Home Seller Etiquette
It's March already, and in less than a week, we'll be "springing forward" with the start of Daylight Saving Time.
Even though the winter has been relatively mild, are you ready for more daylight and warmer temperatures? I am! In the world of real estate, that also means more daylight hours at the end of a work day for active buyers to see your home. The Northeastern Pennsylvania real estate market has been improving thanks to low interest rates and local employment opportunities. If you're planning a move, I'm here to help and Realtor Amy Boehm offers some great tips for sellers in her blog post below.
Spring Break is a few weeks away and the norm for our business is people start looking for their new home, whether they are up sizing, downsizing or relocating. So here we are with all these new listings, which is wonderful!
In the past I have blogged about different things you can do to make a home more attractive to a buyer, but one thing that I have not addressed is YOU!
We love our Sellers, but there are a few etiquette rules we need you to know.
The first and most important is when you receive an appointment for your home to be shown, please leave. I know you know your home better than anyone, but the buyers want to see themselves in the home. This will be a little hard if they feel that they are being stalked by the home owner. They will not feel comfortable to open cabinets, closets and make comments to each other and their agent as well. So now is the time for you to head out to the local Starbucks or take your pet for a walk.
Second, your comments about your home could be used against you! The buyer might
not appreciate that the next door neighbor has the cutest little dog that greets you every morning as you go out to get your paper or that the teen on the end of the street has nightly parties and you can't wait until you move. You don't mean to say things that could be taken negatively, but it happens.
Third, we know that sometimes you really don't get the notice that you needed to get your house in order, you were out at Little League or over at Grandma's when the call came and there was no way to get to the house and get it picked up before the appointment. So this is when you just have to have an agreement with everyone that lives in the house that the basic clutter is picked up and everything has had a quick wipe down before you ever leave. Think about how you feel when you walk into a cluttered home, do you see the house or the clutter?
And remember throwing everything into drawers, cabinets and closets really doesn't work:) The buyers will be opening those too. The best case scenario is to get rid of all the clutter that you don't need on a daily basis, pack it up, give it away, store it somewhere until you move. Pack up out of season clothes and extra toys. All of these things will help your home seem bigger and more inviting.
Remember the goal is to sell your home, not necessarily to live your most comfortable life. Hopefully it will be short term. The best advice I can give you is to remember once you put your home on the market, it is no longer a home, but a House For Sale!
Amy Boehm
The Boehm Team
Realtor, ABR, CRS, ALHS, CLHMS
Keller Williams Realty
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