Thursday, May 24, 2012

Should Sellers Be Present for House Showings?

If you ask any real estate agent that question, they will look at you like you're crazy. The last thing any agent wants around is the owners. They know the owners will just screw things up. 

It's just like the old saying goes "To many cooks spoil the soup". When you hire a real estate agent to sell your home, the owners need to get out of the way and let them do their jobs. 

If you have ever gone to an open house and walked through someones occupied home, would you like the owners watching you open their closets and cabinets? It's an uncomfortable situation and the potential buyers will feel odd about the entire experience and not be concentrating on your home.

Home buyers need to feel as comfortable as possible when looking at a potential new home. It’s a big investment, and they should feel welcome to open closets, look in cabinets, look behind the couch, or put their ears up the walls or windows. A serious buyer of a property needs to do whatever they can to learn about the home.

When buyers don’t feel completely comfortable to explore, they may miss the intricacies of a property. Or they might not give the home a fair chance. This means a missed opportunity for both the buyer and the seller.

Your real estate agent is an expert in sales. They know what to say to make a sale. Owners tend to talk to much about the wrong things. They may describe things about the neighborhood that to them are a plus but to the buyers could be a minus. The sales agent has already pre-qualified your potential buyers for compatibility and knows their needs. 

Homeowners are coming from an invested position. Buyers could say some derogatory things about the home to the owners and bring a lot of drama into the entire process. Your sales agent keeps the drama out and treats the sale as a business deal. 

An Exception to the Rule

The only exception to being present at an open house is if you are there undercover. If you are looking around your home and trying to blend in, it is a good idea to listen to what the visitors are saying. You can use your anonymity to learn what the buyers really think. Because you are just there as they are, you will be privy to honest criticism of your home. This criticism can be helpful to find out if there are any problems that are keeping your home from being sold.

In my business, I have had to be the salesman on homes that we have built. In the capacity of owner-seller I have to be there and I must say I do a good job. But when I sold my personal home, I was nowhere to be found. I left it up to the Realtor to do his job.  

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