Open House Questions

Hi everyone! Dh and I are in the very, very early stages of house hunting. We are going to start slow by going to open houses in different neighborhoods to get an idea of what's out there in our price range. So, I have 2 questions...

- How far in advance are open houses usually listed on MLS? Is it safe to say the ones on there now will be it for this coming weekend?

- Someone had told me once that if you go to an open house and end up wanting to buy that house, then the agent who doing the open house can make a commission on both ends. Is this true? I don't think we'll be making an offer anytime soon, and we have a house to sell before we buy, I'm just curious about this one!

Thanks!

Re: Open House Questions

hello!

open houses can be listed a day before, but it's rare. the morning before i go, i always double check for any new additions, or, cancellations....i had planned on looking at some and found out that day they were cancelled (it will say this)

yes, the person at the house typically is the one who earns the $...sometimes the person at the house isn't the listing agent (i've seen this the other day) He probably made a deal with the listing agent to make get a cut of the $ or might have been paid by the listing agent to go, because she wasn't able too...

if you already have an agent, ALWAYS ANNOUNCE THIS WHEN YOU WALK IN. Don't "sign in" and tell them you have an agent.

Re: Open House Questions

I have emails sent to me through MLS with open house info. Everytime an open house is announced, I get an email from MLS. I still havent turned the alerts off and ive been in my house almost a year lol

Re: Open House Questions

Hello, 1st things 1st, I am a Realtor. A member of Long Island board of Realtors. but this is a chat area and not a sales call. Just a little education
Open Houses are usually post by Wed. for Sat/Sun. Sometimes scheduling issues arise causing the agent to put it in late or remove it. Always check MLS that day before you go.

When you go to an OH, an agent will always ask you to sign in. (they should) Why? Reverse it for a minute.
You are going to sell your house and you hire an agent. When the agent hosts an OH on yours, you want to know who came to see it. It is important to keep track of all buyers. They may come back 3 or 4 times, and as a Homeowner you want to know why? Are they interested?

In the process of looking, you can find an agent that you like and let them set you up on an automatic MLS feed. This way when you sign in you can tell the agent you are getting the MLS feed and just put your name and address.

If you say "I am working with an agent" A problem can arise with some listing agents or agents, who are holding the open house. If you tell them you are working with another agent, they usually want the name of the agent. Some agents request a courtesy call from the agent you are working with before you come.
Again, signing in is for the homeowners protection and yes good agents will try to make good buyer contacts. But remember you want a good agent to work with.


I hope I helped,
Good Luck

Arthur