Property owner not being present during viewings.

ognum

Katie_ wrote: »

Personally I prefere to view houses with the EAs as I feel really selfconcoius and rushed if the vendors are there.

I also prefere the EAs do the the veiwing if im selling as I get highly offended if someone doesnt like my house as much as I think they should...

When Iam doing a viewing I always say after I have shown people around, now I will leave you to it to look round yourselves, I will go and sit in the garden until they are ready to leave.

Always the garden because it's best to sell in summer when the doors can be open.

PasturesNew

Agents do say a sale is more likely if the seller is not present. Many viewers say they feel more free to ask questions/have a good look (poke) about if the seller is not present.

I used to disappear for my viewings and let the agent do it - and I'd do the ones where people wanted to view and they had no staff available to show people round.

It'd be normal for the seller to he present on 2nd viewings, when the buyers can ask more detailed questions.

GDVS

Kastanie wrote: »

(And I also bet you never burned around in a bright blue Subaru and told people a house was "Elizabethan" when it was Victorian......:mad:)

Let's not be picky, it's only three centuries out

lessonlearned

ognum wrote: »

I have found that the EAs near me send the most junior person on the office on viewings. they know the answer to nothing.

Selling a house is about setting a scene, you have to size up the purchaser first and work out what they are looking for.

Then you say things like, this is a great kitchen I will miss the parties we have had in here.

The garden is lovely especially in the evenings when you can sit outside with a glass of wine

Or

this living room is lovely at Christmas with the fire going, I will really miss it!

You don't need to gush just a few words that the EA can't say.

Spot on.

It's all about painting a picture.

The section I have highlighted is absolutely on the nail. You have to talk to the purchaser and ask questions, then you can tailor your information to suit them.

A lot of EA's just don't know how to do this. They think all they have to do is to just "sell the features" and gloss over the downsides. What you end up with is the EA giving a monologue or a set spiel that often bears no relation to the needs or aspirations of the purchaser.

I think if the vendor has been happy in the house then it will be very obvious. The house will have warm and positive vibes. The vendor and the house have a shared history, a symbiotic relationship.

Oh dear that does sound a bit "hippy dippy" doesn't it, but I do think it's something that viewers pick up on.

The best EA in the world is no substitute for a vendor who has loved their property and who has spent happy times within it's four walls. No one can sell a property the way a vendor can.

Similarly if the vendor hates the house then the purchaser should be able to pick up the vibes. Just by really listening to not only what the vendor is saying but how it is said, the purchaser can glean a lot of useful information and can listen out for any alarm bells.

The EA just doesn't have that history or inside information.

Realistically - all the EA can do is "introduce" the purchaser to the house.

lessonlearned

PasturesNew wrote: »

Agents do say a sale is more likely if the seller is not present. Many viewers say they feel more free to ask questions/have a good look (poke) about if the seller is not present.

In the immortal words of Mandy Rice Davies ....

"Well they would say that wouldn't they":rotfl::rotfl:.

googler

lessonlearned wrote: »

The best EA in the world is no substitute for a vendor who has loved their property and who has spent happy times within it's four walls. No one can sell a property the way a vendor can.

Similarly if the vendor hates the house then the purchaser should be able to pick up the vibes. Just by really listening to not only what the vendor is saying but how it is said, the purchaser can glean a lot of useful information and can listen out for any alarm bells.

The EA just doesn't have that history or inside information.

How many vendors would you estimate are in your former and latter categories, percentage-wise?

Yes, it would be great if vendors were all in the former category, but those in the latter should be kept well away from viewers for their own sake, and I fear that by the time you add up all those who are selling because they're forced to, or because of marital or relationship break-up, or bereavement, the latter will form the majority.

BobQ

joshly wrote: »

On my last 2 property sales I was the one to show the people round.

I have had this current property on with an agent for over 5 months and I was there with the agent to show prospective buyers round.

Now I have gone with another agent and they prefer it if the owner is not there and like to show the viewers around by themselves.

They seem to be getting me viewings though, twice as many in 2 weeks as I had the previous 5 months.

What is your view on the owner not being present during the viewings?

My ex-neighbour is an EA and he once told me that he always tries to persuade the seller to be elsewhere unless he is confident that they will do more good than harm.

lessonlearned

googler wrote: »

How many vendors would you estimate are in your former and latter categories, percentage-wise?

Yes, it would be great if vendors were all in the former category, but those in the latter should be kept well away from viewers for their own sake, and I fear that by the time you add up all those who are selling because they're forced to, or because of marital or relationship break-up, or bereavement, the latter will form the majority.

Yes you are quite right - in such cases they could well be their own worst enemy - especially if the break-up is not mutual.

I have known one side of the partnership deliberately try to sabotage the sale - just out of spite - even when it was against their own best interests.

As they say "there's nowt so queer as folk". :rotfl:

A bereavement doesn't usually have the same negative connotations. There will have been happy times in the past and the vendor will often have very fond memories.

In my own particular circumstances, ie selling my family home because of my reduced circumstances because of my husband's illness and his move into a nurisng home, my home still had happy memories.

I was able to talk about those happy times, the children growing up, playing in the fields at the back of the house etc, the newt pond, the football pitches which can't be seen from the garden, an in depth local knowledge of all the schools, doctors, even the best chip shop and takeaways.

Vendors know all this stuff. The poor EA's cannot possibly have all this information in their heads.

Of course there are Vendors who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a prospective purchaser, however, on balance, I think the average vendor is perfectly capable of showing people around, answering questions and just generally building up a good rapport with the viewers.

I know that some vendors are extremely nervous and perhaps feel worried or overwhelmed . However, it really needn't be that daunting.

ognum

PasturesNew wrote: »

When I showed people round my house my first question was what they wanted the house for. It was the type of house that somebody might buy to live in, others might convert to flats, somebody else might want to take in lodgers. Knowing what they intended enabled me to target relevant information in each room that fitted what they'd be doing.

No point me whittering on about "lovely family home" if they were about to split it into 3 holiday flats and use it as a holiday home themselves sometimes.

In the end, my actual buyer turned it into a hotel.

Exactly right that's why I said before the sentence you have quote that you need to size up the purchaser and find out what they are looking for!

Hermoine

I live by myself, and I am currently trying to sell and buy.

I'm really not comfortable having strangers coming round my house, especially on dark winter evenings, without an estate agent representative being there. I would also rather not be there because it gives a potential buyer more freedom to wander round, make comments and open cupboards.
I always assess an estate agent on the basis of whether they will have a level of local knowledge that will enable them to talk about the area properly.

Looking at property, I am pretty uncomfortable about going to properties where the estate agent can't be there and the buyer can let you in and show you round. It seems to place an obligation on you to be nice about the place which is sometimes difficult, and chat rather than peer in corners, prod that slightly damp area.