Complete Strangers Walking Through My Home!

There are many things for house sellers and condo sellers to think about when selling a property. For many, allowing strangers into their home can be a very stressful thought. Likely the best advice though would be to accept this as an absolute necessary step to making the sale. You’ll need to have faith and trust the realtors and their clients while they tour your home.

There may be a seemingly endless parade of nosy neighbours, curious dreamers and apparently serious buyers judging the potential and passing judgment on your choice of sofa and wall colours. They’ll probably also open your cupboards, closets and check out what’s on your bookcase. Some strangers may even need to use your bathroom. (I know first-hand this can be a horror for many people selling their home).

And of course the more practical concerns such as: Where am I supposed to go during showings? How much notice will I receive? How am I supposed to keep the house spotless all of the time?

These are all typical questions and very legitimate concerns. Depending on your scenario there are some good solutions The Weir Team often recommends in order to net the seller the most profit in the end.

Whether you’re a very neat single person or a family with a newborn baby and 3 dogs, there are some necessary things you’ll need to do to come out on top in the Toronto real estate market.

It’s important to remember that you are selling your home. If you expect top dollar then your house should be in top dollar shape. The Weir Team works with endless buyers and we hear all sorts of comments.

It’s shocking how many times we take our buyers through houses that haven’t been cleaned or prepared in any way.

There has been many times my clients haven’t even bothered to go up to the second floor… or even wanted to get out of the car based on the lack of curb appeal.

The Weir Team will make sure you understand the best solutions for you. A few days of inconvenience can mean a world of difference in the offers that you receive.

Once your house is listed and showings begin, it’s not uncommon to run in to situations such as no one showing up for the scheduled showing or the realtor being late. Things like drawers and closets left open and marketing materials left scattered about is likely to happen.

While Toronto and Durham real estate agents try to stick to a schedule there are often factors that are out of our control that may make us late or not even show up.

For example, if I’m showing my clients five properties in Cliffcrest, Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax and Whitby, there is no way for me to know if my buyer will want to spend 5 minutes in one house but then linger for 45 minutes in another house. This can often throw our carefully planned schedules out the window. Also they may decide not to even go into the house if they don’t like the look of the neighbours front yard or the front porch of the house for sale. Expecting realtors to call the listing brokerage to let them know we are late is definitely what we aim to do… but can often be unrealistic depending on how much of our time the buyer is commanding during our tour of homes for sale.

So once again, as a house seller or condo seller you will need to have a lot of patience with the showing process.

Should you limit showings to only 30 minutes versus the common 60 minute window? As a seller, that is ultimately your choice but I highly recommend against it. With traffic issues and unpredictable buyers you should really give as much leeway as possible to allow the buyer and their realtor to show up without being stressed and rushed.

Another common question: Should the listing agent be present for showings? Never… or at least almost never. This only makes the buyer uncomfortable to know that they cannot speak freely or openly to their buyer agent. It will do no good to have the listing agent drone on and on about various selling features if the buyer and the buyer’s real estate representative hasn’t been made to feel comfortable. The intangible qualities of the property can often be more important than whether or not the speakers are built-ins. It’s more important to let the home speak for itself. Unless it’s a very high-end property or there are very special circumstances the listing agent should never be present.

And even worse… the seller should absolutely never be home. Unless it’s a very unique property, it’s only been on a rare occasion that a seller’s presence has been helpful in making the sale.

All in all, deciding to sell your house or condo, whether in Toronto, Leslieville, East York, Riverdale and all the way out through Durham will take patience and faith while numerous strangers go in and out of your house. With years of outstanding experience, The Weir Team has wonderful solutions and recommendations to ensure the process of dealing with real estate showings is as stress-free as possible. Make sure to ask how The Weir Team handles this process when we meet you.