8 Unwritten Rules of Etiquette You Should Know When Going to Open Houses

How cool is it that you can literally just walk on into someone’s house and stroll around every single room while they’re not home? When you really stop to think about it, open houses are quite a privilege! With that in mind, as you can imagine, there are certainly some unwritten rules of etiquette you should follow.

While there’s no formal rule book, for the most part minding your manners at an open house boils down to plain common sense: Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want someone doing in your house if you were allowing strangers to roam through it. Unfortunately, that still leaves a lot of wiggle room, and the potential for you to break a rule or two without meaning to.

So let’s take a look at 8 unwritten rules of etiquette you should know when going to open houses:

1) Don’t Bring Your Pet With You…

As much as it may someday be your pet’s home, too, bringing your dog (or any other animal) to an open house isn’t something you should assume will be OK. While you might feel your pet isn’t a threat to anyone, some people are afraid of animals, or allergic to them. And, depending on the owner, some people just don’t want animals walking all over their carpets or jumping on furniture.

2) Don’t Walk in With an Iced Caramel Half-Caf Latte…

Some agents serve food and drink at their open houses, but even if they do, they probably don’t want you roaming from room to room with a plate of hors-d’oeuvres, desserts, and a drink. Feel free to nibble and sip on whatever is offered in the room it’s served in, but don’t BYOC from Starbucks and walk around with a potential coffee catastrophe waiting to stain their floors or furniture.

3) Don’t Get Upset if You’re Asked to Wait for Your Turn…

Open houses can get super busy, especially if it’s a hot market. Some agents are completely fine with a huge crowd meandering through the house, but others want to keep a closer eye on folks and limit how many are walking around at any given time. In order to keep things under control, you may be asked to wait outside until the crowd clears a bit. Don’t get angry or demand to be let in immediately; just wait patiently and understand that the agent is probably just keeping the home (and themself) safe.

4) Don’t Refuse to Give Your Contact Information…

Many agents will ask you to provide some info on a sign-in sheet. While you may be hesitant, or tempted to give a fake name and number, please don’t. While they might use it as a way to follow up with you and see if you have interest in the house, or would like help finding another one, you can jot a note that you don’t want to be contacted or that you’re working with another agent. More importantly, these sheets serve as a way for the agent to keep track of who was in the house in case something happens. If you put yourself in the shoes of the agent and owner, wouldn’t you want to know who’s been walking around your house?

5) Don’t Ignore or Be Rude to the Agents…

Plenty of people master the art of avoiding salespeople while browsing in a store by avoiding eye contact or slipping away to another aisle or department. But even if you desperately want to avoid talking to an agent at an open house, please don’t. You don’t have to become besties or tell them your life story, but you should definitely be prepared to say hello and make some small talk. In the least, it’s just polite. But on another level, just imagine being in charge of keeping yourself and someone’s house safe, and you have a person walk in off the street trying to sneak around the house without being seen or spoken to. Being warm and friendly will help agents feel safe and less suspicious of you.

6) Don’t Take Pictures Unless You Ask First…

It may sound ridiculous that you shouldn’t take pictures inside of a house that probably has high-def images of every room available to see on the internet, but definitely ask before you do. The chances are you’ll be allowed to, but it’s just good form to ask first.

7) Don’t Use the Bathroom…

This is another thing you’d probably be allowed to do if you asked, but you also shouldn’t presume you can just use the bathroom at an open house. If you’re on an all-day marathon of open houses, try and take a pit stop somewhere in between. But if you really gotta go… well, just pass it by the agent before you do.

8) Don’t Show up at the Last Minute…

It never fails: the minute an agent is turning off the lights and is about to pull the open house sign off the front lawn, someone pulls up to see the house. While you could say an agent shouldn’t mind because that’s what they’re there for, keep in mind that they often have busy schedules and may need to get to their next appointment, or simply head home for some family time. But also keep in mind that the homeowner was probably out of their house for 4 to 5 hours, and is probably circling the block just waiting for the minute they can get back in and relax! Try to head to open houses at least 15 minutes to a half hour before the ending time.