Do I need to dress up for house viewings I lead?

Ok it was 20 years ago that I sold out of a London suburb, tube and mainline station so high demand, but I did one day open house and sold it that day

We both worked, we had a dog, no way was I hiding the ironing and washing floors at short notice, so it was advertised for a month, doors opened at 11am, last viewing at 3pm - all done and dusted. I think we had 25- 30 turn up

House and garden spotless. The coffee pot on - and coffee offered. The EA's blurb handouts. My own - times to walk to either station, what busses went by, how long to the nearest big shopping centres, local shops, gps, library , schools etc . Also had to hand a folder of the warranties of the white goods, double glazing etc

Those that only came for a nosey - in and out in 15 mins - no questions asked, those that were really interested stayed a while, asked about community feel etc

However the buyer was the one that did stay a good while, but didnt stop to chat , just really examined everywhere and took interest in the info pack I had made
( we did notice his car do a drive by over the same weekend at different times )

IIRC we had 6 offers put in . We needed to work to our timetable and we were moving to a different country and took the offer that wasnt on a chain and could work with us

I'm smiling at your title, I have a vision of you like a tour guide with a flag leading the groups around your house with appropriate commentary. Do you supply the headsets?

On your left we have the deceptively spacious under stair cupboard .... 😁

Damn, and in every way the idea was brilliant!

Right - and what if they don’t sell it!

I actually think in selling a home, you’re also selling a lifestyle so I would argue that you don’t need to dress up but you need to dress carefully.
We have a nice home and if it went on the market I’m well aware that prospective buyers would give me the once over of I was around whilst looking at the house.

I'm not and I haven't worn makeup since first lockdown. (Do dry my hair tho). People don't scream and run away when they see me so not seeing where the 'must' comes into it.

Are you UK ? You absolutely do NOT pay for the agent to show people round. They will earn £££ for selling your property.

Absolutely. What else are you paying them thousands of pounds for ?

Starting to think the OP has been scammed!

As long as any clothes aren't too smelly, dirty or tatty I wouldn't worry.

We much prefer being shown around my vendors rather than estate agents. The vendors usually know where things are, can answer questions without making up an answer/ saying they will have to call the vendor.

i did a few of the viewings when I was selling my house at the end of last year and the agent was late, and it didn’t cross my mind to consider what I was wearing or whether my hair was wet! I obviously made sure the house was clean and tidy before every viewing, but didn't do anything extra in terms of getting myself ready - I put clean and ironed clothes on every morning after a shower, brush my hair, and use deodorant and perfume anyway, so why would I do any more if Im showing someone round the house? Im almost always barefoot in the house anyway, always leave my hair to dry naturally, and only wear a very minimal amount of makeup if I’m going out.

In terms of viewings, when we were looking at houses earlier this year, I much preferred being shown round houses by the owners rather than estate agents.

I would diet strenuously for 6 months before putting the house on the market, so that the rooms looked more spacious by comparison with me.

Maybe allow a second viewing with the agent for anyone interested so the potential buyers can have a proper look round. I nearly didn't buy our house because we never got to see it without the seller there - I just never felt I could get a really proper look. By the time of a second viewing you will only have people who are really interested so there won't be that many to pay for.

I've never been shown round by the owner, always by the agent. I can't imagine judging the property on the owner tbh

We bought a probate property and the sale was being handled by the very strange son. On the final viewing before exchange the house was mostly empty with just a camping chair and a baseball bat in the living room. The son explained he was guarding the house because it was not on the land registry and if he left someone could break in and claim the property. Probate meant the sale took 6 months to complete, god knows how long he spent sat in that chair 😮. There was maidens full of washing etc so I do think he was staying there. I was slightly concerned he would claim squatters rights after the sale 😅

Anyway long story short I still bought the house.

I agree.

Oh, one last thing. Has your estate agent given you one of those print outs of a brochure of your place to give to buyers?

When we moved, we were using an online agent, the forerunner to Purple bricks. (I forget their name now, but if you go back about 14 years you'll find everyone on here recommending them!)

They didn't give you anything like that, although they did take professional pics for Right Move.

I realised that when I had looked at properties myself, before, having the details of the places I'd seen on paper definitely helped me remember them after I'd seen a few, and I worried that without one, our place would be at a disadvantage.

So, we printed out own version using the pictures they'd done, the blurb from the website and added some brief info about the area e.g. local schools, cafes, parks and public transport links.

Good luck! I enjoyed doing the viewings myself and will do it again next time..

I'll probably avoid purple bricks but I understand some local agents may be open to lowering their (extortionate!) fees if you the viewings yourself.

Another thing, in case it helps... We were aware that some people find it awkward to look round a prooperty with the owner there, so we came up with this solution.

For each potential buyer, we told them up front that we were going to to give them a quick tour of the place, then go make tea/coffee and let them have another look round on their own if they wanted.

All of them took us up on this. And when we left then to go round again, we said we were going to put the kettle on and ask if they would like a tea/coffee when they finished All except one said yes to a drink, which gave them a chance to ask more questions. The couple who ended up buying the place asked us lots of questions about the local area.

It also helped that we'd spoken to each other and had contact numbers, so when our conveyancer was being really slow about getting some info needed for the sale, we were able to communicate with each other directly and get things moving again. (My tip on conveyancers is that a cheap conveyancer can be a false economy! I realised too late the value of having a local, recommended solicitor / conveyancer. Our online conveyancer was rubbish and caused all sorts of issues).

Obviously it's a risk to let strangers loose on your house in case they have kleptomaniac tendancies and also to let the potential buyers have your number, as they might turn out to be a pain!

But we thought it a risk worth taking (maybe hide your valuables just in case!) and it worked really well for us.

The owner has almost always done the viewings for the houses I've looked at and I did the viewings for the one I sold.

Perhaps it's not as common as some people think for the estate agent to do the viewings, could it only apply if you're selling a more expensive property, so the EA is already getting more money out of you? If they're getting 1.5% of £105k like when I sold my first house, it doesn't cover much 'service' and I wasn't made aware that them doing the viewings was an option and if I was I'd have probably had declined because I was really short of money at the time.

Are you with one of those online estate agents, like purple bricks? If not, why on earth are you doing your own viewings?

I looked at so many houses when we were buying and the only time I noticed what the vendor was wearing was when they answered the door in pyjamas! I did judge that a bit, but so long as you're wearing normal daytime clothes (however casual) and don't smell I wouldn't care.

Why are you being charged per hour?! That’s not normal practice for an agent

We have moved house many times and my advice is simple. If you are selling via an estate agent let them show the prospective buyers around, that is what you are paying them for. It has worked for us. Now on house number 12 and not moving again at our time of life.
Make sure you house is tidy and free of smells that might put a buyer off.

Says who? I never wear make up and often go out with wet hair. I’m extremely attractive though so maybe its ok 😉