Give the slow real estate market we have these days, many are looking to sell their homes without agents, better known as FSBO selling. If you are one of these people, you might have questions about how to handle the showing of your home.
When a FSBO seller shows their home the first time, they always seem to be surprised how many people come. Simply put, it is usually a lot of people. Why? Well, a majority of them are real estate agents. They want to see the home to see if it matches the needs of any current or future buyers they represent.
FSBO sellers often treat real estate agents as the enemy. You should never do this. Most agents represent both sellers AND buyers. More often than not, the person that eventually buys your home will be represented by an agent. In short, don't burn any bridges that could come back to haunt you in the future.
The second issue to consider when showing your home is safety. Never show your home while you are alone. This is particularly true if you are a woman. The sad fact is there are scumbags in every community, so be careful. Also, make sure to have visitors sign a registry, so you have at least a partial record of who visited.
What if you don't have anyone to stay with you while the home is being shown? After all, who wants to sit around in someone else's home all day? The secret to resolving this problem is to find a mortgage broker agency. They are more than happy to send out a young broker who is trying to develop a client list. You get the benefit of having that person with you and he or she gets the benefit of meeting buyers that may need a loan.
Finally, it is important to put on a good showing. That being said, you need to use your common sense. If you have valuable items, don't leave them out. Thieves have been known to use open houses to either case a home for later or steal things immediately. Don't fall prey to such people. Put valuables in your car trunk or some other secure location.
In all honesty, showing a home is not too difficult. Clean up your home, bake a sweet smelling pie and follow the above steps. You should do fine.
Raynor James writes about a wide variety of real estate topics. Sell your home fsboamerica.org FSBO with a Free 1 month listing at FSBOAmerica.org.
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