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On one of the showings we conducted, we noticed the prospective buyers were discussing with each other whether they could add another bathroom and where they would add it, etc. And one of the realtors I spoke with after a showing asked me about adding a bathroom - if we had ever investigating getting it done (i.e. was it possible, etc.)
Oops, I didn't realize you had limited representation. Since you are setting up your own showings, you can e mail the agents the floor plan if you have it, and confirm the date and time with your marketing message.
Middle-aged mom, we met with 3 realtors prior to listing our house and we set our price based on the average of their suggestions, and after carefully reviewing the comps. We're pretty confident it's competitively priced and we are certainly getting a lot of calls for showing. I think we've had about 15 in the past month.
Sidebar...but you met with three Realtors to get their professional advice, and then took the info they gave you and didn't use them?
I understand where you are coming from frustration-wise! I am finally under contract as of today and hoping the madness will stop....I have had people come by at dinnertime, watch us all load into the car and then not go inside "because they don't like the facade." And they couldn't tell this from the photos or the tour--or tell us before we left our half-cooked meal in the fridge that they weren't interested?
Also buyers who don't like that the bathrooms face into the hallway, or who make an appointment (dinnertime again) and then call to cancel just as their hour window is up, or how about the ones who tracked mud on my new carpet, or even the ones who came into my house unannounced when they really were supposed to be at the house next door? Or the ones who go next door and then want to see mine immediately even though my agent put in the notes that I have children and pets to remove--some won't even wait 5 minutes, others will give me 10 or 15 and then stay inside for 3. And the ones who ask for a two hour window, and when I ask if it can be narrowed down to an hour, say yes and then still show up 20 minutes early? (I told that one he'd have to wait a few minutes as I wasn't ready yet and he was early--he sighed, shook his head, and went back to his car for the 5 more minutes I took to vacate--he still got in 15 minutes before his appt!)
We are in an area that uses that Centralized Showing Service, which is good in some ways, but it also adds what seems like an extra layer between the buyers/their agent and the seller, making it all the more impersonal and easy to forget how you are inconveniencing the seller in various ways...I have three kids, a dog, and a cat, and always made my house look uncluttered, clean and inviting before every showing, as well as removing all evidence of animals inside and out. Many agents have commented upon how they couldn't believe we were still living in the home it looks so nice. So after all the work, when people don't show up, or even go in, especially at dinner time, it burns my shorts!
I understand all the reasons--people stay longer at one home and don't have time to see another, or something comes up at work and they can't make it--I get it. But no one seems to get that I am in my car down the street with my ancient cat and rowdy dog and sometimes the kids in 95 degree heat waiting for sometimes more than an hour (I have tried waiting in my house, but the kids start to mess up the place--I have even tried asking the buyer's agent to call me with a head's up when they are on their way, but that doesn't seem to work either) and no one seems to care about that. Only one agent ever bothered to say sorry for putting you out for no reason--and I know it probably wasn't her fault they didn't show.
I know people might say I should decline dinnertime showings if they are a pain, or wait until the buyer shows up (this hasn't worked for me personally--the legos start creeping out all over the place and my dog gets anxious and drooly knowing we are about to go somewhere) but these days as a seller there is a feeling, a pressure even to accept every single showing or you might lose 'The One.'
Sorry for adding my rant here, didn't mean to hijack, just when I get started on this topic I can't stop! :-0
Sassy, It is the pits and I have had to ask a time or two if they know how to read. I had a looker that loved the place, blah blah blah but it had to much yard-yep the listing says 14 acreas. But now I would consider a 1.5 bath depending on the lay out and size, and seeing the house would be the only way to find out if it would work. Dont give up on this type of looker yet.
Many buyers will look at homes to try to make them work.
When they prefer 2 or more baths, but take a look anyway, one may think that there is something about the home that appeals to them enough to take the time to look despite one deficiency.
I think better to have lookers who come in with the mindset that they would like to make it work, than just not having them look at all.
Exposure to the market is a good thing in the big picture.
The fault is as much the reliance on feedback in the process.
The bathroom situation is an easy out, without having to offer any input.
If we would do away with feedback, you would have the true picture on which to focus:
"No Offer."
I understand your frustration. It frustrates us Realtors when Buyers insist on seeing houses that are at the top of their price range or does/does not have items they "really need". But, it is the nature of the business. Obviously you want to sell your home - you just to overlook these time wasters. Who knows one of these time wasters may walk inside your home and get the "feeling" and put in an offer. It has happened to several buyers I've worked with over the years.
lucyhoneycrunch (love that name!), you sound as frustrated as I am. Man, you've had some doozies!
How about when they bring their little kids along and don't watch them? Hubby did a showing today and told me they had 2 little kids in tow who were jumping on the furniture and once in the yard, one of the kids grabbed onto one of our flowering bushes and was trying to pull the flowers off. Mom and dad weren't paying any attention. Hubby had to tell the little sweetie not to hurt the plant.
OR on the opposite end of the spectrum, they bring unruly kids and then spend the entire showing wrestling with them, corraling them, yelling at them, correcting them, etc. and pay absolutely no attention to the house they are supposed to be seeing. We've had this a couple times too.
We haven't had any problems with people dropping over without notice. We have a 24 hours notice rule listed in our listing and so far everyone's been pretty respectful of that...that's one good thing! There's too much to get done before a showing to have people dropping over in 10 minutes.
Thanks for all your comments and encouragement. It helps to have a place to vent about this stuff and you are right, who knows...one of these time wasters may turn out to be a buyer afterall.
Sassy, I will have to agree with your last statement, as it was the guy who tracked the mud who ended up bringing our buyer...I am glad now that I didn't have my agent make a big deal of it! The dirt luckily came out pretty easily, and I shudder to think if I had presented him with a carpet cleaning bill, we might not have our contract now. Still, it is not a nice situation to feel like you have to take some measure of rudeness or bad behavior to get the house sold!
Sidebar...but you met with three Realtors to get their professional advice, and then took the info they gave you and didn't use them?
No sympathies for anything you're going through.
Was she obligated to use them? No.
Could she use their professional advice/information in relation to the sale of her home, whether she chose them or not? Sure, what's stopping her? And that's what she did.
Such an occurrence is the nature of the business. The same thing can happen when an attorney provides a free consultation, and the potential client using the information provided to either represent himself or to even go with another attorney. Right or wrong, that's what happens sometimes.
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