Attending an Open House without your Realtor

Happy New Year!

I always like to tell a real life scenario when talking about Real Estate as I think people are able to better relate to the take away message.

A while ago, I was taking care of one of my associates business while he was away on vacation. A couple that he was working with (buyers) contacted me to view a townhome with them that they had seen at an open house the day before. They were interested in making an offer so I needed to see it with them to better assist them. After vieiwing the property and pulling past sales in the complex we arrived at an offer price. The selling Realtor came back to us with a counter offer almost at list price. When I was negotiating with her she made me aware that she got alot of information from the buyers at the open house. They were very open with their conversation and comments to the point that she knew they had received an inheritance and would not even need a mortgage. The Selling Realtor used this information to her advantage and blatantly stated that she knew that they could afford it and that they were not budging on the price.They ended up paying almost asking price as they really wanted this home. So the take away from this is that if your Realtor is not able to attend an open house with you, beware of what information you tell the Realtor that is hosting the open house as it can affect you negatively later.