"Wedding Crashers": New Line Cinema
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News flash: Not everyone attending an open house is actually looking to buy. In the past, these crashers were, more often than not, just innocently dipping their toes into the real estate market. Sometimes they were getting ready to jump-start their own buying process, often with a pang of FOMO (fear of missing out) thrown in for good measure. Nowadays, according to HousingWire, people are crashing just to gawk. This is apparently enough of a phenomenon that the site has offered some etiquette tips for would-be crashers—better known in the biz as looky-loos.
“Any real estate agent is bound to get some” looky-loos, the site said, “so let’s settle what’s right and what’s wrong here.”
A Reddit forum inspired this HousingWire piece. One user wrote, “I feel sort of bad attending an open house as a looky-loo. I know other people do this all the time, but hey, a lot of people are really rude and inconsiderate. I don’t want to be one of them. Is there anyway I can fulfill my daughter’s request to attend an open house without wasting anyone’s time and/or coming across as obnoxious?”
Yes, said HousingWire! Honesty, it advised, is really is the best policy, even in real estate. “People from the neighborhood can come and look around, but they should be completely upfront with their intentions.” And, the site added, follow these tips:
- Do not pose as a buyer and engage the agent as it’s a waste of everyone’s time.
- Be polite and listen to the Realtor®’s sales pitch. They’re selling a home and may wish to practice it on you to see if it resonates.
- Do not think you know more about the local housing market than the Realtor. Really, that’s just annoying, so don’t be that person.
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