Let me Tell You All About My (Not Your) House
Dinner with relatives last night turned into a heated real estate marketing discussion. My house is for sale, and we went out for dinner because there was a showing. The question was asked of me, why aren’t I showing my own house? I explained this wasn’t a Buyer I was working with, so their Agent is showing my house. The conversation continued, shouldn’t I be there anyhow to answer questions or help with the showing? And further, why wouldn’t all owners be at showings for this reason? Don’t they know the house best?
Yes, the owners do know the house best. In fact, they know too much. They know every repair and problem they’ve had. They’ve fixed these issues (I hope) and the house is just fine. But when they proceed to brag about what a good homeowner they are to prospective Buyers, they turn that house into a money pit. All houses need repair, all houses have problems. Objectively Buyers know this, but being told in 20 minutes all 20 years worth of repairs you’ve made is overwhelming and makes it sound horrible. As a Seller, you provide a Real Estate Condition Report, a legal document disclosing the condition of the house and repairs that have been made. A nice list of major improvements can be left on a table for showings (how old is the furnace, roof etc.) When a Buyer is just looking, this is all they really need. They don’t need to hear about that funny squirrel that got stuck in the attic for days and ripped up all the insulation.
Stagers teach us to de-clutter and de-personalize the house. Why? So the Buyer can picture themselves in the house. When a Buyer starts mentally moving in, they are steps away from writing an offer. The Buyer can’t mentally move into a house when the current owner is telling them about how much they love walking to the nearby park and how all their babies splashed around in that big tub. The Seller thinks they’re helping the Buyer by telling the good things about the house, but what they’re really doing is making the potential Buyer feel uncomfortable. Maybe that Buyer isn’t having kids, or doesn’t like walking to the park. Who knows? The features you love about your house may be completely unimportant to that Buyer. Again, a nice list of neighborhood and school features should be left on a table.
Finally, Buyers need to be nosy. Never in a million years would you walk into someone’s home and look in all their closets and medicine cabinets. But you need to do this when house shopping. Potential Buyers can’t get a good critical look when the owners are home, it feels as if they’re intruding. Every time I’ve conducted a showing with the Sellers at home (either nipping at our heels or sitting quietly on the porch), my Buyers give a cursory look and try to get out quickly.
Unfortunately all these arguments got me nowhere with this particular relative and we agreed to disagree. I tucked my professional pride in my pocket, hoped she wouldn’t be selling her home soon and enjoyed the rest of dinner.
Posted by: 
Barbara Bay
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Glenn Hanon
have to do more work but let’s be honest for a moment; you don’t want to do the work because it is a hassle, so why would the buyer want to do the work? Today more than ever a seller’s home needs to be compelling. If you need assistance with this and you want to sell your home, I can help. Just give me a call and we can make sure your home IS the home the buyers want!
