While broker to broker open houses are clearly an appropriate way to introduce a property to cooperating brokers, public open houses have been the subject of numerous articles over the past decade either lauding or rejecting their efficacy. If you are a broker who utilizes public open houses for marketing purposes, extreme caution should be used in order to ensure regulatory compliance and the protection of the homeowner.
Issues
Many licensees are unaware of their obligations under Section 443 of the Agency Relationship Disclosure Law and the nuances which are applicable to open houses. Moreover, adequately staffing an open house in order to ensure the protection of a client’s possessions is essential. Real estate agents have also been made the targets of criminals with no intent to purchase property but rather to cause harm to or steal from agents who are monitoring the open house.
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