3 On Your Side: Exploring During Open Houses
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Open houses are just for people looking to buy some real estate, right? Well the answer is actually no. You might feel like a nosy neighbor, but as 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan explains, there are some good reasons why you should check out houses you have no intention of buying.
You see the signs all over the place on Sunday and see lists of them in the paper, open houses are a valuable part of the selling process. But in a tough real estate market you can get a lot of valuable information by taking a peak at houses you know you'll never buy.
When real estate agent Christina Tarpy puts out her open house sign she knows she's going to meet more than just potential home buyers, some are neighbors looking around to see if it makes sense to renovate their property. Tarpy says, "You don't want to over do it because you, you definitely don't want to be the over improved house in the neighborhood because you won't get your money back."
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Some people take advantage of open houses to check out a home's interior and get ideas for decorating. They can see what the more popular colors are for cabinets or hardware, or see the differences between granite and Corian.
If you're thinking of selling your home in the near future you can get a sense of what other homes are going for and you can shop around for a realtor by seeing them in action. Tarpy encourages her clients to attend other open houses while she's showing their home. She says "I think that helps them learn about their completion. It helps the agent educate the seller too, as too, if there is a need for a price reduction, they will already have seen their competition." And today, when it comes to selling, it's all about the competition .
By the way, Tarpy says not to lie about your intent. She says it's alright to tell the agent that you're just interested in seeing the house and not buying it. In fact, she says that any experienced realtor can usually tell anyway.
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
