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Spent last weekend in the Houston area looking for homes. Saw about 20. I would say that at least a third of these showings had the seller's agent present and in the case of 2 of them (one of which we went into contract on), the owner was scheduled to be there.
This will be our 6th home purchase and we have never had a sellers agent or owner present. These are homes in the 900K-1.3M range. Is this something that's common? I wonder if it's because of the price point, but that almost seems counterintuitive. So sellers really have to worry about buyers at that price point in their homes?
I think it makes it a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Having said that, the house we are in contract on, the seller built himself (he's a contractor) and was able to give us a personal tour and show off a lot of cool features, which helped put it over the top for us.
Well, since their in the 900K-1.3M range, I would insist that someone be present.
True, and I get that, but I am putting my home in Denver on the market next week at that price point and it never even crossed my mind to be at a showing. I personally find it to be in poor taste. Having said that, I have never had a bad experience with anything being stolen or damaged at a house I am selling. I do know a lot of people have.....
One of the agents we interview insisted that he'd be there during showing. We didn't pick him. His thought was he knew the house and could better explain. My thought was showings were now dependent on the schedules of the looker, their agent, my agent and us. Way too many variables.
Instead, I put together a 'walking tour' of the house, printed in color on glossy paper, detailing features of each room that might be missed during a showing and which would have been too much detail in the published house ad. 4 offers in 2 days.
Highly unusual for owner to be present, in my experience.
I went to an open house last weekend and the agent introduced me to the owner. Strange.
Then, I asked the owner: Wjy are you selling?
"Divorce"
If I were a buyer my offer just went down.
In my area it's very common for the seller's agent to be present, even at a lower price point, say $700k. There are many old, very old and antique houses (18th, 19th century) and unusual designs. Lots are all large, 2 acres+ and typically complicated with various easements, shared private roads, wetland considerations, etc etc. Such properties greatly benefit from having somebody at the showing that knows the property inside and out.
Having said that, the house we are in contract on, the seller built himself (he's a contractor) and was able to give us a personal tour and show off a lot of cool features, which helped put it over the top for us.
Just curious as to other people's experiences.
A house like you've described; it makes perfect sense that the owner was there. Nobody knows that house better than him. Also at higher price points, yes, the sellers want their agent there to offer additional security sometimes, other times there are particular things about the home that benefit from a guided tour. I sometimes have sellers present in lower end homes too; mostly because they are elderly and don't drive or it is a burden for them to leave. In which case, they sit on the back porch or another area giving the buyers a little privacy.
Highly unusual for owner to be present, in my experience.
I went to an open house last weekend and the agent introduced me to the owner. Strange.
Then, I asked the owner: Wjy are you selling? "Divorce"
If I were a buyer my offer just went down.
Uh huh. That was clearly the case in 2 very nice waterfront homes we saw. One was a situation where they had moved in not long before, she had made most of the decisions about the house, and boom......just up and left. And yes, the phrase "motivated seller" entered our minds.
And, with regards to privacy, in most cases, the sellers agent was very hands off and privacy was not an issue.
I think it also depends on the property type...if it's country property I want the selling agent or owner there to answer questions about wells, septic, zoning, crops, etc.
As long as I was not being bird dogged by either the owner or his selling agent I would not care if they were there.
Now if they become intrusive ... that's where it does become an issue.
Like most other steps of the home buying process ... there are pros and cons to most any given situation, including what you described above.
It worked out nicely in your case, in many others I am sure it pushed potential buyers towards the door and onto other prospective homes.
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