I feel a conversation about access is important for sellers. How freely we can show a home will directly affect how likely offers will be received. Access is the most underrated element which can influence the outcome of your sale. As Realtors we often meet with home-sellers and talk about marketing their real estate. We always mention the 3 elements, when working together in harmony, often lead to a successful sale. These are price, presentation and access.
In our experience home-owners focus on the concept of presentation. Presentation is dramatized and likely the most interesting concept of selling a home. When you watch all of those real estate shows, it’s all about the look of the home, staging, photography etc. There have been many homes we’ve marketed in the past which were unsuccessful due to limited access. There are generally 3 groups who can limit access to a property. They are the real estate agents marketing the home, owners themselves or tenants living in a property.
Part of our claim to fame and wonderful track record of selling homes is making sure we create the conditions for unimpeded access to properties we market. One of the most frustrating things about real estate is trying to show buyers a home and fighting with the listing agent to setup a showing. There are many agents our there who may not be doing real estate full-time, or are simply too busy. I’m always baffled why an agent would be marketing a property if they’re not willing to show it. As Realtors our priority is to ensure buyers can view our properties. We facilitate this by providing 3D Matterport tours, photography and video. When buyers are ready to physically view our listings, we make it happen.
We provide some tips for how we deal with scheduling issues. First of all, the reason we are a real estate team is to ensure our listings can be shown, if i can’t show, Jacky can, and vice versa. If an agent is not able to book a showing, have a colleague show the property. Or provide us with keys, especially if the property is vacant, new or staged. This opportunity might not come again with the specific buyer.
Another group which often limits our ability to show listings is the owner. It’s unintentional, they just don’t know the consequences! Homeowners may have children, house guests or simply desire a comfortable arrangement for showings. Whatever the reason for wanting to reduce access, it’s going to likely affect the final price, or possibly create the conditions for a no offer situation. When we accept a contract to market real estate, our goal is to sell it. The last thing we want to do is collect listings for fame or to boast how many properties we have for sale. In our business we have an open discussion with owners why we need open access to show their home. It’s usually well received.
Tenants are another group who can disrupt marketing of real estate. It’s understandable as tenants don’t have any vested interest in having a property sell, or providing easy access. If the home sells, the tenant will likely receive a notice to vacate. Plus they’ve paid to live in the home, our showings are a disruption in their lives. We suggest to owners to provide some type of compensation to tenants, when the home goes up for sale. It can be in the form of a reduction in rent, budget for cleaning or something similar. Also, providing open communication with the tenants is important and will go a long way. Respecting tenants and their rights will in most cases create an atmosphere which allows for easier access.
Jacky and I have a lot of experience selling real estate. If you’re planning on selling your home, visit our page about working with real estate agents.
