You’ve decided to sell your home, and having chosen the right agent for your property, they have got off to a good start with some great marketing, bespoke boards, fantastic photography, and uniquely designed brochures with your own personal branding, and potential buyers are now wanting to view your property in person.
Now you may be tempted to do your own viewings. After all, it’s your home and no-one knows it better than you! Every inch of your home has been cared for and loved by you for many years (possibly decades), but now it’s time for a change. So before you decide to show people round yourself, here are the reasons you should leave it to your agent.
You are emotionally attached – When it’s your home, it is easy to bring your emotions into the sale. A buyer can ask the agent questions about an aspect of the home without fear of upsetting or offending them. They may ask about possible changes they could make or things that they don’t like. Questions that could difficult for an owner to hear. If the seller is at the viewing, some buyers are reluctant to ask such questions and may leave the viewing with more questions than answers which can be off-putting. Emotions and house sales don’t mix.
Your viewers need privacy – if you were looking round a house, would you want the sellers on your heels? A seller presence can make buyers feel awkward. Buyers need to feel comfortable as they look at a potential home; it’s a big decision for them, and they really want to be able to snoop everywhere, whether this means looking in cupboards or peering out of windows. If the seller is standing there, buyers might feel reluctant to explore, and therefore might actually miss aspects of the property they’d be able to see if they had freedom to search without caution. This could be a loss for them and for you.
They need space to think – As much as you probably want to tell the buyers every exciting aspect of your home, less is sometimes better than more when it comes to a sale. Too much chatter can be off-putting when they just want to look around and ask a few questions. Your agent is more likely to get honest, constructive feedback from the buyer than you are. Most people don’t want to offend the seller.
Your agent can handle objections better than you can – in fact, you probably wouldn’t even hear them. If they thought the kitchen was too small for example, they would keep that information to themselves. Whereas if they shared that thought with your estate agent, he or she could suggest alternatives, like an extension, or a redesign. After all, that’s what you’re paying them for. Your agent’s role is to actually SELL your home, not just to show people round!
Experience Counts – Having an experienced agent conduct the viewings can and, in our case, often leads to a sale during the viewing. Our expert sales team are open, friendly and honest. They know what questions to ask to get the answers and results you want. Buyers don’t often open negotiations direct to the seller, or someone your agent sent just to unlock the door, however, with an experienced agent present, you are far more likely to get a better result from the viewing! In fact, 75% of all our sales are negotiated while the buyer is in your home with one of our expert sales team!
Of course, there is an exception when it's sometimes nice for you to conduct the viewing … after you’ve accepted an offer and the buyer wants to pop back, ask a few questions and measure for their new curtains! If that’s not the reason for the viewing then, once you’ve dressed your home, put on some soft, relaxing background music, and created the perfect snapshot of the lifestyle your home could provide, go for a walk, pop to your favourite coffee shop or have a drive around and leave the selling to our fabulous expert!
If you've been left to sell your own home by your agent; why not give us a call and let us take the hassle out of viewings for you!
01423 563077 or email us at talk@alexandergibson.co.uk