Shane's Top 3 Tips for Open Home Inspections & Etiquette.
It’s a weekend ritual for most serious buyers out to find their dream home, next home or investment property across Australia every week – checking out the open homes. Most people find this method of inspection the most convenient for various reasons, but mostly because it is an opportunity to inspect a property at your own pace and without the perceived pressure of an agent walking through with you (seriously, we don’t have any special powers to make you buy a property). But there are some protocols that need to be followed and tips to help you at open homes, and possibly put you in the driver’s seat when you’ve found that dream home. RE/MAX Gold Gladstone’s, Shane McLeod, offers his top three:
- You’re a stranger to the seller and the home. It’s usually at the point a buyer approaches the front door to see an agent standing there with a clipboard, that we see the eyes start to roll or one partner jockeying for second position for the inevitable question of asking for your contact details or identification. Apart from taking these details to further assist those genuine buyers who want help in finding a home, an agent’s 1st responsibility is to the seller and their property security. Insurance and public liability factors also come into professional indemnity play for agents. You wouldn’t let a complete stranger take your car for a drive or walk into your home without knowing something about them and how to contact them if something went missing or wrong, and neither does a professional agent. Full name, address and phone numbers are a minimum request. If you don’t want to be contacted further by the agent, make it known at that point and they are required to respect your instructions. On the flip side, if you miss out on the home because it sold to someone else or you didn’t get a price change notification, it’s too late to complain then. A For Sale sign doesn’t change the rules of entering a stranger’s home.
- Ask questions with the agent. We are there to help you and opening a conversation, I promise, will not result in you having surprisingly signed a contract, handed over your financial details or made you do something against your will at the open home. We’re seriously not that magical. Get the answers to the questions you have, let the agent know your interest level and give them the honest feedback the sellers have employed us to collect for them. Your feedback will help the sellers make the informed decisions that could lead you to securing the home. One tip though, if you’re giving price feedback, be prepared to give some actual examples of comparable home sales to support your feedback. Ask any buyer who has built a relationship with an agent, rather than going in with battle gear on when looking for a home, how much easier their experience was to buy a home, and you’ll be surprised how painless it actually is. You’d be surprised how many buyers we see lose out on buying the home they love by playing it cool and telling us they’re “just looking” and don’t want to be contacted – even in this market.
- Lastly, some common sense tips. Wear comfortable, easy to remove shoes – not all sellers like shoes being worn in their property. Ask permission before taking any photos, looking in cupboards and drawers or using the toilet. We love kids. Heck we even have a lollipop to give them when you visit. Just keep them with you and not running all over the home out of consideration for the seller’s property, and the other people inspecting. Bring a notebook and a tape measure and read the agent property brochure.
Shane McLeod has over 14 years experience in the Gladstone real estate market and is the franchise owner/broker at RE/MAX Gold Gladstone. If you have any real estate queries or marketing and negotiation advice, contact Shane at [email protected] or phone him on 0413331945.