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Home Selling FAQs: What is My Job As a Seller?

By
Real Estate Agent with Henderson, Thornton, Broomfield and Westminster 100026886

So you've made the decision to sell your home.  Congratulations!  The summer of 2012 has proven to be a great time to list your home for sale.

Once you and your Realtor have studied Pricing and Days on Market, and you have cleaned, polished and staged your home for sale, you are finished, right?

Not so fast!  In order to assure that ready, willing and able home buyers will bring you an offer, they need to be able to access your home.  This means that you have a few responsibilities as the home seller.  While your Realtor is marketing your home and attracting qualified buyers, you will also need to do your part:

  1. Put the Lockbox on the Door.  This is for convenience as well as safety.  Your Realtor will provide a lock box for use when buyers come to see your property.  This little box holds the key to your door(s), and is protected by a code.  Only licensed Realtors will be able to access the lockbox when they have set up a showing.  This is much safer than leaving it under the mat, and much more convenient than having to leave work to meet the buyer and their agent at your house to open up!
  2. Put the Dogs Away.  Better Yet- Take Them With You!  It may not be practical to take your dog with you to work, especially during the summer months.  But remember that you are suddenly letting strangers into your dog's territory.  If they have a crate, it's a very good idea to crate them during showings.  If you have a neighbor who can keep them at their house, or a dog walker who can be on call, that's even better.  No matter how friendly your family dog is, it is asking too much for your dog to be calm when new people are regularly ringing the bell and opening the door when you aren't home.  Buyers may also be walking through the house with little ones, and they can be frightening to even the most mild mannered pup.
  3. Clean up.  Get the dishes out of the sink and into the dishwasher, empty the garbage cans, and vacuum.  Make the beds and pick up the toys.  You want buyers to be attracted to the house itself, not distracted by the smell of garbage or the sight of your unmade bed!
  4. Let the Buyers See Your House!  I cannot emphasize this enough.  While buyers are first attracted to your home by the photographs and virtual tour, they won't write an offer until they have been able to walk through it and see it.  If you have a scheduling conflict, suggest another time.  If you know that you need a hour's notice to pick up and get out, or to arrange for your dog sitter to remove the dogs, it's ok to put that into the Showing Instructions.  But remember that if you refuse a showing, that buyer may just move on and not come back.  Try to make it as easy as possible for a potential buyer to see your property.
  5. Receive Criticism Constructively.  Buyers' Agents will usually provide feedback to your agent, which will then be shared with you.  Pay attention to what is being said.  Does the same issue seem to keep coming up?  There are things you can control, like paint colors, how clean the house is, how easy it is to schedule showings; and things you cannot, like neighborhood amenities and location.  Your Realtor can help you review the feedback and make adjustments to price or condition of the home if necessary.

Keeping these tips in mind will assure you a smooth and successful selling process!

Questions about ways to implement these tips?  Wondering what your home's most likely selling price would be?  Call me 720-341-5253!

Comments (12)

Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Jennifer  This is excellent advise for sellers ! They need to do their job as well as we do ! Nice Post ! Suggested !

HelpfulHannah

Aug 14, 2012 07:02 AM
Bruce Hicks
Best Homes Hawaii - Honolulu, HI
Your Best Hawaii Realtor!

good list for this article Home Selling FAQs: What is My Job As a Seller?  Did you get this into the contest in time.  You would have received 2500 points.

Aug 14, 2012 07:02 AM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Hi Jennifer..... if sellers followed MOST of that list, wouldn't life as a listing agent be wonderful....

Aug 14, 2012 07:02 AM
Jennifer Prestwich
Henderson, Thornton, Broomfield and Westminster - Henderson, CO
Madison & Co Properties

Thanks, Hannah!  We all have to work together, don't we?

Ma- Ain't it the truth... ;)

Bruce- Alas, no, I didn't.  Oh well, it was still worth posting!

Aug 14, 2012 07:06 AM
John Mosier
Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert - Prescott, AZ
Prescott's Patriot Agent 928 533-8142

Great post, Jennifer and I suggested it. Sometimes our Sellers need all the education we can give them.

Aug 14, 2012 07:43 AM
Peggy Hughes/pha logistix, inc.
pha logistix inc - San Francisco, CA
SF NYC LA

Jennifer... I love how you took your post about releasing a seller, to the educational aspect of what a sellers' responsability is... great job!

Aug 14, 2012 07:53 AM
Jennifer Prestwich
Henderson, Thornton, Broomfield and Westminster - Henderson, CO
Madison & Co Properties

Sometimes we forget that our sellers haven't done this much, if at all, John.  I realized that I was making some assumptions, and next thing you know, a blog post was born! 

Peggy- Thanks!  I realized that there was a teaching moment to be had. :)

Aug 14, 2012 10:41 AM
marti garaughty
garaughty.com - Montreal, QC
a highly caffeinated creative type...

garaughty, abstract art, graphic design, WordPress consultant

Aug 14, 2012 02:16 PM
Kristen Wheatley
Better Homes & Gardens | The Masiello Group - Brunswick, ME
Supporting Success - Best Job in the World!

Excellent advice!  When this advice is followed, they can move more quickly to under contract and no more showings!...and of course, move more quickly to their new digs.

Aug 15, 2012 12:47 AM
Alan May
Jameson Sotheby's International Realty - Evanston, IL
Home is where the hearth is.

very excellent advice.  you turn quite a phrase, yourself.

Aug 15, 2012 05:57 AM
Jennifer Prestwich
Henderson, Thornton, Broomfield and Westminster - Henderson, CO
Madison & Co Properties

Cool- thanks, Marti!

That's what I try to tell them, Kristen, but sometimes you need to spell it out.

Aw shucks, Alan! :)

Aug 15, 2012 06:01 AM
Elyse Berman, PA
LoKation Real Estate - Boca Raton, FL
Boca Raton FL (561) 716-7824

Jennifer,  These are very good tips.  I can't tell you how often I've t hear that time is not good, can you make it two days later.  Are you kdding?  No, the buyer is in town for the weekend! 

Aug 17, 2012 08:18 PM