There are so many aspects to being a professional Realtor. Sometimes there are not enough hours in a day, and sometimes you have time to catch up on all the things you have been wanting to do.

There are few weeks when there will not be one or two Realtors who are having a Broker Open House (an Open House for real estate Agents to come and view the home that a fellow Agent has for sale). It usually involves food and beverages and meeting and greeting other Realtors. It is a fun time and an opportunity to see what is available on the market.

When I make plans to go to a Broker Open, I often will go to a few that day. Since I am out and about in “let’s-look-at-houses mode,” I also make appointments to see homes listed for sale either in that immediate area, or in nearby areas, whether I have a client looking for something specific or not. It doesn’t take long, I usually make appointments for four or five in an hour period. Since you don’t have clients with you, it is very easy to pop in and pop out of a home. Hopefully the homeowner is not there, and you can be on your way within minutes. Twice in the past few years it has served me well.

The first time I got a call from a potential Client telling me they were looking for a home that was small but had a lot of character, didn’t need more than two bedrooms but had to have wood floors.  I had just seen such a home a few days before, which I wouldn’t have known about if I hadn’t previewed.

The next time, I got a referral from a couple who wanted something in town that was within walking distance to everything but that had a feeling of being in the middle of nowhere – oh, yes, and it had to be a ranch-style!  That is a hard one to look up on the MLS, but I had seen the exact home just the week before, and it was in their price range.

I sold both properties, and neither property would I have known about if I hadn’t previewed them first.

If you would like more information on the purchase or sale of a home, please call Mimi Foster for all of your real estate needs.