Showing Potential Buyers Around

Natbag

The coffee would be for me and to make the kitchen smell nice lol. I'd offer them one, but wouldn't make them one without checking. If they want to look round by themselves I'll offer them a drink and either wa send myself off to the kitchen.

DaftyDuck

I've been in this predicament too many times before but, on average, have had more success getting a house sold than the lazy s0ds of agents who have been too busy to turn up.

Wot I do....

Have a couple of practice rounds of your own house, chatting insanely to yourself about the salient features. Have a copy of the details, couple of added comments here & there to prompt you. You can do a "crazy mind palace", and associate each comment with a single item in the room that's out of its normal place... silver bowl in the bedroom that's moved to a windowsill will stand out... "one of the things that caught our eye when we looked five years ago was the double windows overlooking the gardens... you can even see the XXX from here" (and I don't suggest "brothel" for XXX)

Get a friend (an honest one, ideally who doesn't know your house backward), and ask them to come for a practice viewing. Do it for "real", with them arriving by car, not halfway through a cup of coffee. So they ring the doorbell, and you find out it's not working, really do it.... Go through the whole palaver to the end, and then get them to discuss what they liked/didn't about your house and your meandering waffle. Possibly get them to do one back to you, and see what you learn.

I don't necessarily use the same route as the agent used... I'm not them, and don't have pointy shoes, vile deodorant, and a cheap nylon suit. I work out a smooth route, ending up leaving the viewer at the upstairs, in the best room if possible. With small rooms, wave them in, and stay out, so the room isn't shrunk. Stand in a large room, and wave them in, to accentuate the size. GIVE THEM TIME AND SPACE to appreciate all the good points... andlikewiserushpastthedamppatch.... I then head downstairs, having offered them a tea or coffee. If they didn't bring details, I will have offered them a copy. Whether they want or not, I leave a couple of copies on the dressing table/bed/chair where I've left them.

I bu99er off out of the way (although I did once leave a dictaphone on to hear what was said... :eek: never again, never...) back to the best room downstairs, so they have to come to me. I sit down, and quietly get on with some work, comb a cat, whatever. Let them wander where they want. When they approach, I try to have some extra positive thing to show them, or talk about, and I ask them if they have any questions. Stay sitting at first, be relaxed, casual, comfortable as possible. This is their home, Seriously. Get that across, and you've sold.

I have, on more than one occasion (that has resulted directly in a sale), had one of my lovely neighbours (they always are) sitting in for a cuppa. Nothing beats that - neighbour can be more believable than I as to how wonderful the area is. The neighbour can leave at the same time... and the buyer can have an honest chinwag with their new bestestist friend.... Just remember to use the nice, polite, kind, sweet elderly neighbour, not the bloke wot did time for dealing.

Make sure they've somewhere to park. If busy on street, you and your kindly neighbour can both move cars a few minutes before their arrival.

Do prepare the house ... You are potentially making tens of thousands. A bit of elbow grease, some polish, some flowers, clean loos and sinks, with fluffy (new) towels...

Yes, you are selling the house, bricks and mortar. But, you are also selling a lifestyle, something they want to be part of. Get that right, and you'll do something few, if any, agent can do.

Yes, I know I go over the top on this kind of thing... On a similar thread some time ago, one of the regular (ish) contributors suggested I must be a bored housewife with nothing better to do to bother with all that... I'm not, very much not, as one of the even-more-regular-contributors-who-knows pointed out.

However, it works. It has, over the last thirty-one years made me a lot of "free" money for relatively little effort. Attend to every detail, manage to get it right, and you can sell houses.

You can do it better than most of the agents can, too!

Edit to add: where possible, I find out from the agents who the people are, and what they want the house for... I think it's PasturesNew above who asks them. I have been known to redress the fourth/fifth bedroom as an office/snug for an older couple, or stick some toys out on the bed if they've children... The agents have normally shown them another property and know a bit about them... and I also want to know any feedback on that property if I can get it. Agents will just gossip so...

Edit further (see - overkill in action) OP: dogs stink! So do I, but there you go... if the dog is removed by OH, remove the dog bed, and try and get the smell down. Some buyers will reject a pet's (or smoker's) house.

hazyjo

Might as well bake bread and go the whole hog


Oldest trick in the book. They'll probably think you're trying to hide the smell of damp or something.


Anyway, I abhor coffee - would probably scarper even quicker if the house smelt of the stuff!

hazyjo

Agree with the 'sell the lifestyle' thing. Even if drizzly or freezing, get the garden table all laid out, back doors open, we sat there looking chilled (literally) with flowers on the garden table, the lot.


"Oh yes, we always live like this..."


You don't want them to feel like they've interrupted, but that they would feel comfortable sitting down and joining you. ALWAYS have something on in the background - low tv, or music (we always opt for music).


Sell the lifestyle! They need to want to be you!

ceh209

Let them go into rooms first, especially small rooms.


I'm planning on doing my own viewings soon and this is the one key thing that an ex-estate agent friend recommended.

starshapedbrick

The only viewing we did ourselves was the one that sold the house (Sunday morning and the agent wasn't available) - I don't know whether that was us or them as they were VERY enthusiastic from the minute they walked in! We had some good viewings with vendors and some awful ones with estate agents when we were looking. The only thing I would say is pay attention to presentation - someone who can't get their house in order to sell it doesn't come across as someone who will be organised when you are waiting for them to fill in paperwork and answer enquiries!

parkrunner

Natbag wrote: »

The coffee would be for me and to make the kitchen smell nice lol. I'd offer them one, but wouldn't make them one without checking. If they want to look round by themselves I'll offer them a drink and either wa send myself off to the kitchen.

I hate the smell of coffee, now fried bacon.........

glasgowdan

It's the house they are interested in, not you. Let them in, tell them any key info and perhaps spend 2 minutes doing a brief walk around the rooms in the best order, then get lost and leave them to it! Best to get out of the house completely and just sit in the garden if you can. I've viewed houses where the family were all sitting watching telly on the sofa... meaning I really couldn't have a close inspection of walls, floors and so on.

Pumpkim

I did all our viewings, I mostly just let them wander around and told them to feel free to ask any questions they had. I made some small talk to figure out what they were looking for, how well they knew the area etc.

I find it completely normal for the vendor to be doing viewings, we've moved three times now and the only time an EA has done the viewings was for empty properties, and I found that they had zero knowledge of the properties so none of my questions were answered.

caronoel

hazyjo wrote: »

Might as well bake bread and go the whole hog


Oldest trick in the book. They'll probably think you're trying to hide the smell of damp or something.


Anyway, I abhor coffee - would probably scarper even quicker if the house smelt of the stuff!

Fully agree. I remember viewing a flat years ago, where the vendor had mood lighting, coffee brewing, and a Corrs CD warbling away. It really put me off, and made me think she was hiding something.