Check Out Your Neighbor's Open House, Your Not Nosey, Your Smart

An open house attracts many people who come for different reasons. They may be buyers looking in your neighborhood, real estate brokers looking to list your home, or even the guy down the block who is curious. In my neighborhood if there is an open house you are sure to see me there. You may call me nosy, but I believe that taking a look provides me with a lot of good information if someday I decide to sell my own home.

The first thing I look for in a neighbors home is what home improvements or upgrades they have made. This information can be help you decide what home improvements you should maybe do first. One improvement may be your roof, if your neighbors mostly have all new roofs and yours is showing it's age, maybe that is one of the first things you change. When selling your home, a new roof verse an old roof may make all the difference in which house gets sold first. Seeing the upgrades your neighbors have made will keep you from overdoing it on your own upgrades. You don't want to over build or over upgrade in your neighborhood. Also seeing other homes will also give you ideas on things you never thought of to help improve your own home.

If you are planning to move in the near future, seeing other homes for sale will give you close view of your competition. You are competing for buyers when your neighbors house is also for sale. You will see what their homes appeal is and you can compare their home value with your own home. Looking at other home improvements can also let you know what features to advertise in your own home when you are ready to put your home for sale. Checking out a open house will give you ideas how to make your home stand out above the competition.

At these open house Realtors and real estate agents will be present. You will be able to ask questions and pick their brains and maybe learn a thing or two. See if the Realtor is actively marketing the home, being active in engaging prospective buyers. Some Realtors use your open house to market other homes they have for sale and not yours. This will help you weed out the bad ones and zero in on the good ones.

You may feel embarrassed at going to a neighbors open house, don't feel bad. The more people that see an open house is good for the seller, because it helps the word get out and helps sell the home. If the sellers are there they may appreciate some honest feedback about the house. So it's a good thing for you and the seller that you are there.

Next time there is an open house on your street be sure sure to stop by. You are going to learn something that will help you, when it's time to sell your house.