great a blanket statement. And, maybe farm land in IL sells from open houses. As you know, local rules vary.
If your agent agreed to hold open houses then he/she should.
What else will he/she fail to do on your behalf? Your agents job is to market your home. That means advertising, agent tours, open houses, flyers, word of mouth, and whatever else you can think of, whatever it takes to sell your home. An agent that is too busy to sell your home is not acting on your behalf.
Did you ever tell your boss you where too busy to work? You would be fired.
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