While managing a Real Estate office in another state, I led Sales Meetings every Tuesday morning at 9am sharp! We (50+ Agents and I) had breakfast, chatted a while and then talked about the nuts and bolts of Real Estate and working successfully with our clients. One subject often surfaced as being a bit more popular than others. The topic: "I have buyers, we are touring homes but often the sellers are present and they simply get in the way." The question was simple: How do we as agents deal with pesky sellers while touring their homes? Specifically, what should we say to our buyers so that the home tour will be profitable?
As usual, all of the agents and I spent some time on this subject of what to do with sellers and I heard a variety of responses. For example, tell your buyers:
§ Be polite, but don't engage in too much conversation!
§ The seller may make promises about the house, but don't take them too seriously! Sellers tend to over promise!
§ Don't feel inhibited by their presence; go ahead and look at closets, cupboards as seriously as if the sellers were not there.
§ As much as possible save your questions for when the sellers are not present.
At the end of the discussion I added one more truth to share with buyers. Please, please, please, instruct your purchasing clients to NOT act excited about the house in the presence of the sellers. Why? If a seller knows the buyer is elated, ecstatic, really wants his/her home, then you might lose out at the negotiating table. It could cost you money!
A True Story: I had shared some of these rules and more specifically my rule about not acting excited about a house in the presence of sellers, with a young couple that I was working with a couple of years ago. They were so meticulously following the guidelines I had given them that they surprised me. We had been in a house, the sellers were present and I thought this couple was just NOT interested in this particular house. We got out to the car, put the seatbelts on, backed out of the driveway when the wife placed her hand on her husbands knee, looked him right in the eye and said, "Honey, buy me this house!" She had so carefully followed the rules, listened to what I had said about not acting excited that she had even fooled me.
We put together an offer. The sellers accepted the offer with no strings attached and we had a contract. Why? These people listened and it paid off. They still laugh with me about how they acted so uninterested while in the presence of the seller that they fooled their Realtor®, too.
David L. Burrows, Realtor®
Envirian of Warrenton
110 West Shirley Avenue
Warrenton, Virginia 20186
Phone: 540.349.3075 x119
Burrows Properties
A Burrows' Thought worth considering: Buying a house involves commitment to the task before you. My definition of commitment is translated inconvenience. Expect the unexpected after you have a contract. Something always develops that you didn't expect to happen. When it does, remain calm and absolutely resolved to see everything through to the end. By the way, this is when you lean on your Realtor.
Interested in Some Great Reading on selling your home? Take a look at these articles on my website: Selling Your Home: Where do you begin?
Seller Guidance: I would encourage you to employ a Realtor®® to help you sell your home. When your agent or another agent is showing your house, go away and let them do your work for you. I also urge you to utilize my FREE SELLERS TOOLKIT before selling your house.
Buyer Guidance: I would encourage you to really check out anything and everything you are told by a well meaning seller. Employ the services of a Buyer's Agent to help you discern what you read and listen to about the area you are thinking of calling home. I would also urge you to get my FREE BUYERS TOOLKIT before heading out on the journey to find your new house.
Try this powerful link to help you find your next home: Fairfax Homes For Sale
The search engine on my site will allow you to find a house by Mapping, County, Subdivision, Zip Code, Address or City. I encourage you to try the Fairfax MLS and in fact, search the entire Northern VA Real Estate area.
Northern Virginia Information - Here you will find answers to your questions about schools, auto registration, taxes, things to do this weekend, popular destinations. It only takes a moment to look and it is free with no registration required!
Click on the following link for your Complimentary eCalendar & Daily Planner. This is a Free Gift from David. There is absolutely NO sign-up, registration, tricks, or gimmicks. It really is free for you to enjoy! This is a great tool for keeping track of your schedule for all of your Real Estate needs. There is NO obligation.
This blog may contain links to other Web sites operated by third parties. These links are provided as a convenience to access the information contained therein. David Burrows and Envirian of Warrenton have not reviewed all of the information on other sites and disclaim any responsibility for the content of any other sites or the products or services that may be offered on or through those sites. Inclusion of a link to another site does not indicate any endorsement or approval of the site or its content.
David Burrows and Envirian of Warrenton disclaim liability for any damages or losses, direct or indirect, that may result from use of or reliance on information contained in this blog.
Comments(0)