It seems silly I have to say this, yet it happens all the time!! Clients find a home they would like to view and the sellers do not accomodate showings. You cannot sell your home if you do not allow home buyers to view it.
I recently had a client, there house was underagreement, they were ready to close in 45 days. My clients were out to buy a house!! We looked at 32 houses and about 5 houses they were interested in, we did not gain entry into. Agents did not call us back, sellers said time was inconvenient, sellers were away on vacation and did not make other arrangements, sellers could not be found…. Guess what? My clients bought a home in 3 weeks. Maybe this was the right buyer for your home and you did not accomodate a showing.
As a homeowner you need to remember, we may have 5-8 houses scheduled in a row. If we can’t see your home, we may all together skip it. Many times when I am working with buyers, if we are denied a showing, 50% of the time we never go back to view it. The more showings you have the better chance of an offer. Every showing is an opportunity for you to sell your home.
What can home sellers do?
- Be prepared to show your home at any time. Even if your house is not perfect, I feel you are better off showing it than turning away a showing.
- If there are regular times you can’t show your home, let your agent know so it can be published on the Multiple Listing Service so showing agents can work around it, knowing your restrictions up front.
- Make sure your agent has a system in place to schedule showings in a timely manner. I use a third party service that is available from 8am to 8pm that schedules all showings. I pay a lot of money for this service but this is all this company does and they schedule in a timely manner.
- The dreaded accompanied showing!! Do you insist your agnet needs to be at every showing? Let me tell you many times this is a hiderance, the listing agent isn’t available when my buyers are able to view a home. Again a lost opportunity.
Remember Showings = Offers
