Open Houses - Good or Bad Idea...

Lately, I have found myself in many conversations about if hosting an Open House is a good idea and a waste of time.

Here is my opinion... I feel that an Open House can be effective if you market it to those that may be in the market to buy homes. There are a lot of agents that will just put out a few signs and wonder why they are not getting very much traffic. Well, it takes more than that, there are other ways that you can get your Open House out there, here are a few...

1) Post an ad on Craigslist under Housing, you will be surprised on how many people use Craigslist to search for homes.

2) If your property is close to an apartment complex, make sure your signs cover the exits. You will catch tenants leaving for the day and will stop by to see what is out there.

3) Make sure you let the neighbors know that you are hosting an Open House. Try going to the neighborhood 1 day earlier and handout flyers on the door advertising the Open House and for them to invite their friends and family.

These are just a few of the many marketing techniques you could use, just be creative and you will notice more traffic then you are use to.

Make sure to get the following information from each visitor and add them to your database and keep in touch with them, they will eventully be ready to buy a home. Name, Address, Phone Number, Email Address, and how they heard about the Open House.