Two things you need to know about Open Houses. If you're a seller, there should be nothing of value in your home left out for showings or open houses. Anything from collectibles, family heirlooms, jewelry, cameras,  to even drugs (pain killers are very popular right now) should be locked up or removed from the premises.  Secondly, if you're visiting an open house, you're a guest. If you don't know how to conduct yourself in a public venue continue reading.

     Recently, a Marin Real Estate agent was holding an Open House in Sausalito when a person whose behavior didn't seem quite right came into the property she was holding open.  Earlier she'd been looking out the front door when a beat up car with a man and women inside parked around the corner from where she was.  At this time the car was out of view, and the woman in the car came into the house as other people began to filter into the Open House. The agent noticed that this woman was spending an unusual amount of time in the master suite alone while she'd been engaged helping the other guest, and decided to go upstairs and ask her if there was anything she could help her with. The woman said no, and left.  After the Open House, the agent was updating the owners of the property on how the Open House had gone, and mentioned this woman just in case anything was missing. The owners had been careful to remove anything of value from the property at the advice of this agent, and a couple of hours after the agent had called to update them, they called her back. Someone had stolen their designer soaps?  Nothing of a serious nature, but a heads up for Realtors and Sellers.

     Here's where thing start to get interesting. Another agent was holding an Open House in San Anselmo that had just been listed when someone came through that started insulting the property, the neighborhood, and the Realtor. Being the first open house the property was flooded with prospective buyers, and neighbors (Lookey Lou's).  This person comes up to the agent and loudly professes that the property is overpriced, in a bad neighborhood, and ask the Realtor if he's "new" in the business "because he apparently doesn't have a clue what he's doing."  This guy starts to get on the Realtor's nerve who then asks this visitor to come look at something outside the front door and ushers the person outside, then slams the front door and locks it!  This person starts loudly knocking on the front door to be let back in. Doesn't happen, while everyone else inside claps, and cheers on the Realtor for dismissing the idiot.  The house sold in a couple of days after the Open House, with multiple offers.

     Last Sunday I was holding an Open House in Mill Valley when a man in his mid thirties who's well dressed drops by, looks around for a few seconds, and then ask if he can use the bathroom.  I direct him to the bathroom where he spends about ten minutes, and then quickly leaves. As I walk towards the bathroom a smell comes out of the bathroom that's shocking, and begins to fill the entire house with this gut wrenching odor.  While I'm standing in the middle of the living rooms wondering where my can of Febreze air freshner is,a very sweet older couple comes through, and the only thing I can say is, "it wasn't me."  What the heck is going on here? It's almost 80 degrees outside, and it smells like something died inside the house!?      

Foot note: Bad behavior doesn't have to be tolerated by a real estate professionals, you may be asked to leave.

On the flip side, whenever I've attended an Open House and the Realtor there ignores me, or is arrogant or rude - it does happen - I wait till a lot of people are standing around and ask the Realtor,  "if they're new in the business?"    Just so you know, it really pisses them off ... especially the snotty old timers, but I feel deservedly...if you can't be friendly at a public Open House, what are ya doing? Your not helping your clients sell their property, and you're not helping yourself in the process. This completes my venting about Lookey Lou's and Stinkey Poo. I guess this isn't Journalism after all.