Any advice when doing your own viewings when selling your house?

kyana

definitely don't just invite in and then sit in the lounge living viewers to look round. this happened to us once and was so awkward the house never got a fair chance.

i felt better when the seller was happy to chat a bit, kept things friendly and gave us a chance to find out more about their specific area and background (why selling, how long they'd had the house, work/renovation/modifications).
it's obviously then good to have a chance to look around alone. but don't ask 'what did you think'.

missbiggles1

beecher2 wrote: »

Not always practical. I live alone so it would be impossible. I just made sure someone knew when I was alone with potential buyers. As with anything you have to weigh up risk and keep it in perspective

Then why do the EA's job for him?

Anatidaephobia

I definitely preferred viewing houses when it was the owner showing me around and not the EA. The EA's were always useless and had next to zero knowledge about the house itself!

During our best viewings, the house owners showed us around the house first then let us look around again alone; they were friendly and chatty but not OTT, they pointed out positives and told us things about the house.

Also, obviously the house should always be clean and tidy, it should be easy to move through the rooms (ie, no obstacles/toys lying around, etc) and preferably no children or pets running about.

trailingspouse

Don't leave dirty washing in the bath, don't have someone in bed in one of the rooms so you can't even get in to have a look, don't let your dog hump their leg...

Remember, it's a performance - you have lines to learn, and a part to play. Stay professional - these people are not your friends, they won't even be your neighbours, but if all goes well they may be giving you the largest sum of money they've ever spent at one time (and likely the largest sum of money you've ever received). Put your thickest skin on - people seem to think it's OK to criticise, which is just rude even if you do have woodchip in every room and a doubtful taste in carpets.

On a first viewing I would escort them around (plan your route in advance so you don't miss things like the downstairs loo or the back garden!!), I tend to name each room as I go into it, more for something to say than anything else. Don't feel you have to be saying something all the time - give them time to look and think.

AlexMac

I tend to crowd people and say too much...

so my wife used to make sure I was out when views took place...

Interestingly, in the case of the last place we sold, the buyer (the 1st to view) was someone like her- a woman of a certain age who was a bit reserved, businesslike and didn't prattle on....

So I'd hang back and answer Q's rather than work to a detailed script...
And when viewing, I prefer not to have the owner present or looming, despite my own tendency not to be able to keep my mouth shut.

I take it as read that the agent will vet propects and ensure they have an address and phone number for them before sending 'em round

justjohn

Know your buyer, all it is is a sale.
A buyers should be handled differently depending on there needs.(if you can manage it)
Never be negative or over bearing.
If its a couple give them privacy to talk about what they see/don't like.
Don't sound desperate.
Shallow buyers are the worst(if they can't see past a lick of paint, they are a pain in the rear)
Don't assume you have made the sale until you have something in writing.


if I view, I am not there to make friends I want in and out. Round each room in the garden. Relook at rooms, if I want too check something out and out the door. but I buy to invest.


I Hate the buyers the discuss the colour of the wallpaper/decor.


You may also get them discussing were they will put there furniture.(that annoys me too lol )

beecher2

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Then why do the EA's job for him?

Because you have far more chance of finding a buyer if you're flexible and allow viewers to view in the evening or weekends. It is fairly normal to view with no EA in my part of Scotland - always preferred it to an EA who knew very little about the property and who usually block booked viewings.

westv

It doesn't really matter that much how you are (within reason of course). The house will sell itself if it's the one the buyers are looking for.

beecher2

westv, that's probably true. My solicitor forgot to tell me about a viewing one Saturday afternoon and they turned up when I'd just rolled out of bed with a hangover. Beer bottles were lying about and my washing was on display - he put an offer in the next day for way over what I was expecting.

snow_ball

Although it didn't put us off buying, the previous owners of our house were terrible at showing us round. They accompanied us the whole time and had personal space issues, I kept having to step away just so I could breathe in peace!

They talked far too much (we struggled to get away at the end of the viewing!), often stating the obvious and pointing out poor DIY work. Looking back I think it was nerves because they'd gone to some effort to cover up a couple of things that may have put us off, but on the whole we were FTBs and knew we wanted the house so none of it mattered.

Next time we buy, I will be looking for all these warning signs though! Keep it simple and give them some time to look on their own without feeling under pressure to give you feedback.

And I wouldn't recommend letting your agent conduct viewings unless you know they will do a good job, most of our agent viewings were dreadful, most of them couldn't have been less interested. Bizarre!