Tips on showing buyers around house

partialycloudy

We have done 99% of our viewings, But when we were away I wrote a fact sheet and left it in the kitchen for any viewers to take and it answered all the most frequent questions.
I think our EA took a copy aswel so now they know about the flat so can sell it better. Makes me think why they dont get vendors to fill in a questionnaire as it goes on the market!

witchy1066

Tenyearstogo wrote: »

An EA won't tell you that either.

Ask an EA when the house was re wired/damproofed/had new central heating/council tax band, chances are they won't know.

some sellers don't know either, I asked one seller what council tax band was it and she replied " oh I am not sure might be C but will have to ask my Ex " :rotfl:

I found out for myself on the councils online web site

would you need to know about electric/gas/damp proof if the house isn't right for you after your 1st viewing,

we are all different ,
for me until offer is accepted I would rather not get involved with the seller

our 2nd viewing (house we are buying ) was with seller and he was drunk , got himself so nervous , had a few to many ,:rotfl:

I rang the EA the next day and told them off , not because he was drunk, I felt sorry for him, he was way out of his depth,

Errata

Apart from the practical stuff "The new boiler was installed ten minutes ago"! Don't forget that buyers are actually buying a lifestyle - FTB, trading up, trading down, locality etc. so it's useful if you can guess fairly accurately what will float their boat and 'sell' it to them.

Trig3

A fact sheet is a good idea, I will be doing that when I plan my next move.

Last time I moved, I could answer any question they threw at me, knowing the place inside out, I'd know the exact date the boiler had been fitted or serviced & when every door or window had been replaced.

As a buyer, I want as much information as I can get, EAs brochures are rushed & poorly put together, usually the same template is used with details of several rooms missing because they can't be bothered to add it or are trying to hide something.

A couple of pages of detailed information with all the answers to the questions they may have forgotten to ask during the viewing such as how long the leasehold lasts, average gas bill, council tax band, guarantees/service history on the boiler, distance to nearest post box etc will help with their decisions when they are discussing it later that night.

Some glossy photos to take away would be another selling point for me, the EAs cheap quality print out with grainy thumbnail sized pictures is more focused on advertising their business than the property.

googler

LandyAndy wrote: »

Yes, viewers go to work. Who are all these people who can view during the day?

People who are moving to another area, and take a few days off to scout around and view prospective houses?

If you were doing this, would you want to be limited to evening viewings?

tBagpuss_2

my own personal preference is to go round with the agents on the first viewing and then with the owners on a second viewing, if it gets that far.

If you do do your own showings, then I think the key thing is to give people space - give them the opportunity to look at rooms without you if you feel comfortable doing that, give them the opportunity to ask questions keep stuff factual regarding decoration / improvements (e.g. I'm interested in what/when you had done, not why you picked the decor you did.

Also on a purely practical level, check with your agents that the potential buyers know in advance that you, and not the agent will be doing the viewing and if you can, make sure that there aren't any extra people in he house. (so if you and your partner will both be there, make sure the agents have given the buyers both your names) - It can be really disconcerting to show up and find a lot of people you weren't expecting. (as a single woman, I actually decided not to go ahead with one viewing as I felt so uncomfortable - made my apologies and left without going further than the front hall) that was an extreme case but I have been to a couple of viewings where there have been extra people and having 2-3 people following your every move is really off putting!