Open House Customs
An Open house in Dubai features the seller and real estate agent greeting prospective home buyers. Home buyers should be cordial with the seller and agent during the visit. Avoid wearing ultra-lavish clothing or low quality apparel while attending. Buyers must dress appropriately by wearing presentable modest clothing. Prepare questions to the seller’s agent to answer before leaving the open house. Asking questions to the seller’s agent is customary, allowing buyers to make an educated assessment of the property.
Limit Appearing Eager to Buy
Appearing too interested in a home or disclosing too much information is a bad strategy for the buyer. A buyer’s timeline to purchase a home should be withheld from the seller. Look beyond the renovations and floor plan designs that are impressive and analyze each space based on its potential. Sellers purposely renovate key area of the property to grab the attention of buyers. Analyze the property by withholding verbal comments during the open house. This strategy makes it difficult for sellers to gage the interest of a prospective buyer.
Build Relations With the Seller to Obtain Information
Identifying shared interests with the seller is strategy to build rapport and extract information on the property. Sellers are more transparent with buyers who leave a positive impression. Relationship building aims to comfort sellers to openly share their reason for moving and significant features of the home. Why is the seller relocating? Does the seller need to move immediately? Is the seller experiencing financial problems or undergoing a marital dispute? Building rapport and asking questions extracts information that will assist during the negotiation process.
Study the Property Listing
Ask the seller’s agent how long the property has been listed for sale. Has the property’s price changed since being listed? The seller’s broker will attempt to explain reasons why the property has been listed for long. A property listed for an extensive period with past changes in the selling price is flexible to further price negotiation.
Listen to Prospect Buyers
Observe the reaction of competitive prospective buyers attending the open house. Observe their impression and level of interest in the home. Competitive buyers might detect negative features of the home that are not easily noticeable. Knowing the interest of competitive buyers is valuable information for the negotiating process.
Home Structural Problems and Recent Updates
The seller is required to reveal structural damage in the property. Take pictures of cracks, stuck windows door damage and significant problems that might require repair. Share this information with a RERA licensed property inspector. It is crucial the ventilation system is in quality condition as Dubai’s summer temperature averages at 41 degrees. Inquire of past roof damage, plumbing leaks and improper wiring issues. Confirm when renovations took place. Share this information with home improvement specialists to estimate the cost of renovations.
Negative Community Features
Ask the seller what type of neighbors live next door and general experiences living in the area. Are there neighbors, businesses, main roads or a nearby airport that produces disturbing noise. Sellers will hide bad community features to increase the possibility to sell the home. Corroborate the seller’s description of the community by connecting with community neighbors to ask for their experiences living in the area.
Valuable Community Features
The seller’s agent should share community features that distinguishes it from nearby areas. Walkable communities with amenities is valuable if planning to resell the home. Shopping outlets, grocery stores, parks, trails, children’s playgrounds and schools increase property value. Communities in Dubai that feature these amenities are Mudon, Villanova and Arabian Ranches in Dubailand.