Workin' All Weekend

The thing about being a Realtor is that we work when everyone else doesn't. Not many people can take off their work hours in the middle of the week to view homes. Pretty much that means I work a lot of evenings and weekends. Actually, I work every weekend and this weekend is no exception.

I have open houses scheduled for both today and Sunday. I even have a friend sitting open house for me since I can't be two places at once. He is sitting the house below. It's a new listing and I am already starting to panic because we have not had it shown once in the 10 days it's been on the market. This one is priced at $210,000 for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath with 2004 square feet. It has new carpet and a freshly painted interior.

I will be directly across Chandler Blvd at this house sitting it open at the same time today. We are hoping that maybe with multiple signs it might help bring some traffic in. This is also a 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths with 2357 sq ft with a pool and spa. It has a lot of newer upgrades like granite counters and stainless appliances, so it's priced at $305,000

Sunday I will be at my mother's house sitting it open for the first time from 11-3pm. I kind of had to force her into this as she has been dragging her feet at bit. This is a 4 bedroom, 3 full baths with a pool and extensive remodeling done on the side that includes a new kitchen and all baths too. This is priced at $425,000. After sitting this house open, I will be showing a buyer homes in the same area. It's going to be a long day for me and I am sure I will be whooped.

With our housing market being in the tank for the last few years, it's nice to be busy again, but sometimes hard to spread myself out. I always want to make sure I give all of my clients equal time with their houses, but there is only one of me, so they all have to go into a rotation. I explain this to everyone when I take their listing, but sometimes the reality of it doesn't sink in with them. I have a seller who is a little bent out of shape this weekend because I won't be sitting their house open. I know they are frustrated, I tried to find somebody else to sit it open but it just didn't work out. What don't they understand about taking turns? They had their house sat open the last two weekends, so this is their "off" weekend.

I am a firm believer in open houses and they work for me. I usually "double dip" a couple of houses each year just by finding a buyer from an open house. I am very honest with sellers though, and tell them that the open house will probably benefit me more than them, but you just never know. It's all about numbers. If you aren't getting showings during the week, if you can get a couple of people in on an open house, at least it's been shown. Most likely it won't be the right house for them, but they might know somebody who would like it.

You would think that buying a house is a really fun, happy time. Actually, it's very stressful for most people. There was a study done a few years that said buying or selling a home is the third most stressful thing you will go thru in your life after death and divorce. Great.

Did you ever see the movie American Beauty with Annette Benning? She plays a Realtor and it always cracks me up. She would pump herself up just before open house and I am doing the same thing today. "I will sell this house today!"