The open house you want to schedule actually will help your real estate agent more than you.
That?s one secret Reader?s Digest says your agent won?t mention. The iconic page-turner interviewed a handful of real estate types across the country to come up with a list for its April issue.
South Florida agents generally agree with the tips on open houses and commissions, though they insist that some of the other secrets and strategies addressed in the piece aren?t exactly inside information.
Local agents say open houses aren?t effective anymore in the age of the Internet. Nearly nine out of 10 buyers hunt for houses online, according to a 2011 study from the National Association of Realtors.
While an open house makes the seller feel good, it?s unlikely the home will sell to someone who attended the event, agents say.
?It does give the seller some exposure, but the real motivation for a Realtor wanting to do them is to pick up clients,? said Terry Story of Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton.
Open houses typically attract neighbors looking to see how your house compares to theirs. Those who do meander through likely aren?t qualified buyers, said Marisa DiLenge, an agent for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Florida 1st in Broward County.
What?s more, there?s a security issue, DiLenge said. Some burglars may pose as buyers to find out what valuables are in the home. And DiLenge said she?s not comfortable with the prospect of being alone in a property with a stranger.
?In 20 years of doing this, I?ve sold only one house on an open house,? she said. ?For me, it?s not worth it.?
Still, Boca Raton-based Lang Realty isn?t dismissing the power of the open house. The firm is holding a one-day event at 300 properties from Boca to Port St. Lucie on March 25.
?The Internet is fantastic, but at the end of the day, you don?t know anything until you physically come in the home and see it,? said Scott Agran, Lang?s president.
Reader?s Digest says buyers also should understand that agents don?t pocket the entire commission checks because much of the money goes to their firms and to repay the agents? expenses in marketing the homes.
The article also warns of potentially costly administrative fees on top of the commissions.
Fees typically range from $295 to $495, said Jon Klein, an agent in northwest Broward who says he clearly discloses the extra payments up front.
?If we don?t collect the fee, we end up having to pay it to the brokerage ourselves,? Klein said. ?It?s not something we can control.?
Local agents chuckled at some of the tips, which they didn't find so secretive. Such as: Don?t skip the final walk-through, rooms without furniture don?t look bigger and be sure to clear off counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms before a showing.
?If an agent is keeping those a secret, he?s probably not a good one,? said Jim Heidisch, an agent for Campbell & Rosemurgy Real Estate in Pompano Beach.
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