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You’ve gotten your home spruced up and you’ve listed it through For Sale For Lease. Now you have a flood of inquiries about your home and need to fit people in to view it. The easiest way to do this is to hold a day open for inspections. This allows everyone who wants to see the property to view it without the need to accommodate tours at unusual or inconvenient times. Here are five tips for holding a successful open for inspection.
GET THE BUYERS’ DETAILS
When buyers come through your house, you should get their contact details. Ideally, you should get their name, phone number and email address. You may also ask for their physical address, but many people may be reluctant to give this to a stranger. It’s essential to take this contact information to follow up with them later to see if they’re still interested or if they have any questions. If you reduce the price of the house or decide to make additional property inclusions, this is valuable information to convey, as well.
ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS
You should find out as much as possible about the potential buyers that come to the property inspection. This will help you focus on the people who are truly interested versus the ones that just want to look out of curiosity. Ask the prospective buyers if they’ve already sold their current home. If so, this is a strong indication that they’ll need a new house soon. The crucial question to ask is if they’ve got mortgage pre-approval or financing. Serious homebuyers usually complete this step before they start looking at homes. It saves time for everyone in the process if the buyer is pre-approved.
BE PREPARED
You as the seller should be fully prepared before you hold property inspections. This includes having brochures or flyers ready. The brochures should have quality colour photographs, a brief description, highlighted features of your home and all of your contact information. In most cases, you’ll already have these highlights and photos taken care of if you’ve listed your residential property with For Sale For Lease. To make the buyers comfortable, put out some sweets and drinks for them to enjoy as they walk through. Not only does this put people at ease, but if you bake the sweets yourself, your home will have a lovely smell. Make sure you provide toilet access. Keep the toilet tidy, have plenty of soap, air freshener and disposable towels for people to wipe their hands on.
TO TOUR OR NOT TO TOUR
If you’ve been through the home buying process yourself, you know how annoying a pushy agent or homeowner can be. Give the buyers some space. Ask if they’d like a tour of the home or if they’d prefer to look around themselves. You’ll find that some people prefer a tour so you can talk to them about the home while others like to be alone with their thoughts. Either way, be prepared to answer questions either during or after the tour. Anticipate questions that buyers might ask you beforehand so you’re prepared with appropriate answers.
MAKE IT SHORT, SWEET AND CONVENIENT
People shopping for a home usually look at many homes before settling on a decision. Like most people these days, their time is limited. Keep your tours short and sweet. Make sure you plan viewings and property inspections at times that are convenient for most people. If you get a special request to see the property outside of hours when you’d normally do it, you are encouraged to accommodate the person if at all possible. The next person who walks through your door could be the new homeowner, after all.
A successful open for inspections can speed up the sale or lease of your property and ensure you get the very best price possible. Make sure you put your best foot forward.
