Things You Should Say And Things You Should Not Say To An Agent At An Open House

Have you ever wondered what may be good, or not good to say, to an agent at an open house? Do you think that just because they ask, that you should have to answer them? Oh no, be careful what you say. So here are some things you may hear an agent at an open house say or ask you while you are there and here is what is okay to let them know or perhaps not:

Do you have an agent?- You probably will hear this all the time. Go ahead and tell them and be honest. If you do, maybe even mention who it is since they may know each other or maybe the open house agent is expecting you since your agent said you would be stopping by. And if you don't have an agent, feel free to let them know as well. Especially if you get a good feeling from this agent. Maybe you can work together. But if you would rather not, simply tell them you don't have one and are not looking to work with one at the moment either.

Do you live in the neighborhood?- You may have just as many neighbors stopping into an open house as you have buyers. It's perfectly normal for them to want to see how someone has decorated or maybe upgraded some things. So go ahead and let the agent know you live across the street. It's always nice for us to meet the neighbors too.

What do you think about the house?- Don't be cruel if you think the house is a hot mess. After all, this is probably still someone's home and not everyone likes the same cup of tea. But you can be honest in a diplomatic way.

Is this home something that may interest you?- Sure...go ahead and tell them. And if you happened to walk into a million dollar house and your price range is more around $500k, you can tell them that too. I mean, looking at million dollar houses can just sometimes be fun and we are aware that there is no price tag out front that could have lead you to know the price before you walked in.

Will you sign in with your name and contact info?- Sure. Go ahead and leave it. Especially if you want to be contacted for things like future open houses, other houses that just came on the market or just so I can thank you for stopping by my open house and see if there were any unanswered questions you may have. 

What is your price range?- Now here's the one you may want to not answer. Don't forget, we are in the sales business and unless you hire us to help you purchase this home, our job is to work for the seller and get the highest price we can for them. So if this house is listed at $850K and you tell me your price goes up to $900k, I may go into the deal with a peak at the cards you are holding and that won't be the best move for you. So, if you are interested in this home, keep the numbers to yourself so that you don't reveal too much to the wrong person.