If you're about to spend your Saturdays going around open homes, there are a few things you need to know before doing the rounds.

Respect the time
Don’t be late to an open for inspection. Be sure to arrive at least 20 minutes before the viewing time closes. Remember that Saturday is the busiest day of the week for real estate agents, with most of their listings open for inspection. Therefore, open times have been meticulously planned and agents usually run from one open home to the next. Arriving late is not only disrespectful, it can disrupt and cause stress to an already busy agent’s day.


Lose your shoes
It’s common courtesy to remove your shoes as you enter another person’s home and the same goes for open homes. It’s not polite to track dirt and mud through the house, nor is it polite to eat or drink in someone else’s home. Consider the time and effort gone into cleaning and making the home presentable by the owner before your arrival.




Hands to yourself
Don’t touch personal belongings. Going through cupboards, touching ornaments, picking up household items and sticky-nosing at photos on the walls is not good inspection etiquette. If you are genuinely interested in the property and would like another private inspection on the home to check things like cupboard dimensions, organise a one-on-one inspection with the agent.

Watch the little ones
If you take children to an open home, be sure to keep them with you at all times. It’s best not to let them run out to the backyard to play on another child’s swing set or let them run wild through the backyard. The busy agent and genuine buyers inspecting the property won’t appreciate loud, uncontrolled children at an open home.

Leave your signature
Be sure to register and sign in with the agent when you arrive at the open home. This registry is a ledger for the owner to see how many people attended the open home. If you have any feedback about the home and its price, let the agent know so this can be relayed to the owner.


Don’t speak up
Keep your comments to yourself. There is nothing worse than going through an open home near another couple who continually and loudly point out features of the home – whether they’re good or bad comments. If you don’t like the property, there’s no need to verbalise it. After all, the people three feet from you may be the buyers. Also, family or friends of the owners may be present in the home at the time of the inspection and they don’t want to hear a stranger’s critique.

 

Don’t park in the driveway. Remember, some people will want to take in the aesthetics of the home from the road, and if you’ve parked your big four-wheel-drive up against the front door, it could put off potential buyers. Keep the lawns and driveway clear of your car and be sure to park it up the road.