How to Appear to Prospective Buyers?

westlondonbuyer

olly300 wrote: »

I deal with a lot of sales people as part of my job so when I was flat hunting I would ask a question I already knew the answer to as I knew the area I was looking in. The EA would usually not tell the truth, say they didn't know or answer another question. The home owner, if they were present, was honest.

Superb advice.

Why not ask the agent about recent sold prices in the area, having first checked out the Land Registry;)

PasturesNew

westlondonbuyer wrote: »

it cost £200 per day for 3 days' work

Nice work if you can get it!

A 3-day week would suit me fine.

jw2003

We've only had 2 viewings - by the same family - and i showed them round myself. I just greeted them with a big smile, brought them through to the kitchen (which is the best room) and asked them how they would prefer to view the house. They did say they would prefer to view on their own, which was fine by me, but they asked quite a lot of questions so it was actually better to show them around each room. I made sure to give them a few minutes on their own at the end too. On the second visit we covered things like the loft, boiler, shower, storage etc but did let them go round on their own. They wanted to visulise their stuff in my space and that would be harder with me there hovering

chambta

Good advice. I will ask anyone else if they want to look alone or not.

harrup

pickledpink wrote: »

A piano is good, too, but if you really want to go to town a harp is really the bees knees.

Rubbish.

EVERYBODY knows that harps are "last season". These days it's an oboe in one corner - nestled against a Burberry's cashmere throw, with the label showing, obviously - and a whole stuffed giraffe - souvenir from one of the vendors many travels - in another.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

All moronic silliness aside....the only useful contribution I could give is: don't try too hard. Be confident and warm without being too chummy.

A tidy, uncluttered house is good, of course....but I'd also like to feel that someone actually lives in the house. We've viewed houses which were so freakishly neat that they appeared totally soul-less. Even WITH the flowers. Made me want to photograph the house but not necessarily want to life in it.

Put a folded cardigan over the armrest of a chair and an open book on the the coffee or bed side table. Just something which shows that people are having a relaxing time in this house.

Doctor_Gloom

pickledpink wrote: »

There's no need for pretences or falseness -

You've some cheek talking about falseness. You've at least 6 id's on MSE. pickledpink, honeypopper, breadlinebetty, thermidor, pineapplefool and a few more. Thanks for the laugh though :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

When viewing, I glance at the edges of shower trays, the area around the kitchen sink, the skirting under the radiators, the corners of the windows etc. We viewers aren`t stupid and we all know about the techniques used to sell a house. For me it is dirt that puts me off immediately as I always assess the area first anyway.

Davesnave

kittie wrote: »

When viewing, I glance at the edges of shower trays, the area around the kitchen sink, the skirting under the radiators, the corners of the windows etc. We viewers aren`t stupid and we all know about the techniques used to sell a house. For me it is dirt that puts me off immediately as I always assess the area first anyway.

You wouldn't have liked my place much then: we had to call a paramedic for the Rug Doctor when we moved in!

I think we can take it as given that the OP will clean thoroughly, but as a viewer, I've been put off by strong and silent types, who create no empathy, and also by the ones who witter-on too much, who often give something away, unintentionally.

One favourite was an elderly gentleman, who rushed out of his house as soon as we'd parked and asked us to move forward another foot because the neighbour, who shared the huge drive, "was a bit funny about things like that."

We walked around the immaculate property and asked a few polite questions, but after that introduction, neither of us really saw it!

chambta

Feel a bit deflated this afternoon after getting feedback via the agents about yesterday's viewing.

I guess as a first time seller it's not hard to take things personally however much you know deep down it's not (usually!)

The feedback was they didn't like the utility room and the garden as well as an odd one about the bathroom being uneven.

Personally I feel at the level they're looking their requirements are more exacting than their funds allow but I'm also entitled to am opinion.

I suppose the fact is we're one nearer the eventual buyer and it's not got as far as the local paper yet.

westlondonbuyer

Chambta, when getting feedback from viewers, could you ask your agent to ask them how your place compares to other places they've seen in the same area? Or in the same price range?

You could even ask your agent to show you around similarly priced properties so you could see how yours stood in the pecking order. It would be a bit time-consuming but knowledge is power.