April 2008

OK, so it happened again today.  I have a great couple who is pre-qualified and looking for a home.  We go through a buyer’s consultation, I have a good idea of what they are looking for, I email them some things, we narrow down the number to 6 to take a look at (because any more than that and no one remembers what they’ve seen anyway!).  I call to make arrangements to view the properties and the inevitable happens:

Me:  Hi, Mr/Mrs Seller.  This is Shar Rundio with The Threshold Group at Keller Williams Integrity First Realty.  I have some clients who are interested in viewing your house today.  We’ll be looking at several others so I don’t know exactly what time we’ll be there but it will be sometime between 3-4.  Is that going to work okay for you?

Mr/Mrs Seller: (Long Pause) Ummmm…..well….we have company in town (I have a cold, the baby will be napping, Fido is there alone and might eat you, the house is a mess, you wouldn’t believe the reasons I’ve heard).  Can you come next tomorrow or maybe next week?

Me:  Well, I guess I’ll see what works with the buyers’ schedule…(which also means, a BIG FAT NO!)

Now, I’ll preface this with the fact that I do know that things come up and sometimes it is really unavoidable.  BUT…(sorry to say it) you’ve just told me that you aren’t really all that motivated to sell your house and frankly my buyers are motivated to buy.  We’ll likely find a house today and write an offer on it.  By next week we’ll be well into our inspection period and you’ll have missed out.  Even if we haven’t found another house and made an offer we never go back to these properties.  It’s a plain and simple fact that unless you have a very unique property that is priced below market and there are no other possible options for the buyer there is so much inventory to choose from that we’ll just move on.  Buyers are excited about your house for a very brief moment in time and if you put them off you’ve lost that moment, likely never to be regained.   While it is always best to try to show your house in it’s best light allowing a showing with extra people around or with dirty dishes in the sink is better than not allowing it at all. 

So, sellers heed my warning:  If you are really trying to sell your house make it as easy as possible for people to see it. 

There, I’ve vented.

I feel much better.

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