Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC

Just a short blog post today to remember and honor all the men and women in our Armed Forces. These men and women voluntarily sacrifice time away from their family and friends to defend our country. All too often they are put into harm’s way and are wounded or killed. The recent tragedy at Ft. Hood, TX is but one reminder that danger is not reserved to foreign lands. My heart and thoughts go out to all the families of the fallen and wounded. My gratitude goes out to those who serve now or have committed their service and reti

OK. For whatever reason you decided you want to put your house on the market. If someone comes along with the right price and the planets are in alignment, you'll accept the offer. In the meantime, people who may want to take a look at your house can do so "by appointment only" with no lockbox.

This means:

• you need to be home when anyone comes by and
• hardly anyone will want to come by

Yeah, I know. There used to be a time when there were no lock boxes and agents had to jump through all kinds of hoops to show homes to their buyer clients. Those days are gone, though.

The old saw about location, location, location is really only partially true. You can have the best location in the world and if no one can see the inside of your house, live and in person, it probably won't sell. Yeah, the Internet photos are great for getting people interested to visit your house but -- trust me on this -- they won't buy it unless they can actually step foot in it.

Just sayin'

I was writing a blog post on my Outside Blog about an article in today's Washington Post about a "father/son" team that went to a bunch of Open Houses and pilfered the home owner's jewelry and took it to local pawn shops to unload it.

Due to some good police work and getting the word out within the local Realtor community, the Open House thieves have been caught. The Alexandria (VA) police are still seeking additional victims of the Open House thefts in order to wrap this case up. You can find the phone number of the Detective on the case here.

This really brings to mind the dangers of Open Houses in the Internet Age. Most people can find all the information they want about a house on numerous websites complete with Virtual Tours. On top of that, a good buyer's agent can provide you with your very own, personal tour of any house at your convenience. You don't have to wait until Sunday to go.

Honestly, I've never quite figured out why people want to advertise to the world "I'm not home. The door is open. Come on in!" Jewelry isn't the only thing. Prescription drugs, crystal, sentimental keepsakes. All of it is available for the taking.

In my book, if you want to let your neighbors know you're selling your house and you would like them to take a look at it, throw a party. Heck, I may even throw it for you. Just make sure you're there, too...and your valuables are in a safe place.

Scenario: Mr. Seller is very eager to sell his house. He just "happens to be home" when a lot of the buyers and their agents pop by for a visit. Mt. Seller likes to be the tour guide highlighting all the parts of the house he [the Seller] likes about his house. Mr. Seller also likes to talk money.

Yes, that's right. Stuff like "I can do this with closing help or I can do that with less closing help or....." Get the point?

So I get the call from the agent with a low ball offer. I present to the Seller. The Seller tells me, "I told Ms. Agent what I could do and not do and yadda, yadda, yadda. I thought she was on board." Or I get feedback about how awkward the agent felt or that the buyer really didn't like the main feature of the house the Seller was so proud of.

No matter how may times I ask Seller clients to take a walk around the block or go to a movie or hide in the basement, there are those that insist they can sell their house just fine, thank you very much.

I don't get it. If they really didn't want the help, why'd they ask (and agree, in writing, to pay my fee)?

Please...to all you Mr. and Ms. Sellers everywhere: you may get more than you thought, in less time than you thought, with less stress than you thought...if you let your Realtor do their job. Sit back. Relax. We'll get it done.

If you've been thinking if all this Active Rain, Facebook, Twitter, etc. stuff is a waste of time (you know who you are!) you may change your thinking after the next 4 minutes....