Selling House

steveing64

Hi

Our house has been on market for two weeks and we have our first viewing on saturday morning does anybody have advice on how we should show them the house its a two bedroomed terraced with a garden

thanks

Jackinbox99

steveing64 wrote: »

Hi

Our house has been on market for two weeks and we have our first viewing on saturday morning does anybody have advice on how we should show them the house its a two bedroomed terraced with a garden

thanks

Depends really upon the layout of the house, but id go for lounge/dining room, then upstairs bedrooms then kitchen then garden. Show them around, telling them a bit about the house, neighbours, local area etc... point out any work you have done etc... answer any questions they have, then leave them to it to wander about a bit.

Having recently viewed about 15 houses, that pretty much the way all the estate agents did it for us.

betmunch

This should be something for the EA to worry about.

Are you selling privately?

googler

Seconded. Wouldn't be an issue for you if your agent was doing the viewings.

However, assuming you're stuck with it;

Ensure the house is clean, clean, clean and clutter-free. See recent threads here in a similar vein.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2694583

Emphasis the good points of your house. Don't mention anything bad about your house unless the viewers bring it into the conversation.

Emphasise what's good about your house in comparison to others for sale in your area. You'll need to research the others. Remember; you're moving on. Try not to regard it as your house anymore, but as a product that you have to sell in competition with all the other similar product on the market.

Let the viewers walk into rooms first and don't follow them in unless it's a big enough room to do this without crowding them - hang around at/in the door. Clear any furniture that stops them walking across a room - coffee tables that they have to walk around in the lounge, for instance.

Try to avoid saying the obvious - "This is the bathroom" for instance, when anyone with at least one good eye can see the bath, etc. Try to say something about the room to introduce it - " We redecorated the lounge three months ago, and...." as you show them into the lounge, or " The front bedroom really gets the sun streaming in in the morning..." as you show them into the bedroom.

There's no disgrace in having your 'script' to work to, with a list of what you want to show them and tell them, in the order you want to do it......

Unless your agent has found out in advance, you need to get contact details for your viewer; find out what situation they're in (sold/on the market/still to go on market), and how keen they are on your house.

You've got to sell it, and to avoid leaving you in any doubt about your viewer, you should 'close' a few times during the viewing. A test close part-way through (maybe "What's your first impressions?"), another toward the end (something like "What do you think so far?" or "What has this house got that your current one hasn't") and the big close toward the end;

"Do you think you're likely to buy?"
"Can you see yourself living here?"
or whatever way you want to phrase it - but you've got to try and get a Yes or No, not a Maybe.

If the answer to the big close is No, then your response is "Why?"

If the answer to any close is No because they prefer another house, your response is "Why do you prefer that one" and get all the reasons out of them.

etc
etc

Benji_Brown

If it were me, I wouldn't go to the lengths that "googler" describes. Having witnessed many people being shown around houses and having shown many people around myself, I find that people would rather take everything in rather that having someone continually talking at them about the property. Sure it helps people to know what work has been done but I have found that a constant commentary also makes people feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

I would also disagree with "closing a few times". In my opinion, this would seem pushy and desperate and just like the type of sales person that people don't like. If people don't like a house, they don't like it. Why pressure them into buying something they are unsure about only to have them pull out a few days down the line after they have had time to think about it.

My advice would be to greet them with a warm welcome, ask if they would like a drink and always start in the nicest room. First impressions count. Give them a tour of the property and finish in the nicest room. Then ask if they have any questions or if there is anything they would like to see again. The more they get on with you, the more likely they are to take a better opinion of the house. Be prepared with the answers if they do ask you any questions such as council tax banding, boundaries etc.

Just my two cents and good luck.

Iris_Blue

Agree with Benji and personally I'd start in the nicest room as first impressions count. Obviously this works best if its a downstairs room.

I agree with Benji about the being questioned, I'd run a mile if someone asked me those questions and if would put me off, whether I loved the house or not I'd think that that person was desperate to sell.

Good luck for Saturday, fingers crossed you get a sold sign on soon