I started writing here at Boston.com on June 20, 2007. Since then I have written to, talked to, and met readers. But rarely do I meet them at open houses.
Saturday, some house-hunters spotted my name on the sign-in sheet. They asked the broker doing the open house if she was Rona Fischman. She pointed them in my direction… This is the second time in two years that this has happened.

I introduced myself and shook hands. I thanked them for reading and asked if they comment. No, neither one comments. They read me; they know what I think. Now, they know what I look like. I bumped into them a few times with my clients in the open house and again while we were walking the route to the Red Line. I felt a little self-conscious.

The broker at any open house works for the firm that has the listing for that property. Sometimes he/she is the seller’s agent, sometimes not. In either case, it is bad form for me to pick up new buyers at someone else’s open house.

Open houses are more effective in collecting the names and email addresses of new buyers than it is at selling property. Therefore, I pay attention to the needs of my clients and have very little chit-chat with other buyers at the property. I hope I wasn’t rude to those readers.