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Three buyers you don’t want to run into at an open house

Who's the real deal at open houses?

(Credit left to right: amenclinicsphotos ac/Flickr; Pixabay; U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devante Williams)
(Credit left to right: amenclinicsphotos ac/Flickr; Pixabay; U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devante Williams)

Figuring out who’s important and who’s wasting your time is a good life skill which, in the real estate game, is greatly needed at an open house.

So how do brokers parse the serious potential buyers from those who use open houses to live vicariously through the staged home? A couple brokers shared their tricks for differentiating vicarious dreamers from serious buyers with the New York Times. There are three classic profiles you might want to avoid:

1. The Snooper

(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Devante Williams)


They’re casually dressed, perhaps in yoga pants or sweats, and are dropping in to see how their house right down the street might compare.

2. The Confirmation Seeker

(amenclinicsphotos ac/Flickr)

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Second thoughts are running through their mind because they’ve already bought a home recently and, because they’re some kind of masochist, they keep going to open houses trying to find validation in what might have been the biggest purchase of their life.

3. The Aspirational Buyer

(Pixabay)


What could your life have been like if you’d just made a few different choices? These “buyers” are asking themselves that question as they amble through the house you’ve staged to look like a polished, organized, beautiful version of life. Dead giveaway: they ask more about the accessories than anything practical — because the best dreams don’t have mortgages, bills or maintenance issues.

[NYT] — Erin Hudson

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