When Did You Want To See This Home?

"This is so and so, from XYZ Real Estate. I'd like to show your listing at 123 Main Street."

"Great," I answered. "When would you like to see it?"

"Today."

"Okay. Let me contact my seller, and see what I can do. What time?"

"Now."

These happened to me yesterday. And is bound to happen to just about every other listing agent, and their sellers.

Real estate is an inexact science. No way around that fact. Despite our best-laid plans to not inconvenience our sellers, we all get requests for short-notice showings. It's inevitable. Buyer's agents have to work around the (sometimes unexpected) schedules of their buyers. It's all part of the game.

The psychological struggle for a seller is to allow the home to be shown in less-than-stellar condition. Maybe the dishes are still in the sink from the night before. Maybe there is laundry on the bed.

That's alright. Better the house be seen at 80 percent than not seen at all. Right? And, in this market, who wants to risk losing a showing because the house is not pitch-perfect? Not me, and, hopefully, none of my sellers.

As challenging as it can be, the best advice for sellers is to leave the house every morning with the assumption somebody might want to view it. Pick up the best you can. If everything is not perfect, your listing agent will explain the situation to the showing agent, and, subsequently, the buyer.

My seller made the right call yesterday. She allowed the house to be shown, despite the fact she was in the midst of packing.

If you have any questions about the Beaufort, SC real estate market, or Beaufort in general, feel free to visit www.ExploreBeaufortRealEstate.com.