Making your Listing Available to Show
Recently an out-of-town buyer asked me to help him and his wife find a home. They would review the MLS listings I emailed to them and let me know which ones were of interest and why. Based on their list of “needs” I would preview the properties and let them know how each stacked up and which ones I thought would meet their needs and be a good investment when they went to sell. In the end we found the right property and it was all done remotely by them with a lot of help from pictures and video.
But there was one property I was never able to preview for them. I know the development and the layout of these units and it would have been a viable candidate. You see, the owners of the property had rented it out and through some negotiation with the tenants had come up with an agreement to only show it on certain days, at certain times, with a certain amount of notice. I was going to view it when I went out the first time but showings weren’t allowed on that date. I told the buyer about the home and he asked that I show it to his in-laws who live in town. I coordinated with them on a date that worked for both them and the tenants. But by the time we were scheduled to see it the buyer had found another home to purchase.
By limiting showing times and requiring a certain amount of notice you are limiting the buyers that get to see the home. In most cases Realtors will give sellers at least a few hours if not a few days’ notice when scheduling a showing on their home. But sometimes buyers will add a home to the list at the last minute and now that notice is a few hours, maybe a few minutes. In that case the buyer wants to see your home and will give you time to prepare it and leave. But my experience tells me that most the time when a buyer is not allowed to see a home they do not come back to it.
In the home I mentioned where there were strict guidelines on the showing times, that property is still available. While other homes in the same complex are selling for more in about a week. For sellers it is important to make your home easily available to see. Remember, the more buyers you can get through your home early in the listing process, the more you will usually receive for your home. That is why in this seller’s market many buyers take a vacation during that first weekend on the market.
If you’re looking to purchase real estate and are coming from out-of-town contact real estate agent Dan Kokesh. Through the use of video we can narrow down your choices so when you are in the Minneapolis area your time spent looking at homes for sale is more productive.
