Open House

If your home has been on the market for a few weeks, your real estate agent may suggest an "open house." Your agent puts up signs, gives you some pointers about how to prepare your home for showing and shows up early on Sunday morning. You may be tempted to stay around, but the best advice is to leave while your home is being shown!

When sellers are present at an open house, they can hamper the sales professional's ability to cultivate interested buyers, and can even squelch a sale. What would your response be, for instance, if someone strolls into your kitchen and says, "What awful wallpaper!" If prospective buyers know that you as the owner are present, they might feel reluctant to express their objections and concerns openly and directly to your agent. If your objective is to get your home SOLD, the best thing to do is to get out of the way and let the sales professional do the job.