Loreena Yeo wrote a blog from her hospital bed today that, as her writing often does, inspired me to put my own two pennies on paper. 
A few weeks ago, my partner and I put a Charming Denver Bungalow on the market. Our seller is one smart cookie and he's sold several homes on his own. We didn't want to insult his intelligence by boring him with all the details of having a home on the market; we figured if he had a question about the process, he'd ask. Oops.
Well, now he's asking. In a rather annoyed tone of voice, as if he feels blind-sided by what is happening to him.
And I realize that no matter how smart, how experienced, how cooperative a seller may be, we can never assume that he has a clue what is about to happen to him. And more importantly, what his role will be in the home selling process.
It's our job to make sure that our sellers understand...
1. What it means to their lifestyles be On the Market (basically, it sucks)
2. What they should expect from us (particularly the frequency of communication)
3. What we are expecting from them (see below)
4. How showings and feedback work
5. Why I won't be attending most showings (the buyer has his own agent)
If your seller has to call you to ask these questions after the fact, he'll likely have that annoyed-tone-of-voice with you, too!
It's also our job to be upfront with our sellers, no matter how unpleasant what we have to say may be for either of us.
Topics such as:
1. Why they need to SCRAM for showings
2. Why they need to accept short-notice showings and allow a lockbox
3. Why the market will not overlook toothpaste spit in the sink or eau d'Chef Boyardee in the air
4. Why they need to be pleasant to buyer agents who show up early or late
5. Why it's not okay to have barking dogs locked up in the laundry room
When your home is on the market, you talk about the experience with everyone you know. Especially if you're confused by the process which will translate into dissatisfaction with your agent. But yet... aren't listing appointments long enough without adding in all of the above??? How do you handle this issue?
Copyright Jennifer Allan 2007
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