South Carolina homeowners who put their houses on the market typically hope to secure a sale in the least amount of time possible. Hiring a listing agent is one of the easiest ways to protect your interests in a home sale transaction. Sellers themselves may wish to undertake certain marketing strategies, including hosting an open house.
While a seller does not attend an open house, many people think it’s a valuable sales tool. You might be surprised to learn that there are several potential downsides to hosting an open house. Current data also shows that overall home sales only include approximately 3% where sellers had an open house.
There is often a significantly high risk of theft
In a perfect world, you might arrange to have an open house in the hope of selling your home, and you would have a great turn out, ultimately resulting in multiple offers on your home. The special event would go off without a hitch. In reality, however, things do not always run smoothly at an open house. In fact, many homeowners have been dismayed to return home and find personal items or money missing from their home.
Some folks are there for the free food
Another potential downside to an open house is that not everyone who attends may even be interested in buying a home. Some people scan their local news bulletins to see where such events are being held. They attend out of curiosity or the hope of getting of few free refreshments.
Open houses do not guarantee that offers will be pre-approved
In addition to visitors who just want to look around or those who want free food, the other potential downside to open houses might be that some people get caught up in all of the excitement and start making offers for which they have not sought pre-approval.
This isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but a home purchase transaction can be less stressful when a buyer has obtained approval ahead of time for a mortgage loan. One of the ways to determine if hosting an open house would be an asset to your home sale is to speak with an experienced real estate agent who can review your specific needs and make recommendations to help you achieve your goals.