Turnoff a Buyer? a Seller? Do you do this? Etiquette for Buyers and Seller, and their agents

1. Are your Sellers hanging out when Buyers are viewing their home: Buyers stalk properties online and off, checking obsessively for price reductions and the like. But buyer-side home stalking is unobtrusive to sellers. On the other hand, buyers can feel personally stalked and stifled in their ability to fully explore or verbally process their impressions of a home when the seller hangs out inside your home while it’s being shown.

As soon as a buyer sees the seller in the house, it instantly becomes much more difficult for them to”
(a) envision themselves living there (it’s your house, after all),
(b) be comfortable opening up drawers, closet doors, etc., and
(c) express their thoughts about how this house might be exactly what they’re looking for, if they can knock out that wall and get rid of those cukoo murals you so lovingly painted in your children’s rooms.

Sellers: If you want to sell your home, it’s best to not be around when buyers are looking. Give them some breathing space and a chance to truly walk around and consider what they like and/or dislike about your home without lurking and looming. Try to put yourself in the buyer's shoes.

2. Are Sellers happy having Buyers seeing a messy house: Life gets hectic, and it’s easy for things like laundry, dishes and other house cleaning tasks to fall by the wayside. It’s also difficult to keep the home in which you and your 4 kids, 3 gerbils and 2 Labrador Retrievers live perfectly spotless for months at a time, while you’re waiting for an offer. But when you decide that you’re going to sell your home, it’s imperative that you make a pact and a plan with yourself and your family that the place will be in tip-top shape when buyers come knocking.

Remember: your home is competing with dozens of others, as well as with buyer’s HGTV-infused visions of what their next home should look like, so first impressions really count.

I tell my Seller's you only have opportunity to capture the Buyer, don't miss it.

Sellers: You cannot stuff in the closet, etc. it is not the answer. (Buyers will be opening that closet door, drawers, etc..) Pack up your personals like you were moving (best case: you are), and put all but the essentials in storage, if needed. Get the carpets cleaned, do the dishes, make the beds, mow the lawn, shovel the snow, dust, sweep and mop. Be honest and tell your Seller if the house is clean enough. I tell my Sellers if you want to sell your home today it must look like a showplace, especially is they want top dollar.

3. Agents are you allowing Sellers to overprice their home just to get a listing: Buyers already have lots to do before making the largest purchase of their lives. They have to wrangle their finances into order, jump hoops to qualify for a loan, collect the cash for down payment and closing costs, and invest sometimes hundreds of hours into market research and house hunting. With all of this already on their plates, the prospect of trying to negotiate down a crazily high asking price is just too much work (and too outside their comfort zones) for most buyers to deal with. The average buyer won’t even bother looking at your home if the asking price is clearly high and off base compared with other similar, nearby homes for sale; they’d rather sit tight and wait . Do your Seller a favor and don't take a listing just to have a listing.

Sellers: Price to sell from the beginning. Work with your agent to determine a price that is supported by the data on how much nearby homes have recently sold for. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and anguish and get a lot more legitimate bites from serious, qualified buyers. You will also eliminate the doubt Buyers and Buyer's Agent may have about the home appraising.

1. Buyers please stup unjustified, extreme lowball offers, pretend you are the Seller when writing an offer. It’s no secret that the buyers have the upper hand in many markets right now. But let’s be realistic, here. No seller can afford to give away their home at a price far below what it’s worth on today’s market. Lowballing a seller at a price far below the recent sales prices of similar homes in the neighborhood on the ‘let’s-take-a-stab’ plan, is highly likely to turn them off. And that, in turn, will cause the seller to view your offer - and you - as disrespectful and wasteful of their time. I give my buyers a market analysis of the area so they can make an educated decision based on facts. Don't submit an offer where you know there is question. You either want to buy a home or you don't.

Please be respectful of your agent, they only are compensated when a house closes

Buyers should ask their Buyer's agent questions of anything they don't understand and Agent's need to EDUCATE their Buyer. Ask your agent to Review the recent sale prices of similar homes in the neighborhood (aka “comps”) before you make your offer. Also, ask them to help you factor in other market data, like the average list price-to-sale price ratio and the average number of days neighborhood homes stay on the market. It’s all right to come in lower than asking, if the market data supports such an offer; just be sure your offer is based on reality.

2. Buyer-side mortgage fails: Plenty of employed buyers with decent credit and cash in the bank have been turned down for a mortgage these past few years. That means buyers can’t assume (a) that they’ll be approved for the amount of loan they need to buy the house they want, or (b) that they’ll be approved for a loan at all. Your inability to get approved for a home loan can create all sorts of problems not just for you, but also for your home’s seller. The average seller’s worst case scenario is that they accept your offer only to find out a few weeks, or months, later that you can’t get the loan you need to close the deal.

Buyers before you begin looking for a new home you need to know where you stand in the mortgage process. Are you a ready, willing, and able buyer. Some of you think you are until you sit down with a mortgage professional and find out that you are not. You set yourself up for disappointment. Your home buying experience is supposed to be a POSITIVE experience. This experience is your responsibility to manage. Make sure you get a clear understanding of the amount you qualify for, then work with your real estate agent from there to determine the price range you should house hunt in. And whatever you do - don’t buy a new car, open new credit cards or even change your line of work before your escrow closes, unless you consult closely with your mortgage professional before you make that move. Many factors cause buyers to lose the home of their dreams.

I ask Sellers to work with their agent to vet buyers before they sign a contract. Factor in their down payment and earnest money deposit, and feel free to counteroffer these items, not just the offer price. It’s not overkill to buyer’s mortgage broker to see how reliable the buyer’s pre-approval really is.

3. Buyer's do you bash the seller’s home in front of them? Not a good idea. Home bashing happens when buyers start bad-mouthing (aka “trash talking”) the place and/or the neighborhood in hopes of getting a lower asking price. Examples: pointing out all the foreclosures in the area, saying the house down the street just sold for much lower than the asking price on this house, saying you’ll need to rip out the entire kitchen before you even consider moving in - saying any of these things to a seller who happens to be at home during the showing or the inspection is probably one of the fastest ways to turn them all the way off.

Just remember Buyers bad-mouthing a house or neighborhood won’t work to get you a lower price, instead, it only irritates the seller. Remember: homes hold incredible emotional experiences for owners. Make an offer you’re comfortable with and keep the negative comments to yourself.

If there are legitimate, factual reasons underlying your decision to make an offer at a price the seller might see as a lowball, ask your agent to respectfully communicate those facts to the seller’s agent.