Open House viewings - good or bad?

Rarchy

Hi,

We will soon be putting the house on the market, seen 3 agents and yet to decide which to go with (as per my other post!), 2 suggested doing an open house (one was very keen on it) but the other was against it so wondered if anyone has any opinions or feedback on these and whether they are good or bad?

The agents who recommended them said main bonuses are :
- great way to get a lot of viewing done
- creates sense of competition amongst those viewings

The one who discouraged said:
- it's sometimes a lazy way for agents to do multiple viewings
- ppl don't get enough time to look round and feel rushed
- can mean missing on buyers who can't make the date of the viewing

As we have no experience in this we're a bit on the fence about whether it is the right approach!

If its helpful a bit about the house
- it's not in a particularly good condition and needs someone willing to do a large amount of work (only the bathroom is new) - the agents all said this isn't necessarily a bad thing as some ppl really want a place they can completely renovate
- we plan on doing as much inexpensive "tarting up" as we can before it goes onto the market, so massive decluttering/storing, basic painting, fixing anything broken etc
- it's reasonably unique property with an attractive front so the exterior stands out (although it is terraced, but end, and double sided which is v unusual here)

Thanks!

Rachel

whitewing

As a buyer I think it would make me consider something that I may not be too keen on at first.

I wouldn't like to be there at the same time as other people, however I guess it would be easy to arrange a follow up.

It may appeal to me if I hadn't put mine on the market at that point but I liked an open house viewed place.

If it were a quirky house and other viewers were being nosy I would find that annoying.

If it were a decent house that I wanted to buy, would I feel comfortable in it knowing that presumably anyone could have wandered in on the open viewing to check it out? I have watched too many American crime shows I think.

suki1964

I sold my house via an open house viewing. Had about 12 couples show. Some walked in and straight out again, others stayed and asked lots of questions and some asked to come back for a second viewing

I got 3 offers and accepted the ones who were ready to proceed

For us it worked well as we needed to sell fast to proceed with our move also meant only one serious house declutter and tidy up

Tbh the whole selling and buying process is stressful enough without having to be in for no shows and keeping on top of housework

AndyGuil

I have been to a viewing with other potential buyers. It was very uncomfortable.

agrinnall

It's accepted practice in the more popular areas of Scotland, and although it can be a bit stressful for the seller to have a lot of people traipsing through the house in a short time it doesn't prevent places selling, and anyone who is interested can make an appointment to re-view in private if they want.

SleeplessinScandinavia

'Open House' type viewings are the norm here in Sweden. If the property is not popular, or if the market is bad, few (if any) viewers might turn up, and you can then revert to a 'viewings on request' situation.

The good thing about 'Open House' is that potential buyers may hear questions asked by other viewers, information given, which never occurred to anyone else. It could also be that the vendor only needs to vacuum the house once (after an 'Open House' viewing) rather than after each, and every, 'single' viewing

bouicca21

It's the way things are working in my area. Plus side for viewer is that if you don't like it you can leave quickly and not feel guilty about wasting EA's time. Down side is that if you really like a house you get no opportunity to have a really good look - last one I went to I couldn't look in the loft as too many people created health and safety issues (according to EA). Hot market so a second viewing was refused unless I made an offer. I had an open house viewing lined up for today and EA said they allowed just 15 minutes per person; and then, despite no indication that it was possible to view the house earlier, they rang to cancel the open house as an offer has already been received.

I have come to hate EAs ...

abankerbutnotafatcat

Open house viewings are also the norm in Australia and once you get used to the concept they are fine for the viewers, I cannot speak for the house-owners although I should imagine the viewings being all/mainly in one hit was quite attractive.

As a viewer, if I was interested I'd make sure I had enough time, saw and asked everything I wanted to and arranged a follow-up visit if I needed to.

Where I live in Surrey open houses are becoming increasingly popular. I think it being a commuter town probably adds to that as they are all on Saturdays.

We had a leaflet through the door from an EA giving the stats on two recent open houses near us. They'd both had 10-20 viewers, both had multiple offers and both sold for asking price or above.

The one caveat I'd add is that in Aus you could go for a walk on a Saturday, see the open house signs and just wander in for a nose. I knew people who regularly did that. The open houses near us have been by appointment only which should make it more likely that viewers are serious potential buyers. I think the appointment/pre-registering method is better.

Excited13

I've been on a few group viewings and the most recent two resulted in a bidding war on the property. My only concern was I didn't feel very comfortable asking the agent questions when everyone else was around as you feel like you're in competition.

I have noticed they are becoming more popular especially in one part of the city so I would assume they do work as more agents have been using them over the last 6 months.

I think I would do as others have said it means one big tidy up instead of trying to live in a show home constantly. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Rarchy

Thanks everyone. One of the agents did say everyone gets 20 min slots so viewers are not all there at once, but still see each other come and go so know they have competition! and I guess being a cluttered house might be better as we could move a lot of stuff into storage temporarily just for the weekend.

The fact it is a hot market and we may get immediate offers is a plus for us as sellers... (Just means it will be harder when we start to look....)

phoebe1989seb

When we were buying our current house two years ago we viewed one house in a different county via an open house. It was a repo - a large (6 bed) Edwardian house that had been most recently used as a squat - and our viewing was timed but when we turned up there were several other viewers booked to look simultaneously.

It did feel quite uncomfortable viewing with half a dozen other interested parties, but because of the size of the house and the fact that it was spread over several floors, it wasn't as bad as it would gave been in a smaller property. We decided it wasn't for us - we wanted a major project, but the area was wrong - but I know it went for around £60k above AP and that a developer bought it, did a very basic makeover, flipped it and sold it on for £150k more than he paid.

Last year we sold my parents' house and after a slight drop in price the EA suggested arranging timed back-to-back viewings to encourage a sense of urgency as the viewer going in would se the previous one leaving and think the property was attracting a good amount of interest. These were spread over one Saturday and from the half dozen or so views we received three offers, two at AP