Most sellers know that it’s not a good idea to be in the home when buyers are touring the property, yet sometimes sellers just can’t resist the temptation and desire to see if they can ‘help’. Sam Miller, an agent in Apple Valley Ohio, recently shared a story on his blog that illustrates perfectly how important it is for the seller to not be present.
If you want to get your home sold, the following are just a few of the reasons you should not be home:
- Buyers have a hard time imagining they are at ‘home’ in the presence of the very person who calls it ‘home’ now.
- Buyers feel uncomfortable opening cabinets and closets when a seller is home. They rush through the tour, anxious to leave, so they don’t feel as if they are ‘voyeurs’ in your home.
- Buyers and their agents may ask questions that put a seller in a tough spot and ones that might be best left to the negotiations in the offer.
- A Seller, well intentioned though they may be, may inadvertently say something that weakens negotiating power or worse, ‘kills the deal’, as in Miller’s example.
- What one person sees as a positive, another person may see as a negative. During one buyer tour that I was conducting, the seller proudly shared with my buyer that – although the ceiling looked white – it actually was a lighter shade of the green that was on the walls. Super. Not a plus for my buyer.
- You want the focus to be on the home, not on the personality traits of the seller. Some people aren’t a great personality mix. Why add those possibilities to the showing?
Let’s get the home sold. Allow the agent you have selected to share all the great details about the home in their marketing. Go for a drive. Take a walk. Sit outside for 10 minutes if you must. Give your buyer a chance to be at home in your home – and you will likely be one step closer to getting it sold!
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I have mixed feeling on this topic. I am currently a seller and 98% of the time I leave the home but of the few times I actually stayed I actually got an offer or even a second visit. The offers fell through because of complications unseen on the buyers end but they turned out to be very positive experiences.
I agree it’s best to be out of the home but I think the few times that I was at home it turned out really great. I work out of my home office so there are times I just can’t leave so I stay in the office while they tour the house.
The other thing that is great is when the buyers come and I am here they are able to ask me questions directly that the agent wouldn’t be able to answer such as community, neighbors, schools, and other things that will be a part of their day to day lives living here.
Like I said I don’t know what to think about the topic because I see the pros and cons on boths ends. I did find a great way to be out of the house yet give a personal feel and that is with a “Welcome To Our Home” letter. I’ve gotten very positive response to that.
Hi Christine,
I understand the desire to be of help when a buyer visits. And in some cases, there is no denying, a seller can help to point out some of the qualities that can help sell a home.
But, what one person views as a selling point, may be the very thing that another person views as a deterrent. And it’s hard to know what those points may be. For example, I was showing a home to a client who wanted privacy in their new home and the seller happened to be home and shared with my buyer how friendly and outgoing the neighbors were. To most buyers that is a good thing but for my buyer, they immediately became wary.
I do love you idea of the ‘Welcome To Our Home Letter’. Great idea and probably the best solution.
Good luck in the sale of your home Christine!