Todd Pierceall

I am hear-by declaring open houses dead in my area! I have read another article on successful open houses from one of those nationally known speakers that travels around and tells us everything they would do if they were an agent (never do they give their experience as an agent). Every time I read or hear something along these lines there is nothing new.

In the past, I have advertised in the local paper, put up signs, put it in the MLS, listed it on 8-10 different websites, and even planned one open house over a month ahead of time so it could be published in Homes and Land. I have also included them in my monthly newsletter, sent out emails to a list of over 1000 Realtors, and sent flyers to other companies. This is just the advertising and that doesn't include the time and money spent on signs, food, balloons, staging, new brochures, etc.

I have held 8 open houses and out of all eight I have had 2 neighbors show up. That's it! No one else even stopped. My money wasted, my time wasted, my patience exhausted.

To keep this short and sweet, if open houses work in your area great. In my area THEY ARE DEAD!

Okay, time to rant for a minute about Pest inspectors. Before all the Pest Inspectors get in an uproar this is really a rant about the whole system.

I am having a time closing a deal because a lender says a termite letter is vague and won't accept it as a clear letter and the Pest Inspector says it is fine and they will not rewrite it.

Here is my point. If lenders are going to want specific verbage for a clear Termite Letter then they need to issue something saying this. Every Inspector is different, so how are we supposed to know as agents if it will be considered vague?

Lastly, why would an inspector not rewrite a letter if the lender requires it. Do they not want to please their client. it is not as if anyone is asking that the findings be changed, just the verbage used so it reads more clearly. I would think this makes good business sense.

Okay my rant is over but does anybody else think that I have a point? And for those of you that do not know what I am talking about, Termite Letters are almost as important as the contract if you work in the South.

Todd Pierceall
Prestige Properties
www.prestigeproperties4u.com

Okay, after reading quite a few articles in here on Twitter , I joined! Yeah! I have no clue what I will twitter about and who would follow me but if you want to you can at twitter.com/GastoniaHomes. Hope to see some of you following. I think it is a good connection and we should start a blog where people can list their twitter logs and other agents can follow. It would be a good way to build up a following and also to exchange ideas or get quick answers.

As a matter of fact this can be that blog. If you are interested post a reply with your Twitter name and lets see how quickly we can build a following.

Todd Pierceall
Prestige Properties
www.prestigeproperties4u.com

Thanks to everyone who commented on the Having a Bad Day photos. It provided a much needed chuckle in a stressful week. I think it is good to maintain a sense of humor in any business (especially ours).

One of my clients ask after a particular hard transaction how I kept my cool. I thought for a minute and responded that I see it everyday. What seems like a particular horrible situation to the buyer or seller, chances are the agent has dealt with it before. I continued with, now you can see the value of agents. A lot of what we get paid for is to absorb the stress of the transaction and make things easier on the client. I finished with the fact that I often think it could be worse, I could work with my sister. She is a nuerosurgical nurse and to me brain surgery would be a little more stressful than what I do.

I think maybe as agents we need to step back more often and appreciate ourselves and let out a deep breath. We are valuable and there is nothing wrong with a little humor in our work. Live it up guys, let down your hair, and laugh!

Todd Pierceall
Prestige Properties
www.prestigeproperties4u.com

Here is the third in a series. Who can come up with the best caption?