The Open House Spot

When determining the pattern and placement for your open house signs, step back and look at the big picture first.  How many major access ingress/egress routes do you have?   What logical sequence of signs will bring them exactly to your door first?  Use as many signs as you can without angering authorities and neighbors. If you are signing alone, start at the outermost areas first and work your way in ward toward your property.  This way, when you place your last sign, and you have people following you from your other signs to your property, you are there and ready to go.  The opposite is true when you have more than one person holding an open house.  Put your first sign in the front yard of your subject property and work your way outward, so that you get immediate traffic from neighbors, local traffic and often, if you have advertised online, the folks who are out looking specifically for your open house.

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders

www.NoMoreStakes.com

A great thing you can do to get your seller’s cooperation in getting their house to look as good as possible – for open houses and in general – is to purchase and lend a book called “Top Dollar for Your Home: A Seller’s Checklist” by David Jones.  We purchased quite a few copies from the author and would use them as a reference tool for current or potential listing clients.  I particularly like the format because it is simple to follow with lots of checklists for the seller to work through.  Our sellers have really appreciated it and I appreciate them getting the “hint” without it having to come from me!  Of course you can’t get every seller to agree with you about the importance of emotional appeal for buyers and how that translates to dollars in their pockets – but even minor improvements to the property helps.  That is another great thing about the book – it doesn’t require elaborate redecorating or any particular skill to execute the changes. It is pretty straight-forward simple stuff (isn’t it usually that way!).  As an agent, I am always looking for low-cost marketing tools and this is a good one that goes hand in hand with your open houses.  We used to have copies with us when we were holding open houses for folks to look at while there - anyone who showed interest in the book could be a listing potential.  You can find copies of the book and other helpful staging tips at www.Staging101.com.

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders

www.NoMoreStakes.com

Unfortunately, our sellers aren’t always the most cooperative when it comes to getting their own house ready for an open house.  You would think they would, after all, they have a vested interest, but from what we have experienced and what other agents have told us, that is not the case.  One agent told us that she was walking through her listing to prepare for an open house and actually found contraceptives laying around in the master bedroom.  Yeah, I know, I said the same thing – that’s gross!  Aside from the little things you would obviously do (like pick up trash) and the big things you can’t afford to do (like re-decorate the whole house) what can you do to enhance the marketability of your listing?  Here are some ideas:

q       Make sure ALL lights are turned on – it can never be too bright

q       Light scented candles throughout the house

q       De-clutter by putting extra photos or papers in a drawer – just remember to put them back out after your open house

q       Air conditioning on during hot days, a fire in the fireplace on cold days

q       Open doors – closets, interior, exterior – to places you want buyer’s to see – don’t assume they will look inside

q       Post nicely printed notes and post around the house for features you want buyer’s to take particular notice of

Hope this helps!  Would love to hear your ideas for really setting the stage for an open house.

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders

www.NoMoreStakes.com

Craigslist – free.  It doesn’t get any more low cost than that!  For about $7 you can get a sign rider that says “Open House Sat. 1pm to 5pm”.  We bought one and would put it on our flyer box at the beginning of the week so that passers by would know we were having an open house that weekend.  If you use the 4” x 4” posts for your For Sale signs you can use one of the large square EZC Sign Holders and use a coroplast sign to advertise your open house.  The sign holder and coroplast sign riders are great because you can put several of them up and down your listing sign post.  Depending on your level of service, you may be able to post your open house on Realtor.com or with your local MLS.  Send out an email blast to your database.  If you have a toll free phone service you can designate an extension to advertise which listings will be held open each weekend.  We have a property website for each of our listings and we are able to post our open houses on that.  It is a fabulous service for only $10 a property – and that includes the domain name.  The service also allows you to upload your property information to Craigslist automatically in a beautiful format.  Check it out at www.epropertysites.com.  To see one of our listing websites, check out www.21122windchildlane.view24hours.com.  This service also allows prospects to get information sent to their phones by text message.  For $10 for a year and the cost of a rider – I think this qualifies as a low cost way to advertise your open houses.

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders

www.NoMoreStakes.com

Lots of agents think that open houses are only for new agents – no way!  In a previous post, I shared with you our million-dollar open house success story.  (If you missed that blog, check out the blog entry title Open House Million Dollar Story.   We would love to hear your million-dollar open house story – please feel free to comment!)  When we met that particular client we were holding an open house in the most upscale neighborhood in the city where we live.  You might be surprised to know that the agent who had a lock on that neighborhood, a Prudential agent at the time who was in the top 1% of sales volume for Prudential agents nationally, held his own open houses every weekend.  Yes, this million-dollar agent holds open houses on the weekends.  In fact, everyone knew that if you wanted to talk to him face to face, figure out which house he was holding open and go!  Even his clients knew this!  So why would a successful, experienced, million-dollar (in income and sales production) agent still hold open houses?  More importantly, why aren’t you???   I can tell you why he held open houses and it is one of the reasons he had a lock on this million-dollar community – exposure.  It doesn’t matter how much of an online presence you have – nothing can match face to face meetings with folks.  Open houses aren’t just for buyer contacts – oh, no!  Holding regular open houses in an area where you are marketing yourself gives potential sellers a chance to meet you face to face.  Don’t farm without them!  As a side note, you can’t even believe how many listings this agent would double-end.   How nice would that be in this market?

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders

www.NoMoreStakes.com

WHY DO THEY HATE US SO MUCH?!

As distributors of EZC Sign Holders, we had the opportunity to exhibit at the California Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors conventions.  It was such an awesome experience to meet and talk to real estate agents from all over the state and country.  We were impressed with how many of the veteran agents recognized the value of open houses.  But when it came to setting up signs for open houses, there was a theme among most agents, new and experienced alike – city officials hate real estate agents.  Well, that might be pretty strong and dramatic language, but that was the sentiment we got time after time.  I have wondered why that is?  Real estate agents provide a vital function for cities – after all, each time a property is sold, revenue is generated for the county and city.  And I have found that real estate agents are often the main source of information about cities – city amenities, school information, demographics and more. 

So, why then, do they give real estate agents such a hard time when it comes to open houses?  Unlike other businesses where customers go to a retail location to look at the goods for sale, each “product” (house) is a location unto itself.  And unlike other retail businesses, it isn’t possible to have standard “open” hours.  That leaves open houses as a way of displaying our products to the consumers.  It’s part of our business and we are providing a service to the citizen home sellers.  So what is the problem?  I think part of the problem is that some agents overdo it when it comes to setting out open house signs.  They may use too many in one location, leave them up for too long, or use unsightly methods of attachment for their signs.  One of the reasons we started distributing EZC Sign Holders was because we thought they would be such a better alternative to stakes and tripods – and they are a very green product.  Many times the only alternative an agent has is to tape their signs to a post – not a very clean or green way to go.  Using the EZC Sign Holders made that unnecessary.  If an agent already has a sign at an intersection, well then move on to the next.  Don’t tape up city poles.  Be careful not to pose a trip hazard.  Really, garage sale signing is the worst for slapping up our poles.   We have been trying to find a way to partner with cities to provide the EZC Sign Holders to their residents for their garage sales – inexpensive, install in seconds, and no tape or damage to the poles.  Can’t we all just get along?  Lynne Leite
Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate
Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders
www.NoMoreStakes.com

Ever heard of a 15-minute real estate open house?  I didn’t either, but I kind of like the idea.  The basic idea is that you build anticipation and competition by allowing viewing of a property for only 15 minutes, and this will hopefully build demand.  Of course you would need to let people know about it – so be sure you post it everywhere you can – online and a yard sign are the most inexpensive ways to go.  On the day of the open house, at the designated time, have everyone wait out front and bring people through the property one at a time.  You should be asking questions during the tour to determine if the prospects are serious about the property or not.  In the version that I heard, you are actually trying to get the best verbal offer you can by setting up buyers against each other.  We have never tried this method ourselves, but would love to hear any comments from agents who have and with what degree of success.  I have also heard of agents who line up several listings and caravan from one to another allowing only 15 minutes per house.  Some positive aspects for this type of open house is low time commitment and no need to put up signs.  Disadvantage is that you don’t really have a chance to build a relationship with potential clients – it appears your main objective is to sell the house or houses you are holding open.

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders

www.NoMoreStakes.com

Saturday or Sunday from 1pm to 4pm, guest registry at the front door, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven – pretty typical real estate open house.  Is that the best we agents can do?  I don’t think so!  We would love to hear the creative open houses you have held in the past.  Here is an idea from our bag of tricks – coordinate a neighborhood ice cream social.  We got together with all the other listing agents in the neighborhood where we had a listing. We printed small, postcard size invitations and each agent was responsible for walking some invitations to homeowners in the community. We also ran a small ad in the local newspaper to advertise the ice cream social.  Each listing that was held open had a different type of ice cream treat or different flavor of ice cream and toppings.  Setting up open house signs for the social was distributed among the agents, too, and we used our EZC Sign Holders for this one – the community was located off of a big intersection with no place to put a stake.  It was a summer event and such an affordable, fun way to prospect.  Also, splitting the cost among several agents made it really cost effective.  An ice cream social might not sound like a good idea with the winter months ahead, but you could use the same idea for a different season – like an apple cider social for the fall or a holiday cookie social for the winter.  Just think, each listing agent could have different kinds of holiday cookies and guests could get a different treat at each open house they visit.  The possibilities are endless – so let’s hear them, agents!

Lynne Leite

Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate

Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders
www.NoMoreStakes.com

Okay, so you need more encouragement and motivation to get out there and hold an open house?  Let me tell you a story.  We had a listing in an exclusive neighborhood in the city where we live.  This property was a fixer upper and at the lower price point for the community ($1.5 million) so we thought it made an excellent property to hold open and prospect for new clients.  We were also dealing with homeowner sellers, so it was important for them to know we were working hard to sell their home.  We met lots of people during those open houses and were able to put many on our automatic email listing mailer – a great way for people to see us on a regular basis.  During one open house I had the chance to connect with a couple that came through – in fact, I went straight from that open house and showed them some other listings in the community.  My husband and I almost always hold open houses together and that is one of the benefits of partnering with someone at an open house – one can go show houses while the other stays at the open house.  Anyway, we really hit it off with these clients.  Come to find out they had been looking in this community for a couple of years – so I knew this would be a long process.  But they were looking at homes in the $2.5 million price range and intended to pay cash when they found the right house.  Yes, it took a while, but with patience and not as much physical time investment as you might think, we found the right house.  We earned more in that one commission than most people make in a year – from holding an open house. That’s right – a $2.5 million dollar cash sale with a client that we met at an open house.  But the story doesn’t end there – they owned another home free and clear that they decided to sell and guess who got the listing?  Yup, we did.  And that property sold for $740,000 – not bad!  If you have open house glory stories – tell us!  If you don’t have one yet – go hold an open house and create one! 

Lynne Leite
Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate
Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders
www.NoMoreStakes.com

 I wish I could say there were no upfront costs to doing an open house – but that isn’t the case.  Whether you get a set of your own signs or you borrow them from someone else - somewhere along the way, someone needs to invest in real estate open house signs and sign holders.  The least expensive type of real estate open house signs we have found are signs made of coroplast.  These are the lightweight signs that look like plastic corrugated cardboard.  Coroplast is the trade name for the material used to make the signs and many different sign manufacturers can customize your signs using this material.  You may also hear these signs referred to as “vertically fluted” – this is a key factor because the vertical flutes allow you to use stakes or EZC Sign Holders with your signs.  Remember – the sign is one part and the sign holder is the other.  For those of you who know us, we would recommend using an EZC Sign Holder over a metal stake anytime it is possible.  There are many places to purchase open house signs – both online and at your local sign shops.   We have used both online sign manufacturers and our local sign shops with good results.  Of course, the more you buy, the better your pricing.  We have been able to purchase generic open house signs for as little as $3 a piece and have passed the savings on to folks who buy the EZC Sign Holders.  We have also paid as much as $12 a sign for a few custom signs printed at our local sign shop.  Best thing to do is shop around – call locally and check online.  Be sure you are comparing apples to apples.  Ask questions like:

q       What millimeter thickness are the signs? This will affect the cost.  The thicker, the better quality, although we have found that they don’t need to be very thick or high quality to get good, long-lasting results.

q       How many colors on your signs? This will also affect cost.

q       How long to complete? This is very important for planning.

q       Shipping costs?  For online orders.

q       Volume discounts?  If you are buying generic signs, you might want to go in with several other agents and reduce your per sign cost.

What size are the signs?  We prefer 9” x 24” for the directional/arrow signs and 18” x 24” for the “straight ahead” signs.  These are common sizes and should keep your cost down.

Lynne Leite
Broker/Owner Guidance Real Estate
Exclusive Distributor of EZC Sign Holders
www.NoMoreStakes.com