Tips for When A Buyer Wants To See Your Home

Tips For When a Buyer Wants To See Your Home

After selling Real Estate for 14 years, in the Logan Martin Lake area, these are my top 5 tips for when a buyer wants to see your home.

 Tip #1 LEAVE                                                                                                                                

There are lots of tips a realtor can give you when your home is being shown; my first and number one tip to you is "LEAVE".  You have hired a Realtor to market your property to potential buyers and by leaving you allow him/her to do their job. Buyers are uncomfortable when the owners are home. They feel like they are snooping when they open the closets or kitchen cabinets. They will rush through the home and not see the potential use of the home.

 Tip #2 Be Flexible

It is unbelievable to me when someone has their home on the market and when they receive a call by their Realty Company to set an appointment for the home to be shown, they ask if the agent and her buyers can come back another day.  Many home buyers are on a tight schedule. Time is tough to come by, so please try to be flexible about allowing potential buyers to tour your home. If it is a last minute showing, we can understand if at that time the home could not be shown.  I have tried to show a certain home on several occasions and gave plenty of notice and was told I could show it the following day at such and such time.  My buyers are so turned off they will not go back to that property. Please be a little flexible.

Tip #3   Let the Sun Shine In.

So many times when we go into homes that are on the market all the blinds are pulled and the lights are out.  It looks like we are walking into a cave.  How depressing!   If you are available right before the showing, please cut all the lights on.  If you aren't available, before you do leave the home, open all the blinds and let the sun shine in.  Make sure that your windows are clean and the view has been cleared of all junk.   You wouldn't believe the difference that this makes.

Tip#4 Clean Up

I know with all the multi-tasking going on, it is hard to squeeze in one more activity in our daily lives. Pick up the clutter and run the vacuum. The buyers already know you live in the home; with all the distractions of clutter and dirt it is hard for a potential buyer to visualize that they could make your house their home.

 Tip#5 Remove the Animals and Get Rid of the Odor                                                                         

When my listings have been shown by other agents, I always call for feed back for my seller.  You would not believe how often I hear that the potential buyer was turned off by animal odor.  When you leave, please take the animals with you or confine them in a small area. It is difficult to view a property with a nervous dog running around barking. Have your carpets cleaned to get rid of the pet odor.   If you have cats in your home, make sure the litter box is clean. Unpleasant animal odors can kill the sale of a home in a heartbeat.