Previewing Houses for Clients, Current and Future

I'll be honest - one of the reasons I went into real estate as a career is that I love houses. (Admittedly this is not a unique characteristic in agents; I just wanted to share.) And one of my best practices as a residential real estate salesperson is to preview houses.  I arrange to preview properties in my target geographic areas, in certain price ranges and of certain property types.  Sometimes I go for a particular buyer client, to assess whether I think they should take the time to see it themselves, or if I think it might not suit their needs so they can focus our showing times together on a better fit.  In other cases, I preview anything in a neighborhood for future clients, either as comps once those properties sell in the future or in case someone calls me and wants to know about that area.  It is helpful if I can say, "I've been in that house," or, "This is a very typical rambler in this area and price range."  And having seen a database of properties is what builds my own knowledge.

So I'm ready to be your agent, today and in the future.

Observations From Some Broker Opens

Oh-for-three.  That's how the Broker Open Houses I attended this afternoon "batted" in agent coverage.  Being in the first year of my real estate career, I am not being judgmental.  I merely observe that if I am going to host a Broker Open House, the goal of that event is to expose my listing on behalf of my seller clients to as many real estate agents as possible.  These agents ostensibly have buyers who may want to see the property so the Broker Open House gives the agents a chance to preview without appointment and ask questions about the home as they view it.  If the listing agent is there, that is.  No agent equals no answers, no helpful tips, no "don't miss..." comments, no real selling of the house.

Adding to this gap, two of the three had not even one piece of paper, not one glossy brochure boasting about all the home has to offer.  Nothing to jot my notes on, nothing to help me remember the property.

Instead, I hope to be able to live up to this standard: Broker Open House means that I will be there and I will have professionally prepared brochures with all the home's features and benefits on hand.  Maybe I'll even serve coffee and muffins.