Buyers & Sellers
Selling Your Property...

About Open Houses...

Unless You Permit Wendel to Auction the Property,
Wendel will "NEVER" Inconvenience You with
Unsecured Traditional Open Houses for the 'Public at Large' and Unqualified Buyers

Included in my marketing system and consistent with my Mission Statement, my Vision Statement and my Business Values, is to ensure that only qualified buyers view your property.  I insist that the buyers who inspect your property must be qualified by an licensed realtor (or a pre-approved mortgage), i.e., be financially able to purchase the property.

The National Association of Realtors suggests that 40% of Property-buyers purchase properties resulting from Realtor contact and company recognition.  Realtor contact is 40 times more effective than open houses.  Using newspaper ads requires an average of 500 phone calls to sell a house.  Only 3% of sales are made thorough advertising and only 1% of sales are made by the use of a traditional open house.  Buyers can usually afford more than the ad to which they inquire.  Buyers cannot usually afford the open house onto which they stumble.  Traditional open houses are designed to sell buyers other properties and have the Realtor appear as though he/she is working hard when he/she may have nothing better to do.  Clearly, traditional open houses are not in the best interest of the seller.  Thus, Wendel has developed our "Sunday Tour of Properties".  Click for details.

40	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	Realtor contact & Firm recognition; 'Networking'
20	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	a 'For Sale' sign.
18	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	responding to ad, but purchased another property.
8	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	responding to a traditional open house, but purchased another property.
7	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	referral by relocation firm.
3	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	an ad.
1	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	Traditional open houses.
3	% of Buyers	purchase properties resulting from:	a combination of reasons.

Realtors, their organization and effective marketing sells properties.

When you participate in my "VIP Client Care" program and knowing that most people are very curious about interior decorating when there is a traditional open house, I suggest that you feel free to visit traditional open houses that other realtors may be holding.

From a business point of view, I am sensitive to the fact that some un-informed realtors may unwisely choose to hold traditional open houses; thus, if you are a curious, feel free to satisfy your curiosity.  To allow more freedom in viewing the property and out of courtesy and fairness, please remember to give the the realtor holding the open house my business card and disclose to that person that I am your realtor.  

Also, safety is important.  I have included some excerpts from the Toronto Real Estate Board, to it's members, about actual crimes which occurred at traditional open houses:

Thieves stealing from Members' Open Houses!

A man posing as an agent at an open house is approximately 45 years of age, tall, slim, balding and professionally dressed with gray-rimmed glasses...

Simple Precautions deter thieves.

One Toronto Real Estate Board member reported that a suspicious-looking gentleman who did not even have a business card for identification lurked around her open house, but left when he sensed that she was watching him carefully. Unfortunately he was working in a team. Several minutes later a colleague who presented a phony business card feigned interest in the house then stole a wallet belonging to the Vendor.

REALTOR attacker still at large:

Saleswomen wanted to be careful Peel regional police are still looking for a man who, claiming to be an interested buyer, lured a lone female agent into a vacant property last November and sexually assaulted her. Agents in the Brampton area have been warned to be on the lookout for a middle-aged white male with a slight Scottish accent.

Open House thief still on the loose.

A man who posed as both a real estate salesperson and a purchaser and is suspected in several open house robberies in the Yonge/Eglinton/Lawrence area is still at large and members are wanted to be on the lookout.

Police Apprehend suspect

A man suspected of numerous open house robberies in the Toronto, London and Windsor areas has been apprehended in Windsor.  The suspected, who posed as either a bank manager, purchaser or real estate salesperson, under a variety of false names, is thought to have robbed several open houses ...

Open house for addicts

The most promising markets are listings in affluent neighbourhoods especially if the owners are elderly and don't have any children since young couples with children tend to hide drugs and discard old prescriptions.  In most cases, one will distract the salesperson while the other searches bathrooms, hallways closets, dresser drawers and nightstands.