Selling Y0ur Home Step 3
You've done all hard work, and now your home is for sale. What can you expect from here on out?
Your realtor will be doing a lot of work at this point. Once your home is listed, they will be advertising your home online, perhaps with it's own website, in the newspaper, and even to other brokers in the area. They will host your house open, which means for a few hours on a weekend, your home will be open to the public to come in and look. They may even host a brokers open, which is where other realtors will come to your home, in the hopes that if they have a buyer looking for a home like yours, they will eventually bring them through. At a brokers open, sometimes they leave you valuable feedback that will be helpful with your sale.
When someone wants to see your home with their realtor, you will get a call advising you of the time. If it does not work for you, say so. However, be aware that you want to have as many showings of your home as possible. If the interested party is out looking for houses, and yours isn't available, it's entirely possible they will not come back to consider your home if they've found something else.
When it's time for a showing, you'll obviously tidy up your home, make the beds and turn on every light in your home. You want things to be as light and bright as possible. Make sure you make accommodations for your pets, because not everyone wants to be greeted by your furry friends. If you're home, greet the prospects at the door, (making sure to get the realtors information) and excuse yourself. Now's a good time to take a walk around the block, or take your furry friend for a trip to the dog park. Don't go back inside until the buyers have left. Remember to give your realtor the information, as they will follow up with them afterwards to see if they'd like to make an offer or have any questions.
Talking to the buyers is a tricky situation. If you're coming back and see the potential buyers, you can say something like "Good luck in your search" or "Enjoy this great weather". Don't try and be chatty with them, as this may dilute the brokers ability to present your home in the best light. However, if the buyer has questions, feel free to answer them, because you might have the answers their realtor may not. Buyers have all kinds of questions, and the more satisfied they are with the answers may just be the tipping point for them making an offer.
Sometimes you'll get a 2 - 3 hour time frame. Do you need to be gone for the whole time frame? Absolutely not. But make sure your home is ready to go, and when they knock on your door, be ready to leave.
What if you're not going to be home? Make sure your home is looking it's best. If you're leaving right before the showing, please do turn the lights on. If you're going to be at work all day, do you need to keep all your lights on? Nope. The agent showing the home should turn them on, then turn them off as they leave. No one wants you to have a high electric bill!
It's important to note, if a prospective buyer calls you or knocks on your door wanting to see the house, should you show it to them? The answer is NO. Explain that it's not a convenient time, but if you can have their name and number, you'll give it to your agent and they can get in contact with them for a more convenient time. The agent should be qualifying them as a buyer first before showing them the home. And there's safety concerns with just having a random stranger going into your home!
Your realtor will be doing a lot of work at this point. Once your home is listed, they will be advertising your home online, perhaps with it's own website, in the newspaper, and even to other brokers in the area. They will host your house open, which means for a few hours on a weekend, your home will be open to the public to come in and look. They may even host a brokers open, which is where other realtors will come to your home, in the hopes that if they have a buyer looking for a home like yours, they will eventually bring them through. At a brokers open, sometimes they leave you valuable feedback that will be helpful with your sale.
When someone wants to see your home with their realtor, you will get a call advising you of the time. If it does not work for you, say so. However, be aware that you want to have as many showings of your home as possible. If the interested party is out looking for houses, and yours isn't available, it's entirely possible they will not come back to consider your home if they've found something else.
When it's time for a showing, you'll obviously tidy up your home, make the beds and turn on every light in your home. You want things to be as light and bright as possible. Make sure you make accommodations for your pets, because not everyone wants to be greeted by your furry friends. If you're home, greet the prospects at the door, (making sure to get the realtors information) and excuse yourself. Now's a good time to take a walk around the block, or take your furry friend for a trip to the dog park. Don't go back inside until the buyers have left. Remember to give your realtor the information, as they will follow up with them afterwards to see if they'd like to make an offer or have any questions.
Talking to the buyers is a tricky situation. If you're coming back and see the potential buyers, you can say something like "Good luck in your search" or "Enjoy this great weather". Don't try and be chatty with them, as this may dilute the brokers ability to present your home in the best light. However, if the buyer has questions, feel free to answer them, because you might have the answers their realtor may not. Buyers have all kinds of questions, and the more satisfied they are with the answers may just be the tipping point for them making an offer.
Sometimes you'll get a 2 - 3 hour time frame. Do you need to be gone for the whole time frame? Absolutely not. But make sure your home is ready to go, and when they knock on your door, be ready to leave.
What if you're not going to be home? Make sure your home is looking it's best. If you're leaving right before the showing, please do turn the lights on. If you're going to be at work all day, do you need to keep all your lights on? Nope. The agent showing the home should turn them on, then turn them off as they leave. No one wants you to have a high electric bill!
It's important to note, if a prospective buyer calls you or knocks on your door wanting to see the house, should you show it to them? The answer is NO. Explain that it's not a convenient time, but if you can have their name and number, you'll give it to your agent and they can get in contact with them for a more convenient time. The agent should be qualifying them as a buyer first before showing them the home. And there's safety concerns with just having a random stranger going into your home!