What to say when buyers ask why you're selling

kmjas

Hello, 
We're about to start viewings on our house but haven't figured out what to say when people ask why we're moving, without pointing out the potential downsides of the house! We want more downstairs space and more of a garden but I don't want to highlight this. We can't say we're moving nearer to x, y or z because we want to stay in the same area. Does anyone have any good suggestions for what we could say? 

RelievedSheff

We found just being open and honest was the best policy.

But then again our last house was always going to be a first time buyers house so we just had to say it was time to move onto a bigger property.

Ramouth

With ours we said that we were ready for a new challenge as we had done a lot of work to the house.  This was true but the main reason was that we were tired of not having parking.

You could put a spin on wanting a larger garden by saying you wanted more space to grow veg and keep chickens or something?

parkingadvice1212

Potential buyers will be well aware the kitchen isn’t big enough / there’s only one bathroom / the garden is tiny / etc. 

They’re looking at your house because they can’t afford anything bigger!

eddddy

Just say you're upsizing to a bigger home.

(In some ways it's a bit of a pointless question - I doubt anyone would really give a list of problems with the property.)

Mahsroh

Many years ago when I was a kid and my parents were selling our first house a couple came around for a viewing and my mum started to tell them at great length that our smallish 3 bed semi was a bit on the small side for our family of 4 so we we're looking to move somewhere bigger etc. She then asked "so do you have any kids?" to which the response came back "yeah, 5!" They bought the house. 

Just be honest. They can see for themselves the size of the garden / downstairs space etc. Just because you want a bigger garden doesn't mean your potential buyer wants / needs or can even afford a bigger garden too. They may want something more low maintenance. They've already seen the house online and seen enough to want to view it. I doubt you're personal preferences about the downstairs space or the garden is going to fundamentally change their view unless you say something daft like "it looked really big when we first viewed it but since living here we've realised it's too small"! Just a simple "we're fortunate that we can now afford something a bit bigger" would be fine. That wouldn't put me off as a potential buyer personally. 

pinkteapot

eddddy said:

Just say you're upsizing to a bigger home.

(In some ways it's a bit of a pointless question - I doubt anyone would really give a list of problems with the property.)

I'd go with this too. I'm sure buyers would love the extra living space and garden you'll be getting, but they're viewing yours because they can't afford that. It's not going to put them off!

Now if you say "Because next door have bought a drum kit", that'd be different. 

The fact you're staying in the area is a good selling point because it shows it's nice - you're happy there. So, "We love this area so we're staying in it, but just upsizing to a bigger house."

lookstraightahead

They're asking to ensure there's nothing awful going on, they won't be bothered about anything else and can see the house for themselves.

kmjas

Thanks so much everyone, really appreciate your advice! 

davidmcn

They're more asking to get some idea of your intentions and what the chain (if any) might look like, rather than probing for problems with the property. Or just making small talk.

cymruchris

Don't say 'Because of the crazy guy opposite who plays his drums at 3am every morning with the windows open' - but generally honesty is the best policy