Showing your Home for Sale by Owner

If you want to sell your home, you have to make it available for viewing to buyers who want to walk through it. That's the rule whether you're using an agent or selling your home on your own. However, there's a day and night difference between having an agent do the actual showing, and showing it on your own.

When you list your home for sale with a real estate agent, most likely the real estate agent will want to put a lockbox on your door. This allows the real estate agent (or other real estate agents who are co-broking the listing) to come by and show the home when you're out.

For most home sellers this seems like a terrible inconvenience. It means that you have to keep your home clean and neat virtually every minute of every day, simply because you never know when someone will come by to see your home. Of course, most sellers insist on a "call first" policy. Here, the real estate agent must call first and arrange an appointment. Presumably, if your home isn't clean, or you're busy, or you just don't feel like it, you can decline the visit.

While "Call first" is a reasonable expectation bare in mind that home buyers won't wait. If your house is not available to be seen, a home buyer will want to see others, and a real estate agent will be more then happy to oblige. Tell a potential home buyer to come back tomorrow and chances are you'll never see them again. You have to make your home available when the buyers want to see it, even when it's not convenient for you.

The same holds true if you're selling FSBO. If a prospective buyer calls, you have to be willing to show that buyer your property at the drop of a hat. Only there is more of a challenge under home for sale “by owner” circumstances. When you list with a real estate broker, the real estate agent comes by, walks the potential home buyers through, makes small talk and, if possible, gets an offer.

When you're selling FSBO, you must do that task. You must be there to welcome the buyers to your home, show it to them, ask them what they like and don't like, take their name and contact information and call them back to see if they have any questions and are interested in making an offer.

SECURITY ISSUES

In both cases there are security concerns. While most buyers are perfectly honest people, not all are. You are well advised to take ALL your valuables and secure them at another location. (Agents are trained to keep an eye on potential home buyers when they walk them through homes and as a "by owner" seller, you should do the same thing.)

There's also the matter of safety. While it's rare, a presumed home buyer actually might be a mugger or worse. Therefore, you are advised to not show your home when you're alone, particularly if you're a woman. Always try to have someone else there with you. Keep all the blinds on the windows open so people from outside can see in. And call a friend to let them know when you're showing your home and that you'll call back when you're done. It's also a good idea to get the name, phone number, and address of would-be buyers before letting them into your home.

Unfortunately, while these precautions should help, nothing can totally guarantee safety. If this is a major concern of yours, then let an agent show your house while you're out.

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