Practicing good seller’s etiquette
Let’s face it, there’s a lot of things that happen when you open your house for others to look around. Here are a few tips to get through the process with the least amount of stress:
We’ve Said It Before But It Bears Repeating
By now you’ve heard from us, HGTV, and every other house selling service or show that you’re going to need to clean and declutter your home before your first showing. At Sharon Q Realty, we actually ask that you do that before we take photos to post on the various websites we use to advertise your home. It really does go a long way to helping potential buyers picture themselves in the space.
In addition, even though you know your home the best, you should not be there for home showings. The temptation to answer the potential buyer’s questions can be overwhelming and we don’t want you to slip and make comments that might hinder your eventual price negotiations with the buyer. The same goes for your pets – they might not be able to answer questions but they still shouldn’t be home when the buyers come through.
The Aggressive Agent
When your house goes on the market, all promotional materials we create to help sell will clearly state that your Sharon Q agent is the primary contact for buyers and their agents. Sometimes, although not often, a buyer’s agent will contact the seller directly to try to either win over their business or cut the seller’s agent out of the deal. This is not reputable behavior and you should report it to your Sharon Q agent immediately if it happens to you.
The Unscrupulous Vendor
Have you ever started a business or moved into a new house and suddenly found your mailbox full of junk mail? Unfortunately, this can also happen when you put your house on the market. When you sell your home, you’ll be making all kinds of new purchasing decisions and less-than-ethical vendors are keenly aware of this. Although REALTOR (R) organizations enforce rules on how posted information is used, outside companies have found ways to cull information from various sources to produce mass mailing lists. If you’re getting more junk mail than usual, let us know. We can tap the appropriate sources to prompt an investigation into the matter.
The Unscrupulous Vendor
Yard signs, Internet listings, and other advertisements will generate a lot of buzz for your home. Some prospective buyers may be so excited to see your home that they’ll knock on your door out of the blue. If this happens, no matter how nice they are, don’t humor their enthusiasm by discussing your home or giving an impromptu tour. Instead, politely let them know that your real estate agent is in charge of scheduling tours and provide them with your Sharon Q agent’s contact information. If you attempt to handle these surprise visits on your own, you might inadvertently disclose information that could hurt you during negotiations down the road.
The Potential Renter
The advent of the internet has also led unsavory people to list homes that are for sale as rental properties. They copy and paste all the information the real estate agent has used to advertise your home onto apartment rental sites and actively solicit renters. Some even go so far as to advertise “Open Houses”. We regularly look at these sites to make sure the homes we list are not there. In the unlikely event that we find one of our properties on these sites, we flag them for removal and will let our client know.
