Your REALTOR® will and should be in control of all property appointments. This is for your safety and an accurate tracking of who has shown your home. Basically, when a member of the public calls, your REALTOR® will pre qualify the client and call to set the appointment with you. When a REALTOR® from another firm calls, your REALTOR®, or a member of the office staff will call you to set the appointment with you. Here are some tips your REALTOR® should advise:
- Try to be as cooperative as you can in allowing access to your home. In a quick market, your neighbour's home may sell before yours if you choose to be too restrictive.
- All Clients will be accompanied by your REALTOR® or the client's REALTOR®. Always request a business card to verify the person your REALTOR® informed you was coming is in fact the person who shows up. No card, no entry.
- Turn on all lights in your home, even during daylight hours. This habit ensures a Buyer feels they were expected and welcome. If your REALTOR® is showing the home, he typically will arrive a few minutes beforehand to ready your home for the showing.
- Leave the drapes and blinds open. This tends to give your home an open and airy feel. Closed drapes sometimes give the impression you're trying to hide something (maybe the windows need replacing, maybe the neighbourhood is distracting).
- Please turn televisions off and radios low. Classical music really sets the right atmosphere.
- Leave the REALTOR® to their job. Quietly go off into a different area of the home, or take a walk. Buyers feel much more comfortable assessing your home without you in it.
- Don't smoke immediately before or during an appointment. If you're a smoker, heat a bit of vanilla extract in a saucepan before showing. Vanilla is a soothing scent, and it will mask any lingering smoke scents in the home. Many Buyers are adverse to smoker owned homes.
- Ensure your home is warm and inviting in the winter and as airy as possible in the summer.
- Make sure the entire family is aware when the home is being shown. That way, everyone can commit to the presentation.
