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What Sellers Should NEVER Say to Buyers
The door bell rings, you grasp the knob, and throw one last glance around. As
your daughter quickly puts the vacuum cleaner away, you open the door with a big
smile. There stands an agent and prospective buyers.
"Hi! ... How are you?... Come In," you say.
Those are probably the last three unsolicited comments that should pass your lips
for the remainder of the visit. The real estate field is littered with stories
of potential sales that were killed by sellers who inadvertently uttered the wrong
thing.
Before continuing, you should understand that the types of 'better left unsaid'
things discussed here have nothing to do with the Seller's Disclosure Addendum,
or hiding anything from a potential buyer. To the contrary, all of the suggested
"DON'T SAY IT!" topics presented here are based on personal preferences.
Being human, sellers often find it difficult, if not impossible, to keep from
offering opinions or information that they think makes them appear credible to
the buyer. Without knowing the life experiences and inclinations of each buyer
you see, how can you keep from opening your mouth and inserting your foot?
Please don't talk about:
- How many kids are or are not in the area. Even if the buyer has children, you
have no way of knowing whether or not they want gangs of them banging down their door on
Halloween.
- The huge stone birdbath in the backyard that is visited by HUNDREDS of birds each
year. How could you know the wife is deathly afraid of birds?
- How great your church is. They might be of different faith.
- How quiet the neighborhood is. They may want a more social atmosphere, and look
forward to making new friends.
- The "newness" of items in the home. "New" is most definitely
a relative term! What you consider "new" may be old to others. For example, an
item that is 2 years old may be "new" to someone who has lived in the house for
15 years, but may be old to a buyer who thinks of new as anything in place for less than
less 6 months.
- Information on existing warranties. They may expire before the new owners close
on the house, or they may not be non-transferable.
- How many "showings" you've had. Buyers could interpret this as,
"No one else wanted the home, why do I?" or "I wonder what's wrong with
this house?"
Please don't OFFER the following statements as the reason you are selling:
- The death of a family member. Some people have a phobia about moving into a home
where someone died.
- How you've outgrown the house. If buyers have the same number in their family,
they may have second thoughts about their need for a home the size of yours.
- How the home is too small for you. The buyer might feel that your home is
"plenty big" until you tell them how small it is for you. Your comment may give
them the push to look for more expensive (bigger) homes.
- Your recent divorce. Potential buyers may be having marital problems. This could
easily turn them off.
- That you have already bought another home. If a buyer knows there is urgency,
this can be used against you in negotiating.
If you get the distinct impression that everything you say to a potential buyer
could get you into trouble down the road, then you have correctly interpreted
this article. Since you are under contract with a real estate agency, the best
course is to make yourself scarce after the greeting. In fact, a good course of
action might be to say: "Please take your time viewing my home. And if I
do not see you before you leave, thank you for coming. You'll have to excuse me,
but (important phone call, helping kids with project, deadline at work, etc.)"
This frees you from a potential "foot-in-mouth" encounter later and
does not make you appear to be avoiding the buyers questions. |
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