Open House or Real Estate Showing. How to "Hack" The Showing In DIY Home Buying.
No matter what you’ve heard, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) real estate is real. There are several great reasons to DIY real estate. You could save thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in realtor fees that can help you become a savvy real estate investor and you will be empowered by understanding the process much better. But, it’s not for everyone! If you are going to leverage the awesome power of DIY real estate, first, you will need to "hack" the showing (how you see homes when you need or want to).
Believe it or not, lots of people buy homes without ever seeing them. This trend increased during pandemic lockdowns when people couldn’t leave their homes. But, many agree this isn’t a great idea for most people in most circumstances. If you are buying a home, you probably need to see it at least one time, if not two or three. The most obvious way to see a home is through an open house. These are often posted on neighborhood streets, but they are also advertised on the major search sites like Zillow and Redfin. You can simply look up the house you want to see, and check for posted dates and times of any upcoming open houses. Then, attend the open house free of charge. You may be asked to sign a register, which is just a courtesy to the seller to let them get a feel for how much interest the home is getting it’s rare that someone “makes” you sign a register to see the house.
If you are like most people, you will want to see the house a second or even third time before making an offer. One way to do this is to contact the seller’s agent (also called the “listing agent”) and request a showing. Most seller agents will do this, but they may ask if you already have an agent and they may not grant the showing if you do have an agent. You can find the seller’s agent (again, listing agent) listed on most search sites. Lookup their contact information and message them. Note that the agent you met at the open house may not be the official seller’s agent. Again, you are looking for the “listing agent (or one of the listing agents or more than one are listed on the posting).” Most listing agents are pretty cooperative, as they are contractually obligated to do everything needed to best represent the seller in selling their home, to include letting qualified people see it.
If you can’t or don’t want to use the seller agent, you can use your favorite real estate search site to find other local agents who may show you the property. Again, they will ask you questions before showing the property, primarily trying to see if you have an agent already. But, at the end of the day, most agents will consider showing you a property to meet you and try to gain your business. Some agents may ask you to sign a “buyer agency agreement” which would force you to use that agent in the future (and/or pay them a commission). We recommend NOT signing such an agreement under these circumstances.
Finally, if you don’t want to use the listing agent or a “random” real estate agent, book a no obligation showing using Alokee. Simply set the appointment here. If you have a question about a house before you want to see it, contact us here and we’ll answer the question, no obligations. Alokee does not use your contact information for marketing purposes and we will not share or sell your data. It’s truly a no obligation showing and we do this to introduce you to our service.
Once you learn how to hack showings, you are well on your way to DIY real estate! Happy showing!