Open Houses… why we don’t like them so much

As I jumped into FMLS (one of the local Multiple Listing Services to which I subscribe) I noticed an Agent Alert.

Please use extreme caution when holding open houses. A report was received today about an extremely suspicious man showing up at an open house in the Lawrenceville area verbally threatening the agent. The man is Caucasian, in mid-thirties, heavy-set with a crew cut, about 5’6” tall, wearing a black jacket and driving an older white Buick Skylark. The Gwinnett County Police were notified.

As much as I would like to say that these types of issues are extremely rare, they aren’t as rare as they should be.  From what I hear from other agents, and what I have experienced, most open houses aren’t that hopping here in the ATL.  There are some pockets where they are quite busy, but mostly not…

So, bad guys have figured out that the agents sitting for the open houses might be easy pickings.

Let me just let you know something.  If you are an agent, don’t hold an open house alone.  Always have another person at the house.  Not only is it good for safety, but it is great to have someone else there in case all three of the visitors show up at once.

If you are one of the baddies…  We seldom sit houses alone.  And the agents that do usually expect to have steady traffic.  And think about it for a second… we aren’t sitting there with a bunch of cash or something.