Great story about open house

disasters.  I haven’t heard many shocking stories about open houses in Boston, but I’ll see

what I can find out.

By Teri Karush Rogers, New York

Times

cite="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/realestate/24bad.html?pagewanted=print&position=">

As

some brokers see it, displaced anxiety or even rage is causing a higher proportion of buyers -

battered by high prices, low inventory and jugular bidding wars - to act out, especially when

desperation drives them to tour properties far above their price range. "They want to see an

apartment that’s a million more than they can afford because they want to see something they

actually like," Mr. Orenstein said. "But they’re not buying the apartment, so there’s a

different mindset."

Stories of tasteless and even bizarre behavior

abound. One stormy Sunday in mid-March, Barry Silverman, a senior vice president at Halstead

Property, held an open house in a two-bedroom, two-bath Chelsea duplex. Despite the weather, the

$715,000 apartment drew 65 people during its 90-minute debut, a crowd Mr. Silverman said was

typical for a property offered at such a reasonable price. Among them were two women who started to

enter the apartment with a pair of sodden German shepherds. "You just want to say, ‘What, are

you an idiot?’ " said Mr. Silverman, who instead asked the women to take turns baby-sitting

the dogs in the hallway. Another shopper carrying her venti-sized Starbucks drink tossed her

rain-soaked persimmon slicker over the back of an upholstered

chair.

Complete article:

href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/realestate/24bad.html?pagewanted=print&position=">The

New York Times > Real Estate > How Not to Behave at an Open House