showing a home while its vacant? (agent, mortgage, mortgage, sale)

[amylauren]

I'm thinking about the fact we might be moving before we sell and wanted to know everyones thoughts on showing a home vacant. Do you think buyers will bid thinking we're desperate or do many prefer that to be able to see house without a family's stuff all over?

[palmcoasting]

Depends on the buyer. Everyone comes with their own prejudices, thoughts, agendas.
Me? I don't care either way...I look beyond the furniture and look at the structure, room size, etc. If vacant that's fine too. I never assume the seller is in a 'position' negative or positive because the house is vacant but then again, I deal with a lot of second home owners down here, so a house being vacant isn't unusual.

[Racelady88]

As a buyer I prefer to see a house vacant. I am not buying your furniture.

[TexasHorseLady]

I've found that some buyers tend to prefer looking at a vacant house (they can't look past the furniture in the home for some reason), while others prefer a furnished home (they can't imagine furniture in a vacant house). They seem to fall half and half, in my experience.

[Ellwood]

I had a staged house on the market for 3 months, everyone commented how beautifully staged and clean it was. Didn't sell. Finally vacated the house and left it empty. Sold in a week. I think the key is cleanliness and price.

[therrboomer]

I'd rather look at an empty home, easier to see if any flaws.

If it's not clean however, I'm walking. I figure if they couldn't be bothered to clean up they probably couldn't be bothered with maintenance either.

[HMinOR]

I don't really have a preference one way or the other. On one hand, I am a poor judge of space, so seeing a couch or bed in a room really allows me to see how big or small it is. However, clean and vacant means I dont have to wait for someone to move out

[rothbear]

I personally prefer a vacant house, but I know there are people who just don't have the imagination to see their things in it.

We consulted with our buyer's agent and one thing she said was that sometimes buyer's sort of make up stories in their mind as to what is going on and why the person is selling. For instance:

Vacant House = People have already moved, have another mortgage and are desperate to sell = They can offer a lowball price.

We had thoughts of moving the spare twin bed into our master bedroom once I move out (hubby staying to sell and until he finds a job). But she said that people might see that as....Hmm, single bed = Possible divorce = Desperate to sell = Lowball offer.

I guess you really have to put yourself in others shoes and it is kind of a crap shoot as to what they are thinking. All I know is that I'm going to either have a nervous breakdown, heart attack or stroke getting this house ready to sell if we have to do the whole "staging" thing! I know I have clutter, but I'm spending all my time just keeping the stupid thing clean!

[chet everett]

The general rule of thumb is "make the place LOOK GOOD". Some house look FINE vacant, others look a crime scene... In my almost 40 years of working with real estate I can honesty say that more "mainstream" leads to FASTER sale at better price. If the house looks VERY mainstream without outdated kitchens & baths, no ugly wallpaper or hideous panelling, yucky carpeted bathrooms it will sell FINE vacant. On the other end, if the place HAS this situations it makes MUCH MORE sense to stage it to minimize the SHOCK of someplace like that. The staging can be with ANY furniture and doesn't have to be every room. Just give people SOMETHING to steer their thoughts TOWARD the mainstream aspects of the house.

No matter if you already have a NICE normal, reasonable up-to-date house that is in good repair or some freak from eras gone by you have to be sure that it is CLEAN. Invest in a good old off white paint from Home Depot, have the carpets cleaned, sanitize the kitchen and bath and keep your fingers crossed. Believe me anybody can look past an odd color of bathroom tile, but NOBOBY is going to feel like making a bid on place that has more cats than the Lion House at the Zoo or has the stench of a third world street Bazaar...

[DanZ2008]

As a buyer's rep, I will still show the property whether or not its vacant. On the other hand, as a listing agent in order to sell my client's property in a short period of time, I will pre-stage the property for showing (meaning the home must look attractive to the buyers as possible) inside and outside so it is presentable even tho' it's vacant. For vacant home, I will also coordinate with the local police to patrol the property especially at night for security reason (e.g. there has been some reports of heat pump being stolen and this is a very costly item).