Occupied Showings

[spleano 0]

Hello,

 

Do you "guys" sign up and market/show houses when the seller or tenant has yet to vacate the property? If you do; what are some of the logistics and tips? Seems like a possible hassle and real estate "agenty." Yeah, that's a word; I looked it up.

 

X Agent

Dino

[Doug Pretorius (ON) 9]

What does the occupancy status of the property have to do with being a principal or an agent?

 

As far as handling showings I usually get a key and arrange to show it at times when the owner will be out.

[spleano 0]

What does the occupancy status of the property have to do with being a principal or an agent?

I know the occupancy status doesn't have anything to do with agency. Just seems "agenty." But, I guess the answer to my question is "So what?"

 

As far as handling showings I usually get a key and arrange to show it at times when the owner will be out.

Thanks Doug. You do know how to get to the point quickly. When I was an agent, often sellers who hadn't vacated wanted to be present during showings. This seemed to be the kiss of death. Do you allow this or tell them to find another buyer? They also seem to leave things behind when they move. (e.g. pool tables, couches, scuff marks, holes in walls, dirty carpets, food, etc.) What recourse would I have? Should I be there on moving day? Maybe that kind of thing is just part of the risk.

 

X Agent

Dino

[MichaelC 160]

Dino, in the best of all circumstances, working with a vacant property is easiest. Of course, that isn't always the case. When the homeowner is still in the premises, I explain to them in a polite way that when I have an interested prospect I will call them with an advance notice and they will vacate for thirty minutes or so. I tell them it is to their benefit to do so, this way the interested party can walk around and speak freely to me about the house. Makes it easier to address their objections and get them to sign on the dotted line. The homeowner is always cooperative. . .at least the ones that are sane.

Tenants are a different story. Some are cooperative. But others can be quite difficult.

[rpraderas 0]

I think that selling properties that are still occupied by the current owner is the norm.

[rzillowman 0]

I think that selling properties that are still occupied by the current owner is the norm.

 

I was just going to say the same thing. It's uncommon for homes to be already vacated.

[pilot76180 51]

I f I have a house with a seller in it I coordinate the showings around their schedule, and tell them if they can to be at the house, so they can meet the potential buyer and vice versa.

They like that. They seem to prefer to not be booted out of their house, and plus it can help seal the deal with the buyer when they click with the owner.

 

MC needs the owner to leave so they don't see him going thru their fridge.

[spleano 0]

I coordinate the showings around their schedule, and tell them if they can to be at the house, so they can meet the potential buyer and vice versa. They like that. They seem to prefer to not be booted out of their house, and plus it can help seal the deal with the buyer when they click with the owner.

Well, that's certainly an interesting approach that I would never take. In my experience; the seller is always underfoot, talks too much about how the house was built with golden nails by some has-been builder nobody gives a cr*p about, and sits in the middle of all their junk that they refuse to minimize. Sellers that insist on being present for showings are generally the type that won't take down their wall of family photos or the deer heads over the doors and fireplaces. No buyer I've ever met feels comfortable with the seller hanging around. IMO it's more likely that the buyer and seller won't click. I prefer to let the buyer stay as long as they want, talk about how ugly something is and where they would place their furniture without them feeling like their intruding or that they have to couch their words because the seller might hear. If the buyer doesn't feel comfortable in the house, they are not going to buy.

 

X Agent

Dino

[speedingpenguin 19]

2 of the houses I'm trying to move right now are owner occupied and when i've shown them, the owners have been there..... 1 of them, the owner just lets us in and goes down to the basement to use her computer... the other, the family basically huddles together and move from room to room to stay out of the way of me and the buyers.... Neither one of them have been a problem at all :-) Guess it depends on who you get!

[spleano 0]

Thanks for all the feedback so far. I'm trying to change my attitude about occupied showings, but it's not easy after years in retail real estate. That being said...

the owner just lets us in and goes down to the basement to use her computer... the other, the family basically huddles together and move from room to room to stay out of the way of me and the buyers.... Neither one of them have been a problem at all :-)

You don't know that they haven't been a problem until you have an actual signed, option paid tenant/buyer. The buyer probably isn't going to come right out and tell you that they are uncomfortable. Maybe they don't even realize what's "turning them off." I've always heard the real estate saying, "Buyers are Liars." They will smile and tell you how much they like the house and that they definitely want to buy it. They will make all kinds of positive comments. If the seller is within ear-shot, they can be even more fake. All the while knowing that they don't have any intention on buying the house. But I digress, perhaps I'm remembering my agency days when there were lots of competing houses to choose from that didn't have an annoying seller smelling up the place. Buyers could be very picky because there was lots of inventory. I guess if the tenant/buyer has only 1 or 2 lease purchase houses to choose from, they have to take what they can get. Maybe I'll change my policy about uncooperative sellers. ...still trying to change my attitude.

 

 

X Agent

Dino

[MichaelC 160]

...still trying to change my attitude.

A metamorphosis takes time, Dino.

[colehaynes 0]

Dino,

 

This is pretty off topic from your original question, but you mentioned that you were an agent for many years.

 

I have friends who are interested or currently working toward becoming licensed agents. I MUCH prefer to be a private investor and it sounds like you do too.

 

Was there anything that motivated you to drop the license and start/continue(not sure) doing L/O deals?

[speedingpenguin 19]

Dino, you bring up a good point. I guess what I meant when I said that the sellers being there hasn't been a problem, is that the sellers haven't tried to butt-in with their own comments, questions, "you can put your TV here and your couch over here" nonsense, etc.

[spleano 0]

Dino,

Was there anything that motivated you to drop the license and start/continue(not sure) doing L/O deals?

I was a real estate investor before I was a licensed agent. I left retail real estate, in part, because of the reason on topic. More uncooperative sellers assisted, many times, by unprofessional/uneducated agents than I wanted to deal with. If one agent won't list an unreasonable seller's house for tens of thousands over market, it's easy for them to find another agent that gladly will. That blatant discard of any kind of professional standards or policies in agency helped fuel the real estate crash. Agents didn't have to worry about listing and selling overpriced houses with sellers sleeping on the living room floor at two in the afternoon. (A seller once said to me, "Why should I have to get up after a bender? You have a lockbox code. Use the key.") The banks were giving out mortgages to anyone that wanted one. It was easy to move a house when the buyers didn't even have to prove that they had a job or income.

 

Back on topic... As an agent, I would not list sellers that insisted on being present during showings or that wouldn't accept the fact that there dining room could not be listed as a third bedroom just because they've used it that way for the past twenty years, etc. I wondered if all of you put up with this kind of insubordination as investors. I would laugh out loud, but if a seller isn't going to take the back seat when it comes to my area of expertise; they should sell the house themselves. Am I too harsh??

 

When it comes to real estate marketing; until now I've never heard of anything like encourage the seller to be there - it can help seal the deal or don't mind the family huddled together moving from room to room, but I asked for logistics and tips so, my ears have been open.

[<Steve> 82]

Well there goes my fantasy of the good life of retiring, getting my license, moving to Florida, getting a swank condo, and selling real estate.