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 home sellers while touring their property? 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 Burrows, Realtor
Envirian of Warrenton
Warrenton, VA 20186
Email: david@burrowsproperties.com
Web: Burrows Properties
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