I.Love.Open.Houses.
I love looking at how homes are built. I am amused when a builder or prior owner did something weird, but people just found a way to deal with it. I keep up with trends in styles and materials (granite countertops weren’t always the norm!). When I see a beautifully staged home I envision myself on that couch, like those lifestyle bloggers with a cup of tea, a book and the sun streaming in through the window.
And yet, for one of my moves I put an offer on a house after seeing it only online. I made an offer, showed up for the inspection, and we moved in 3 weeks later.
Even in that case, an open house was the key. I had a “mole” in the form of my exceedingly capable mother-in-law. She knew what I liked, what I wouldn’t like, and as a DIY enthusiast she could sniff out issues better than almost anyone. She visited the open house and called me,
“This is your house!”
So if you’re wondering whether, in the age of Zillow.com, Trulia.com and Realtor.com, open houses are still important, my answer is YES, possibly more than ever!
Here are three reasons why.
#1: Less Paperwork, Less Commitment.
Early in your home search, you may not want to commit to working with a specific broker. If you’re new to home buying, or haven’t bought a home in many years, I suggest some breathing room to really discover what you like. Open houses let you do just that.
The freedom to explore has taken on new importance since, in 2024, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) updated its best practices for licensed realtors who use the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Among the changes was a new requirement that buyers who wanted to schedule private showings would need to sign a Buyer’s Broker Agreement (BBA) with an agent.
In some states, BBAs are required by law. But they’re not in Colorado. However, most realtors follow NAR’s best practices, so you could be asked to sign one when scheduling private showings.
While BBAs protect everyone involved (and many agents offer flexible 24-hour agreements), they’re still a contract. If you’re early in your search and still figuring out what you want, that can feel premature.
Open houses skip all of that. Show up, look around, and leave—no paperwork required. With Fort Collins’ active open house scene, you have plenty of opportunities to explore before making any commitments. Save the BBA for when you’ve narrowed your focus and are ready for a closer look with professional guidance.
#2: Seeing Is Believing. So Is Smelling.
Just like those too-perfect Instagram reels, house listings are curated to show you the best aspects of a home. Here are examples of what they won’t show you:
- The neighborhood.
- The yard where the neighbor on the other side of the fence keeps all their junk.
- Cosmetic coverups of leaks using Killz and paint.
- Evidence that work on the home might not have been permitted by the City of Fort Collins.
But just as importantly, you can’t smell a house online.
One time I visited an open house in Fort Collins that was over $1M+ price. It was a real stunner!
Until I went to the basement. Don’t get me wrong–it still looked amazing, just like the online photos. It was beautifully finished poker/pool table space with a kitchenette and an extra bedroom. It could have been an in-law suite.
But not for my discerning mother-in-law! Her sensitive nose would have immediately detected the earthy smell, a sign of historical moisture problems.
Poking around a little more, I found that the source of the smell was an open crawl space that had never been sealed off. That’s an addressable issue, but might require a little investment and hassle.
All of your senses matter when you’re home shopping. Sight is the only one you get to use online. The feel of a carpet, the smell of a basement, the noise in the area–they’ll all be helpful inputs when you visit an open house.
Even taste, if they were smart enough to have fresh-baked cookies for visitors!
#3: Get more value out of a future inspection.
The “wow” factor plays a big role in an open house visit. Sometimes a home is so beautiful that you forget to look at things like the furnace and the water heater. It’s only natural that we start with the aesthetics of the rooms where we’ll spend most of our time: the kitchen, the living room, and the bedrooms.
If you don’t like your future bedroom, who cares about the roof, after all?
You don’t have to choose between bedrooms and the roof over your head, though. After visiting dozens of open houses over nearly 20 years, I came up with a checklist to help me organize my thoughts. I can use it to get in and out of a house in about 20 minutes.
And I think that’s important. An open house isn’t intended to be your opportunity for a full inspection. An inspection is a privilege that is granted when you make an offer; it’s not supposed to be done by a stranger visiting a house.
But since I’ve been to a lot of home inspections, I’ve gotten good at spotting things I’ll want an inspector, or my broker, to follow up on. I systemized my approach in a checklist that I use for getting the most out of an open house.
Using this checklist I can:
- Quickly discern whether I even should attend the open house, with a pre-screen that includes a drive through the neighborhood, and online.
- Be sure that I look at the non-fun things that most commonly present issues when living in a house.
- Compare homes, especially when I look at several in a round of visits.
- Downselect my list to the homes I want to visit again with my broker.
- During that broker-facilitated visit, take a closer look at some things in my notes.
- If I get to an offer, I’ll use my notes to flag things I want an inspector to look at carefully.
I’ve turned my checklist into a printable PDF you can take with you to open houses. You can print out one checklist for every house. You and a partner can each have their own copy–it’s fun to compare notes after a visit!
Print it out, bring a clipboard, and you’ll look like you know what you’re doing—because you will.