Oct. 19, 2007: Your Metropolitan Phoenix house can't be sold if it can't be shown to buyers
Here's a simple fact about the sale of your home:
If I can't show it, I can't sell it.
When I'm working with buyers, the ideal home is listed this way: Available, lockbox, vacant. The house is empty of occupants -- although it would be great if it were staged -- but there's an MLS lockbox so I can get in with my party. I don't want to have to call the lister, and I don't want to talk to the seller. I just want to show the house.
The next easiest homes to show are not very easy to show: Alarm activated. Now I have to talk to the listing agent -- who may be unavailable. I can't go into the house until I hear back from the lister, which might be hours too late. This is not the worst form of seller self-sabotage, but it can be more than enough to sell another home instead.
What's worse than an activated alarm? How about no lockbox? Now I not only have to make contact with the lister, we have to coordinate with each other. By-appointment-only listings might make sense at $3,000,000. At $300,000, you're getting in your own way.
Buyers hate occupied homes. They feel they are invading your privacy at the same time you are invading theirs. Occupied homes are almost always stuffed with stuff, which makes it difficult for buyers to imagine their own stuff in its place. Still worse, half the time, the sellers will be hovering around. Even if they're not trying to eavesdrop, buyers will feel that they are.
Pet advisory is another obstacle to be overcome. Now, even if the sellers have sense enough to be out of the house, I have to protect my party from the pets -- and keep the pets from escaping. Dogs, cats and all their odors should be moved out of the house before you list it.
Again, the best way to get the house sold is: Available, lockbox, vacant. The closer you can come to that, the better your chances of getting an offer.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
Spread the word: Click here for a printer-ready version of this column.
Or: Steal this book: I've written over 200 of these real estate columns. They are consistently one of the most popular features on our blogs. Many of them are dated and/or entirely Phoenixocentric. But many others are timeless and generic. If you want to use any of my columns on your weblog or web site, feel free. Three rules: Don't change my text, credit me as the author and give me a link back to http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/ with appropriate anchor text. Something like this, perhaps:
Am I link-baiting? You bet. The quid pro quo is free content for your site that pulls eyeballs and excites interest.<a href="http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/" target="_blank"> Phoenix Realtor Greg Swann</a> suggested I share this with you:
