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Tips for Home Sellers in Kitsap County WA: "Let it Show!"

(sung to the tune "Let it Snow!")

Oh, the Real Estate Market is Frightful,

but for Buyers it's quite Delightful.

And since there's so many homes,

"Let it Show, Let it Show, Let it Show!"

It doesn't show signs of Improving,

so if you really want to be moving,

whenever a Buyer's Agent calls,

"Let it Show, Let it Show, Let it Show!"

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Okay, so I'm making some phone calls yesterday, trying to line-up a few showings for my Buyer clients. Here in Kitsap County WA, most of the 'Phone-to-Show' numbers listed on the MLS data-sheets are direct lines to the Sellers. And so, when you're making arrangements to show a property, chances are you're going to be making an appointment with the Sellers.....

I don't know about your local real estate market, but here in Kitsap County WA the pendulum has pretty much swung over in favor of the Buyer's side of things. We've got a fairly sizable amount of inventory to choose from, prices have dropped rather attractively, and for the 'not-so-faint-of-heart' Buyers, there are a number of short sale or bank-owned properties to pursue. selling-your-kitsap-county-wa-home

Given the current market dynamics, Sellers must confront the challenges of selling their home 'head-on!' and take a very aggressive approach in effectively marketing their home.

So back to my phone calls from yesterday...

My Buyers have some very specific criteria in what they are looking for in a home: They want a view home - mountain, water, or both; a Master Bedroom/bathroom on the main floor; preferably a 3-car garage; and natural gas. Their price range is up to $500K.

I had picked out 4 potential properties for my Buyers to look at - 2 of them were vacant, and 2 required appointments.

My first phone call went something like this:

Me: "Good Morning! My name is Rich Jacobson, and I'm with Windermere Real Estate in Silverdale WA. I have some Buyers who would like to see your home this evening around 6:45pm. Would that be a convenient time for you?"

Seller: "Oh tonight isn't going to work for us. We're currently out-of-town this week and have someone house-sitting for us. Can you bring your Buyers over sometime next week?

The second call went like this:

Seller: "Oh, we're over in Seattle right now, and the house is a total mess. Can you show it on Friday instead?"

The first property has been on the market for nearly 150 days. The second property for just over a year.

sellers-in-kitsap-county-wa I realize this may seem like fairly basic and obvious advice, but it amazes me how many Sellers continue to throw-up roadblocks that prevent the potential sale of their home, or demand unnecessary hoop-jumping that only serves to discourage Buyers from viewing their homes.

'Maximum Accommodation' is the rule of the day! As a Seller, you must make every possible effort for Buyers to see your home. I realize that it gets really old, really fast, trying to keep your home picked up and ready-to-show at a moment's notice. This is especially difficult if you have kids, or pets, or both.

Give each of your kids a specific task that allows them to contribute to the process of getting the house ready to show. If you're out of town and someone is house-sitting, give your Listing Agent their cell phone number, and make it the 'Phone-to-Show' number for that period of time. If you know you're going to be away from the home on a given day, make sure the place is presentable before heading out.

Making your home presentable and easy to show will help to give it the greatest amount of exposure to potential Buyers, and increase your chances of getting it sold more quickly!

~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SoundBiteBlog and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

Posted by Rich Jacobson Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Agent on 09/02/2009 02:29 PM

Comments (47)

Showing Your Home in the Home Selling Channel

sellers, kitsap county wa real estate, silverdale wa real estate, advice for sellers, selling your home

Originally posted at: "Singing in the Rain!": Tips for Home Sellers in Kitsap County WA: "Let it Show!"

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47 Comments on Tips for Home Sellers in Kitsap County WA: "Let it Show!"

SEP

Makes ya wonder if the sellers really want to sell, huh? ;-)

Rich,

You almost scared me. I thought you were rushing the winter season.

This is a failure on the part of the listing agent for not preparing the seller properly.

It's their time and money the seller is wasting. I don't know why they put up with it.

I love this - you have another sideline - lyricist!!! Couldn't agree more, btw.

I love the song and actually just sang it out loud to my Dad. Too funny! Sadly enough, we just let a listing go that we have had nothing but difficulty lining up showings for buyer's agents. I have been recommending we withdraw the listing for over a year because of this. I am so happy to not have to print flyers for it anymore.

Okay - you made me prepare for Christmas with this one.... You're good.

Some people just don't fully understand the market they're up against. LOVE the song! May I use that on my voice mail out-going message?

Well now you are finally singing in the rain, but when are you going to be dancing? Gene Kelley sings "I'm singing and dancing in the rain."

I think what happens is that some sellers get burned out on keeping the house clean and develop a whatever attitude. There seems to be a lot of that going around these days...

It sounds like their wanting my parents home on Traceyton...too bad they won't be selling for another year at least and probably over the $500,000 mark as well. Good Luck!

I love it -- very clever and oh soooo true... I had a client in from Europe ... and they told her to come back the following weekend... I don't think so! Even when I explained, they still would not accommodate the buyer... oh well.

I find this very strange. Do you think if their agent advised them to get a video tour they would? I read another post about this very thing, and it seems like the seller doesnot really want to sell. Luckily for your buyer there are plenty of other choices, but too bad for the listing agent!

One of my listing requirements is the house must be accessible during reasonable hours. How do sellers expect to sell if the house is not accessible? 150 DOM and 365+ DOM? Well, not granting showing appts. when requested is certainly one of the reasons.

Hi Rich ~ Nicely put! Fortunately around here we don't talk to sellers directly, because I can imagine it happening if we did. It's something I've run into a couple of times with sellers when I call to confirm a showing of one of my listings. Of course if you're the listing agent you can gently remind them that to sell it we need to show it - as a buyers agent that's just not your job!

This has been happening here for several months! I really just started to get irritated by it all. I have been known to tell sellers that we have too many homes to look at and will just cross them off the list - funny how when I take away the possibility of selling their home they become very accommodating.

If they've been on the market a long time, I can imagine that they are discouraged by now. You never know - they might have jumped through all kinds of hoops for every buyer agent who called before, but the day you called they had just hit the wall.

(Or maybe their agent didn't tell them that it only takes one buyer and you need to be ready for that buyer at all times!)

Good luck!

Vicki

We need serious sellers for our serious buyers. Very clever blast of cold air here!

Vicki: I can most definitely empathize with Seller frustration, especially if their home has been on the market for any length of time. A Listing Agent's job is to help their Sellers navigate that frustration, and not to lose sight of their primary objective. Take the home off the market temporarily if they need a break to rejuvenate. Successfully selling residential properties in this current market takes aggressive TEAM work, by both the Sellers and their Agent!...

Jo: Trust me, I've been tempted several times to speak my mind, but have done otherwise. I usually resort to calling the Listing Agent and sharing my concerns....

Heather: Actually, they would LOVE to find something over in Tracyton! Are you sure your parents wouldn't consider moving sooner???....

Melina: Trust me, you DON'T want to see me dance!...Have you ever seen a beached whale?....

Lenn: As usual, you cut straight through to the heart of the matter! (Love your new profile pic, BTW)

Steven: No rush here! I want to prolong the Sunny days as long as I can!....

Clint: Yeah, no kidding!....Nice to see your mugh around these parts!...Hope yer doing well....

Dawn: You're much too kind!....

Christianne: It's such a 'freeing' experience, is it not?....

Mara: It really does make you appreciate those Sellers who truly are 'serious!'....

Denise: I actually prefer talking to Sellers directly. It eliminates the Middle man and speeds up the process.

I've seen this happen before....unfortunately.

When I list a home I do tell them as strongly as I can, "the house must be able to be shown w/ 24 hr. notice 7 days a week. Most of the sellers I've delt with agree and I've not had any problems yet....

Patricia Aulson/portsmouth nh homes

Yup ... today I went to a "vacant" house, only to have a dog bark loudy from inside. Vacant??

Simply unbelievable behavior on the part of the sellers. I have experienced this in my market too (when I'm representing buyers - I won't take a listing if the seller is willing to make the home available for showings). We use a showing service here in Charlotte, NC to make appointments for all showings, so I don't get to voice my dismay over refused showings. Sometimes I just want to scream "But I have a CASH buyer for your $400,000 home - they can close in 2 weeks if you want). Or the even more mature ditty when my buyers purchase another home...."nah nah nah nah nah nah!"

Well, the summer really never came to Michigan this year....but I'm sure not ready for snow.

What a shame they are not preparing their home for showings. Don't they know when you go out of town all kinda good things happen.

Rich some sellers just don't realize that good access is key to getting the property sold,

I had one of my sellers scream at me when I told him to let people in when they were not ready. Lucky we did they bought the house.

Rich - I just had a similar experience today. Wanted to show a house tomorrow at 6 pm. Remarks stay "Motivated Seller." Listing agent informs me that the home can only be shown before 5pm during the week but can be shown on Sat. or Sun. Duh!!!....don't most buyers work til 5 pm? Doesn't sound like a very motivated seller in my book!!

I really like the jingle. And I think some people just like to have their house on the market then blame others why it isn't selling.

Gotta echo Donna on this one, Rich. It makes no sense to only have the home available to show when both parties are otherwise occupied. Hmmm. This is fodder for another good post on the subject (not that you didn't do an excellent job on it...the jingle was clever. I just wanna tackle it from a slightly different angle).

Great Post! I have a seller who just emailed me and said the traffic was slow and asked if I had any ideas to improve the showings! Thank God I did have some advice (I hate getting caught with my pants down)! It's simple really - Don't decline the last 6 showings. Yes, 6 showings!

Hi Rich -- I encounter this on a regular basis and am dumbfounded. If not getting in the door isn't bad enought, just last night I thought I was going to receive a free neutering thanks to man's best friend. Oi!

Rich - This is always amazing to me when a home has been on the market for awhile, and they make it next-to-impossible to show. I always want to yell, "DO YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR HOUSE OR NOT?!?"

On another note:

Dude - I have missed seeing you around here. Let's catch up sometime. :)

Hi Rich. Sometimes I arrange a showing and do not get a return phone call.

SEP

These types of response never cease to amaze me ... especially in a buyer's market.

Sellers like this don't make it easy for their listing agents to sell their homes - yet the listing agent will often get the blame.

Rich,

Clearly we run into this in every geographic area. What really gets my goat is when the seller agrees to the showing and then the home is in chaos. Messy, full of kids having a play date, pets running loose. Some sellers don't make our jobs easier!

Yes we see that here all the time!!! It is amazing how many people want to sell their homes yet do not pick up and do not make it easy to show.

Great post! Thanks for your time.

Ahh Rich, I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one dealing with this issue up here in Washington.

I must admit I get this most often from short sale homeowners, and it makes me happy! :)

SEP

Rich: It's kinda like the sellers are singing, "Should I stay or should I go now..." by The Clash...

Nice read, thanks...

SEP

Hi Rich,

I love your verses! Some sellers just don't get it! Thanks for sharing!

SEP

Hi Rich ~ Love the song! This sounds so familiar to me. I took out a buyer the other evening and in putting together the tour tried for the **4th** time to include a particular property on our tour. No surprise - seller leaves me two messages about trying to set up another time. What is most mind boggling to me is that the seller is an/the agent. I've been trying to figure out why you would put your place on the market if you didnt really want to sell it - what's in it for him?

Liz

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