While we don’t do them often, we are willing and able to spend the time, money, and effort required to hold our listings open to the public. While I’m not a huge fan of this type of marketing, I guess that it can have it’s place. Particularly when a house is not vacant, I think that it can be a very bad idea. Sadly, some criminals pose as potential buyers to case a property before breaking into it later. A smart criminal (thankfully there aren’t all that many!) can learn whether or not a home has a burglar alarm, who lives there, and what type of locks (and lockboxes) are present. More often than not, an open house is just a way for your nosey neighbors to see just what type of housekeeper you are and how nice your furnishings are.
IF on the other hand a home is vacant with no valuables or people inside, I have fewer reservations about holding the home open to the public. We still do offer the option of holding open houses for our clients who desire that we do this. To get attention to this home that I held open Saturday, I posted no fewer than 5 directional signs going all the way from the Parkway to the property. When potential visitors followed the “breadcrumbs” that I had put out, they knew that they had arrived when they saw this:
