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OK, if it's not enough to get insurance involved, then I think the homeowner/seller ought to be able to deduct from the listing agent's fee anything that breaks under said agent's watch.
Just because a house is being held "OPEN" does not mean that the front door should be unlocked to make easy entry for all prospective viewers so that the numbers of people in the house at one time is not more than an agent and assistant can monitor during a home viewing.
In any case, I have made my personal opinion known about Open Houses. While I like to attend them, I would not agree to an Open House for selling my own home. From my experience and from conversations over many years with real estate agents, Open Houses are more for listing agents to get new buyer-clients than they are to sell a particular home, especially in my area.
My personal opinion is that I won't do them so this won't happen on my watch anyhow. You are exactly right. They are for getting buyers and only have a one billionth chance of selling that particular house. I have tried this with investment properties I've owned and you get to meet all the neighbors and mostly people that aren't that serious about buying. And they are boring as friggin hell. No thanks. After reading this thread I now have another reason to add to the list for not doing them.
Oh, and as for signs outside an Open House, something like the following can be posted on the porch:
What about no bowling balls allowed? In case someone drops one on the ceramic tile. I mean, we do have to think of absolutely everything that can possibly happen, right?
I do think parents should not bring their kids to look at a house unless they are at the age where they know look, do not touch. Parents who are diligent and watch their children won't be able to fully look at the house and parents who are looking at the house carefully won't be able to mind their children well. Of course, this is different if the child is a baby and you are holding it but if they can walk and run around...leave them home.
Personally, I am not sure how much open houses help sales as I tend to think they bring looky lookers and neighbors. Realtors may know better.
As a buyers agent you should tell families that we stay together when we look. One room at a time. Especially in an occupied house with the sellers belongings in it. It is one reason I don't like doing open houses, you really can't.
What about no bowling balls allowed? In case someone drops one on the ceramic tile. I mean, we do have to think of absolutely everything that can possibly happen, right?
The sign I posted was obviously just for "No Shoes," which is appropriate to the topic of Open Houses.
I went to a house showing before Xmas. It was in a rural area where removing shows in pretty much the norm.
The house had magnificent carpets and floors. Everyone automatically removed their shoes it was obvious that the house had been lovingly looked after and that the carpets had never seen a pair of shoes. That's as it should be
The entrance hall was large and had plenty of room for seats that would enable everyone to easily remove their shoes. Sadly it didn't have any seating.
Personally I wouldn't live in a house that had hard floors throughout. I like carpet. Hard floors have a place in the entrance , especially in rural areas, but I prefer wall to wall plush carpets in the rest of the house( kitchen and bathroom excepted of course)
I've not been a house showing where people didn't remove their shoes. Maybe that's a UK thing.
Removing shoes tells me that the owners actually care about their space.
In my culture, it is considered rude to ask a guest to take their shoes off. For example, when I have a party with my relatives, I would never ask people to take their shoes off at the door, it would be seen as extremely rude. If I am concerned, I give the house a mop afterwards.
You're not a social guest at an open house and the homeowner is not having a party. Anyway, that does not matter because it's not your house. You're trying to put your preferences and your cultural whatevers on the same level as the homeowner's and that's not logical.
Because it's their home and not yours, it does not matter at all if you think their rules are rude, what your culture is, if you think their colors are all wrong, their furniture is gaudy, the temperature in the home is too warm, or the time of the open house isn't the most convenient for you.
QUOTE=MikeJaquish;50917208]Who?
People who live like that and think filth is a normal lifestyle.
And/or, people with no sense.
And/or, people with just one sense: entitlement.
This is testimony to the wisdom of selling a vacant house.
And also, and too often, never returning to a home one is attached to emotionally. These people will likely ruin the place.[/quote]
yes, they likely will trash that house in less than year it wont be livable by normal standards.
They did a pretty good job of that just during escrow. Unfortunately, my realtor was useless. I was on the third realtor from the company I signed with, each one leaving the company and the broker assigning me another new one. The one that got the commission never even entered into the house....never saw it and let the buyer have way too much access once escrow was entered. And I was too far away for me to know. Neighbors said the buyers even had a family picnic there while the house was in escrow!
Footprints on the walls at each landing of the stairways, mud all over the flooring, facets in the bathroom covered in mud too. The metal heater vent cover kicked and dented, etc. SICKENING, especially since everything was perfect when I listed the house. To the point that their inspection only found a dead battery in a thermostat and 2 cracked electrical covers, with tiny little cracks by the screw holes. And they incorrectly called out a few things like creosol build up in a gas fireplace, thinking that the artificial embers were creosol.
Going back would be heartbreaking if I expected it to be the way I left it! Just getting the last view of it was so sad....I spent so much money to make sure it was clean and perfect! And it was trashed! But its theirs now, and I have moved on, happy to have sold it before winter set in! And way happy to be in TN instead of CA!
A lot of agents will tell you an open house is important to sell the home.
But the reason agents like to hold open houses, is not to sell the home, but it is a place for them to meet potential buyers and take them on as a client, and to meet neighbors that are planning on selling their home soon, and are at the open house to get ideas that may help them in getting their home ready for sale. This is why they want to hold open houses. The odds of selling the home the open house is held at at the open house are extremely low. Open houses sure draw a lot of people from the neighborhood, who just want to take a peak into your private life. Often the only ones that go to that open house.
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