Dear Mr. & Mrs. Seller, Your Absence Is Appreciated…
When people are selling their homes, there is sometimes an unnecessary presence. Sellers (and sometimes their agents) remaining in their homes during a showing to potential buyers. I cannot fathom why any seller would so eagerly and willingly sabotage the sale of their home in such a fashion. Nor can I imagine why an agent would be a party to such a move. Either agreeing to such conditions being stipulated by the seller upon listing the home, or neglecting to counsel sellers that their absence during showings would be in their best interests’ amounts to a failure on the part of the agent to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities to their clients…
Now, this must be a universal phenomenon. This is only the umpteenth time (ok, maybe I’m exaggerating, but I digress) that I have read about this as I track my blog’s progress and read other real estate blogs, both here in the Rain and elsewhere. Recently, Mark Hall and Todd Clark wrote posts highlighting the consequences for sellers who chose to remain in the home during a showing. In both scenarios, a potential buyer backed off and chose another home because of the actions of the seller, who was present during the showing. When the time for feedback came, I am certain that neither the agent nor the seller were happy with the results…
If it has never happened to you, then you are lucky. I happened to be one of those buyers, once upon a time. I went to view a home with my wife and our agent, and the seller was at home. Not that she (and she was an elderly lady) said anything, or went out of her way to make us feel uncomfortable, but we all got that vibe. I went and put in a full price offer on the house anyway…only to have the seller back out and eventually change her mind about selling the place at all. I seriously think now, in retrospect, that I should have never made an offer on the house, considering the suspicions the lady aroused in all of us.
The surest guarantee of getting a house sold is an absent owner. Now, I know that many may argue with that premise, simply because price is king…but I would argue that a good agent can negotiate the price, but cannot negotiate any negative feelings that may arise because of the unnecessary and unwanted presence of a seller and/or their agent. Buyers’ being able to tour a home without either the listing agent or the seller present enables several things to happen:
1. A thorough examination of the home;
2. Buyers to confer openly with their agent about any possible issues that may have been spotted as the buyers toured the home;
3. Establishes an atmosphere of sincere interest. The seller wants to sell, and communicates that to the potential buyer by not being there.
So, Mr. and Mrs. Seller, next time there is an appointment to show your home, your absence is greatly appreciated!
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