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Showings and Open Houses |
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and Open Houses |
A showing is a scheduled appointment that gives a
potential buyer the opportunity to tour your home. For
security reasons, it's best to let your agent (or the
buyer's agent) be present during the home showing. You,
however, should not be present.
Find something to do away from your home during the time
of the showing. The presence of an owner makes some
buyers uncomfortable and they tend to hurry or fail to
ask questions. And because traffic congestion and other
factors can throw off the appointment time by several
minutes, it's best to leave a bit before the appointed
time. Allow some extra time before returning home, too.
If you must remain, be courteous and inconspicuous, and
don't feel the need to make conversation. The buyer's
agent knows what the buyer is looking for, so let
him/her discuss your home's features and answer any
questions.
An open house is exactly that. It's opening your
home for any number of buyers to walk through and view
its features. An open house is a great way to increase
its visibility and bring in people who might not have
made an appointment for a personal visit. Your realtor,
assuming you have one, should take care of many of the
tasks described below. In fact, your realtor may suggest
that you spend the open house hours away from home.
Whether you stay for the open house or not, however,
here are some important ways you can help.
Before each showing, you'll want to:
- Hire a babysitter or dogwalker. Even if you plan
to stay home during the open house, your children
and pets should not. Children may be underfoot or
blurt out something that you'd rather a prospective
buyer not hear. Arrange for them to visit a friend
or relative during open house times. And although
your pets would probably charm some visitors, they
might also scare some or cause allergies. Worse yet,
pets might escape through doors and windows that
visitors leave ajar. Best to find a friend or a
dogwalker to take them for a few hours.
- Repair any damage caused by pets and check for
pet odor.
- Advise your immediate neighbors (ideally, a few
days in advance). They'll no doubt appreciate
knowing that a herd of cars and people are about to
fill your street. Politely ask that they not let
their dogs wander outside, or choose that day to
fill the sidewalk with throwaways from their garage.
- Add final touches to make the house look good.
Look at your house with a critical eye. Throw open
the curtains, turn on lights, wipe off any recent
dust or dirt, add a vase of flowers to a dark
corner, and even stuff an oversized piece of
furniture into the trunk of your car. Walk along the
sidewalk to make sure no one has left any garbage
lying around.
- Be ready a little early. If your open house is
scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m., the open house
signs will need to be in position by 1:45. Everyone
who's supposed to be inside or away from the house
should also be in or out by that time.
- Be prepared for people who aren't serious
buyers, or worse. You're bound to attract some "lookie-lous"
who just go looking at houses for the fun of it when
they have no intention of making a purchase. Then
there are the "nosy nerds" -- neighbors who look at
houses in their immediate neighborhood, in order to
pat themselves on the back or console themselves
concerning their own homes -- even though they have
no intention of selling in the near future. The good
news is, if they like your place, they may call a
friend who's househunting.
- Don't volunteer personal information that may be
used against you. If you'll be personally
interacting with buyers, don't tell them that you're
anxious to sell because you're starting a new job
out of state soon. Instead, listen carefully to
buyers' questions and comments, which will offer
clues to their underlying interests. For example, if
prospective buyers seem intent on verifying district
boundaries of local schools, they obviously have or
are planning to have children. Focus your discussion
on the school district and other child-related
attractions, such as a nearby park or day care
center.
In the event a potential buyer drops by unannounced
and unaccompanied by an agent, it is best not to show
your home. Ask for his/her name and phone number. Inform
the person that you'll give their information to your
agent for follow up. Your agent is trained to screen
interested buyers so you don't waste time showing your
home to someone who's not qualified to purchase it.
Let me be your next agent for your property. Please call
Diane Hunter at (312) 446-8300 or
contact me online! |
