Open Houses are a great way for buyers who are starting to look for homes to get familiar with real estate. You get to see different properties, learn about pricing, ask questions and you are able to do all of this without having to commit to working with an agent.
If you have been to any open houses, you have likely been asked to sign a guest registration form as well as provide identification… this is where people are either perfectly okay OR have a long pause and likely feel a little offended.
These are the thoughts that are racing through a buyer’s head when they see guest registrations at open houses:
- Does this guy actually think I am going to steal something?
- Oh, you think I don’t have the money to buy this house?
- And of course…. This jerk is going to assault my e-mail inbox with “cool facts” and “house tips” every bloody day of the week.
Here is the thing that consumers can sometimes forget; you are walking into an asset that is usually worth over $500,000 and that shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you wanted to test drive a $30,000 car, you would have to provide your licence and information before being able to set foot in the vehicle. Why should real estate be any different?
For some reason, our industry has become so nonchalant about the product we are representing and consumers have gotten the idea that walking into an open house should be the exact same thing as walking into a retail department store. It’s actually quite bizarre.
Admittedly, I used to be against guest registrations when holding open houses. I wear a consumer hat more often than you would think and the idea of having to give away my personal information just didn’t sit well with me; but I was looking at it all wrong.
It has nothing to do with soliciting information from consumers so you can market to them in the future and it has everything to do with having to protect the interests and property that your sellers have entrusted you with. On behalf of all real estate agents, I apologize if you have provided your information at an open house and received newsletters, phone calls, knocks on your door and anything thing else that goes against the true purpose of guest registrations at open houses, which is to make sure our clients home is safe in our care and that you genuinely are looking to purchase real estate.
The next time you are gearing up to go on an open house tour, try not to get bent out of shape when you have to fill in a guest registration form, because they are meant to protect our sellers and in all honesty, if you were the one selling your home, you wouldn’t have it any other way.