When Showing Your Own Home

DO:

• Do ask questions to determine their needs and listen carefully to their responses
  By doing this, you will be gathering information to help determine what’s most important to them and how your home can accommodate their lifestyle, hobbies and interests. Then you can showcase those areas during the viewing.
• Do point out attractive aspects of your home that may not be obvious
  For instance, if you have a mortgage that has a particularly low interest rate, and it is assumable or if you have regularly serviced appliances and maintained the home you should mention this to let the buyer know the care with which the home has been maintained. If there is a charming history associated with your house, tell it.
• Do treat them as a guest rather than as a potential sale
  When someone comes over to view the house, introduce yourself and offer them a refreshment. Be gracious. Put them at ease.
• Do mention flaws in the home
  Don’t hide issues with the house, come clean and present yourself honestly. If you are honest with them about the details of the home (small water spot, a squeak in the floor, or a problem that has been recently remedied), you will earn their trust.
• Do ask for contact information
  As soon as a potential buyer arrives, have them sign into your “showing guestbook” near the front door with complete contact information. This is not only a safety precaution (you may want to verify their identification by asking for a driver’s license), but it also provides you with the opportunity to send them a thank you note and follow up after the showing.

DON’T:

• Don’t answer questions that have not been asked
  You can’t successfully sell a house from your point of view; you must showcase it from the buyer’s perspective. For instance, you may tell how you love the neighborhood because your children have friends on every corner – but the buyer may not particularly like the idea of too many little people traveling in and out of their home.
• Don’t hover
  Everyone needs personal space and if they feel you are watching every move they make, they won’t feel comfortable. If they don’t feel comfortable in the home, they won’t be able to consider the possibility of it being their own.
• Don’t try to be a salesperson
  One of the biggest advantages you have when selling your own home is that potential buyer doesn’t have to deal with any sales people. If you become a salesperson, you lose that edge. You should be there to put them at ease, invite questions and help them imagine themselves living happily in the home.
• Don’t make the potential buyer endure unnecessary distractions
  Don’t have guests over, don’t have the children onsite, don’t have pets in the house, and don’t have the television or radio blaring. You want your home to present a relaxing environment, not a stressful one.
• Don’t rush them
  You should always schedule enough time before and after the showing so that you don’t have to rush your potential buyer. You should not have other showing appointments or other places you have to be immediately following the showing. Although most showings will last for less than 30 minutes, some may last much longer and you should allow for that possibility. If they are interested and want to linger, rushing them off will send a message that life in that house is stressed, not relaxing.

See what other buying and selling checklists can help your real estate ventures go smoothly.