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I personally would like the seller to be there. Only they would have real information about things like the neighbors/neighborhood, amenities nearby, and information on the house that doesn't show up on the listing page that your realtor prints out. You'd like to know when/if things have been replaced/upgraded, and possibly how (contractor, did it themselves, etc).
I'm still in the process of home hunting, but in some of the places I've looked, I've found it more beneficial when a seller or neighbor have been around to answer questions.
But to each his/her own. Some people don't think they can talk honestly about a property in front of the sellers, and at the same time, some sellers can be intrusive in your house hunting process.
Having a seller in the house, particularly in this market, gives me the creeps. They follow you around so you can't relax or even if they don't, there's an awkward bit where you have to tell them if you liked the house and say goodbye.
The sensation you get at that moment is very akin to the looks you get from desperate actors at the end of an audition. I understand and empathize, but it definitely detracts from my enjoyment of a home.
That said, I ALWAYS enjoy a seller's enthusiasm for their property. I get a kick out of homes that have post-it notes stuck around to point out features the seller is particularly fond of. If the seller puts together a sheet of special things they think I should know about the property or neighborhood, that's terrific. An offer to respond to inquiries via email filtered through the agent would be fine.
I personally would like the seller to be there. Only they would have real information about things like the neighbors/neighborhood, amenities nearby, and information on the house that doesn't show up on the listing page that your realtor prints out. You'd like to know when/if things have been replaced/upgraded, and possibly how (contractor, did it themselves, etc).
I'm still in the process of home hunting, but in some of the places I've looked, I've found it more beneficial when a seller or neighbor have been around to answer questions.
But to each his/her own. Some people don't think they can talk honestly about a property in front of the sellers, and at the same time, some sellers can be intrusive in your house hunting process.
Each case is different.
I understand why you might want the owner to answer questions, but...
The best person to supply info about the neighborhood is your buyers agent. They can give you the information without bias, in fact by law they have to present the "facts" or point you toward the sites that have them lest they risk a charge of discrimination.
Information about the condition of the property should also be available in an unbiased way from the buyer's agent and ethical listing agent -- they can be expected to have the experience to speak to the major issues / systems. More detailed knowledge of the specifics should come from an inspection report. {to give but one example in my neck of the woods forced gas heat is common and quality units generally last 15 years or more, thus when I would show a client a home that was significantly newer than that I could say with confidence that system would be unlikely to be in need of replacement, but an inspection report would detail the specifics of the reliability of that brand and its exact age...)
When it comes to talking to neighbors I have mixed feelings on the value of doing so. On the one hand I do not know every block in my market area (though I sometimes try to...) and it can easier to get the low down on what sort of street you'd be moving too, but I have seen more than few neighbors "stretch the truth" for various reasons. Maybe they are crappy coot that does not like the looks of the prospective buyer (and they is a whole big pile of trouble...). Maybe they want to blow sunshine up your you-know-what because the minute the neighbor's overpriced shack closes they'll use that to set a sky price on their mansion and move the heck out of Dodge. Between those two extremes there is wide range of things that all will result in a very biased view and the neighbor is under no legal bounds to how "truthy" they are...
When the seller has been there when I've had the buyers, I can SEE the difference between the buyers' reaction to that house and the others we look at - consistently. They're uncomfortable, they don't really look at the house, they want to get out of there as fast as they can (sometimes throws off my showing schedule, in fact). The feeling they are left with about that house is discomfort.
This is, generally (and there are always the exceptions that prove the rule, of course) a very bad idea. No matter WHO says it.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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Oh great! Now we have to re-educate about a million sellers because someone on GMA spouted off something.
They might have well as said "Make sure you walk around the house naked when potential buyers are looking, because if you have a great body, they will make a higher offer".
Oh great! Now we have to re-educate about a million sellers because someone on GMA spouted off something.
They might have well as said "Make sure you walk around the house naked when potential buyers are looking, because if you have a great body, they will make a higher offer".
Unbelievable.
This reminds me of a friend of mine. Both times they sold their homes, they "broke the selling rules" by leaving up personal decor all over the house, including many large professional (clothed!) photos of her very attractive self, hunky husband, beautiful children. They sold quickly each time. I had to wonder if it had the opposite effect that personal photos usually have, that buyers thought "if I buy this house maybe I'll look like them!"
I understand why you might want the owner to answer questions, but...
The best person to supply info about the neighborhood is your buyers agent. They can give you the information without bias, in fact by law they have to present the "facts" or point you toward the sites that have them lest they risk a charge of discrimination.
Information about the condition of the property should also be available in an unbiased way from the buyer's agent and ethical listing agent -- they can be expected to have the experience to speak to the major issues / systems. More detailed knowledge of the specifics should come from an inspection report. {to give but one example in my neck of the woods forced gas heat is common and quality units generally last 15 years or more, thus when I would show a client a home that was significantly newer than that I could say with confidence that system would be unlikely to be in need of replacement, but an inspection report would detail the specifics of the reliability of that brand and its exact age...)
When it comes to talking to neighbors I have mixed feelings on the value of doing so. On the one hand I do not know every block in my market area (though I sometimes try to...) and it can easier to get the low down on what sort of street you'd be moving too, but I have seen more than few neighbors "stretch the truth" for various reasons. Maybe they are crappy coot that does not like the looks of the prospective buyer (and they is a whole big pile of trouble...). Maybe they want to blow sunshine up your you-know-what because the minute the neighbor's overpriced shack closes they'll use that to set a sky price on their mansion and move the heck out of Dodge. Between those two extremes there is wide range of things that all will result in a very biased view and the neighbor is under no legal bounds to how "truthy" they are...
Yeah that makes sense. Again, I'm just a couple of months into my home search therefore I don't know all the ins and outs with real estate in general.
I was just speaking on behalf of my experiences (very few, might I add). One seller opened her home for us, gave us a little introduction, and let us roam around with being connected to my hip. I looked around, took my time, and eventually made my way back to the front door where she was waiting, and I then asked her a bunch of questions. She was really friendly and very informative, not intrusive at all. Then we told her we'd get back to her and thanked her for her time.
Maybe I just got lucky with my experience? But then again, even if she did follow us into every room, I wouldn't have a problem discussing things in front of her and I wouldn't have felt rushed. Maybe it's just me
During my recent house hunting, the homeowners were present during our visit to virtually every single home. In the one exception, the selling agent was there.
I found it very stifling to have the homeowners give the tour. They seemed to rush us from room to room as if they had other places to go. I felt like I couldn't open closet or cabinet doors to see how much storage there was because the homeowner would have felt their privacy was being invaded.
I realize that in many cases the owners are present because they feel that browsers might try to steal things, but as long as an agent is there, they should gracefully excuse themselves and wait outside, go for a walk, etc. If they really feel that they need to be available to answer questions, then they can tell the buyers that they will be back in 20 minutes. If I'm interested in the place, I would definitely hang out a few minutes to wait for them to return to ask the owners questions.
It was also frustrating to set up appointments to view the homes, because we could only go when the owners would be home. This was inconvenient to say the least. I ended up passing on even going to look at a few places because the owners didn't have the time to show their homes for another week or two. Therefore they lost out on a potential sale. Oh well!
LIR this is highly unusual in most markets for the seller to be there. It does make it harder to show and 95% of the times sellers tend to scare off buyers. I'm surprised the listing agents did not educate them on leaving the home for a showing.
Out of the thousands of homes I've shown, I've never had a buyer buy a home where the seller was at the house. The buyers are just to uncomfortable to take the time to see the house.
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Not really true...
