News & Advice

Submited on 29 March 2010 written by Sipke Beyl

You’ve put your house on the market and you have entrusted it to your Agent and Agency of your choice. A big brand name is not a guarantee for success but a good communicating agent is.
The agent should be presentable, confident, have charisma, and be articulate in his presentation. First impressions are very important, not only the home but for the agents selling it.
You have worked very hard in making your home presentable and appealing for buyers. Its looks so good in fact you have second thoughts about selling.
Your first Sunday “show day” is looming, the “For Sale” sign has gone up and the first appointments are being made.
A word of advice, let the agent show the buyer the house, don’t get involved. If you have picked the right agent they know what they doing, and have all the information are regarding rates, property extent etc. at their finger tips.
In my experience the best way is to let the home do the “talking”. Let the buyer wonder around and get a feel for the property. A good agent will quickly sense if the home appeals to the buyer or not. If they are in and out in a flash it’s a good bet your home does not appeal to them.
Don’t take it to heart, most buyers don’t know what they are looking for when they start out and it has happened that they come full circle back to the first property they viewed.
Don’t forget that some buyers have very specific shopping list which very often doesn’t fit their budget, and they have to amend the budget or their expectations
Best of all is not to be there when people come to view, least of all give them long explanation of the kitchen sliding drawers.
If the home appeals to the buyer he/she will take their time, wonder through the rooms a couple of time to get perspective, start asking question about whether the curtains stay or not and you know you past the first hurdle.
More questions will follow and hopefully all those that have to be involved in the decision making process are shopping together. So often husbands leave the house hunting chore to their wives and when it gets to decision time have not had the benefit of seeing what the rest of the market has to offer, and therefore have no baseline to compare against, and the whole viewing process has to start over again.
The market is steadily improving and the interest cut will have a positive effect. If your buyer has a good credit record, has a certain amount set aside for the transfer costs, and enough for a 10 or 5% deposit he will get a bond.
If the offer is a realistic one, don’t hesitate. Your first offer, it is always said, is your best offer.
Good luck