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FSBO Open House Etiquette
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Anonymous
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DH and I have been going to open houses as we figure out whether now is a good time to purchase a larger home. As we were driving through one neighborhood we saw an open house on what was clearly a for sale by owner property. It was beautiful and we suspected above our price range, but went in anyhow. The owners were there. I asked about the price shortly after entering and then we toured the house. The price was quite a bit more than we were looking to pay. After we toured the house, I told them it was above our price range. DH was mortified. I argue that they would want to know whether their open house was successful. He says they would be upset because we should not have continued to look at the house. Just curious what others think.
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Anonymous
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No harm in looking... and I'm curious why your husband was mortified, as you say. Was it that you had an exchange with the owners? Was it the actual information that you passed through (price too high)?
I guess I would think the owners would appreciate feedback. They don't have the benefit of a third party (realtor) giving them feedback, discretely or otherwise. I would think your feedback was beneficial. Nevertheless, I love touring open houses, whether the house is a possibility for me or not. I like to see how others decorate, furnish, etc. Good luck in your searching. |
Anonymous
| I think it was fine- and fine of you to look. Sometimes people stretch the price range, you never know, you may have decided to do that. I would have appreciated the feedback. |
Anonymous
| I don't think you did anything wrong. Is your DH from a family that doesn't talk about money in general? I think people know that when they have an open house, they're going to attract a certain number of folks who are "looky-loos", or people who are just looking. (Also, a lot of people check open houses in their neighborhoods to see what the houses look like inside, or to see what's been done to the house, renovation-wise.) They'll also attract some folks who will not be interested after seeing the house. Just generally it's not the owner conducting the open house, it's the realtor or realtor's assistant. |
Anonymous
| Everyone who has ever had their house "open" knows that most of the poeple are just curious. In sales, you asked what is called a buying quesiton. It shows you are interested enough if the price was right, the feedback you give them on the price could let them know that it might be priced too high. Maybe not saying it is out of your price range but say, you felt it was priced a bit high. |
Anonymous
| Nothing wrong with that at all! In fact, I think it was the most polite thing you could have said. You made it clear that you weren't interested in the house but that it was no reflection on the quality of the house itself. There is no shame in saying something is out of your price range and there is no shame in checking out a house even if you know it is too expensive. DH and I used to do it all the time, until I finally called a halt to it because it became too depressing to then look at the houses we could actually afford. |
Anonymous
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OP here. DH is usually comfortable discussing money. Nothing was said about our financial situation other than the house was out of our price range. He just felt like if I was going to divulge that I should have done it prior to actually looking at the house (since I asked soon after we walked in the door).
The exchange was pleasant -- to me it felt like the only polite thing to say about the house. The house was really outdated and it was uncomfortable walking through with the owners right there because DH and I felt like we couldn't really say anything about it to each other. The sellers were elderly and the bathrooms, flooring, and decor all looked about 40 years old. |
Anonymous
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I bought my last 2 houses without a realtor. We used a real estate attorney to close the deal.
I think saying something is 'out of your price range' is a tactful way of letting them know..hey we like it but only if you lower the price. Unless you truly know the neighborhood (and by this I mean aggressively been tracking the prices and going to [/i]many[/i] open houses over the last several months...and following up and finding out actual sales prices and any seller subsidies) you don't know for sure if the house is priced incorrectly. In some neighborhoods 'starter homes' needing full renovation taht are in the 1 million dollar range are very common. You cannot extrapolate on price/size without taking into fact location...sometimes even ~1/4 mile makes a HUGE difference....e.g., Lyon Village vs LyonPark or Ashton heights or say GloverPark vs Georgetown...a slightly better location and a different elementary school makes about a $400k or more difference in price between a similar house. I think what you said is completely fine and I wouldn't sweat it. |
Anonymous
Saying something is out of your price range is not the same as saying it was priced incorrectly. I've seen plenty of beautiful homes that would be a steal at $1 million, but that doesn't mean it's in my price range. |
Anonymous
Did you think the house seemed overpriced in general? Given what you describe, the house should be on the low end of comps in the neighborhood. If there is a realtor helping list the house and putting it on MLS (and nothing else), you may want to call her/him and let them know. |
Anonymous
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Tallking as someone who had their house on the market for 10 months. There is something wrong if you just want to look and walk in unannounced when the family is busy. I had so many pushy agents demand rights to walk thru, and I just knew that they were showing my house to clients that they were trying to talk into buying some other house.
After a while you can just see it. I really felt like refusing entry to some people and when I think about I am still angry that I did not. The worst is when the agents start arguing with you about how they have given you a call etc etc |
Anonymous
| I agree with your DH. It APPERAS like you knew when you walked in that it's out of your range but you still looked around. Perhaps a better approach would be to ask if they would consider reducing the price to what you have in mind. |
Anonymous
| That's APPEARS... |
Anonymous
Did you miss the part where she said it was an OPEN HOUSE? OP, everybody goes to open houses. I've been to a ton in my neighborhood just to keep an eye on the market. I've been to some because I was curious. I've been to others below our price range just to see if it would be for us if we were willing to put a ton of money into it. I've been to some above our price range either because I was (a) curious, (b) could buy it if we really stretched if it was amazing (they never are amazing enough), (c) Iwas in the neighborhood looking at something else or (d) just wanted to say hi to the listing agent because it is our agent. If it's open, it's open. Saying it's out of your range is not nearly as bad as saying, "Hi. I'm just a nosy neighbor," although I hear that all the time at these things. |
Anonymous
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OP,
Why did you tell them? |