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going to a neighbor's open house
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Anonymous
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A neighbor's house is for sale. Is it rude to go to the open house?
We wouldn't make any negative comments while there, obviously. We live in a string of houses that are all similar. We might be putting our house on the market in the next year. I'd love to know what they've done to the inside and, possibly, overhear comments from prospective buyers as they go through. |
Anonymous
| It is very common to do this. I do it all the time. Just identify yourself as a neighbor so the Realtor is aware, but there is no harm to it. |
Anonymous
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I always go. The sellers are rarely there.
In these older developments, it's always fun to see how the interiors have been changed by generations of residents. Opened-up kitchens versus the old galley style ones, where they put the afterthought powder room, etc. Even tile and light fixtures! I learned that my 80-year-old house still had its original tile, by visiting several open houses on the same block and seeing other houses with identical bathrooms. It looked fantastic; I always figured it had been replaced by some previous resident. So yeah, go and have fun! |
Anonymous
| I've done this many times, and I've seen other neighbors at the open houses as well. Realtors find it totally normal and expected. |
Anonymous
| We actually received an invitation from the realtor to visit during the open house. I think that realtors like the volume, anyway, and neighbors are a good way to drum up business. They could tell their friends about the house for sale; and if the neighbors think that the realtor is doing a good job, the neighbors might use or refer that realtor. |
Anonymous
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When we sold our old house back in 2005 our realtor told us to expect lots of neighbors at the open house. It is normal. Just be prepared - if you identify yourself as a neighbor interested in putting your house on the market, the realtor will likely try to get your business. Mine openly told me that he likes open houses because it gets a lot of traffic in the house for selling, and it also helps him find new clients in the neighborhood.
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Anonymous
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Its tacky, be nice and stay away
Once when we sold our house we heard that the neighbours daughter had spent the afternoon running around in our home. It caused some rumours among the neighbourhood |
Anonymous
Why is it tacky? Rumors of what? I don't get it. |
Anonymous
Well, yeah, don't let kids run around unattended "all day" in the open house. But I don't think that's what OP was planning to do. 
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Anonymous
| 11:19, your agent should grow a set and tell unattended children they need to leave your house! You could have been sued if they had gotten hurt while unattended on your property. No one can take advantage of you without your permission, and you and your agent allowed this to hapen. |
Anonymous
That's correct. We won't be bringing our children. |
Anonymous
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It's normal and most of the traffic at an open house is neighbors.
Obviously be a good neighbor, but don't worry about going. |
Anonymous
Are you the poster who is so beautiful you silence rooms, by any chance? |
Anonymous
We are actually looking at houses in our current neighborhood and have found that whenever we go to open houses and identify ourselves as a neighbor the realtor and/or prospective buyers have asked us more details about the neighborhood, walk to the metro, etc. I believe we've even helped sell a house before. Go and enjoy! If you are worried that your current neighbors won't like it then give a fake name on the realtor's sign-in sheet  .
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Anonymous
| I'm glad for this thread because I always want to go to neighborhood open houses and never knew the protocol. 12:55 makes a good point. I would be happy to meet prospective neighbors and ask questions if I was thinking about buying a house. |