Showing your house to viewers

[TweaksDadsHat]

Our house is newly on the market and we have our first viewers booked in for the weekend.

Any tips on what I should do and what I should avoid when showing people around? From the perspective of viewers - what you liked and what bored you/made you feel uncomfortable? Or from the perspective of owners - did you have any really positive viewings or any major cringe or disaster stories?

Don't point out all the bits you never got round to doing etc. Speak about the area if they aren't local and give them space to view on their own/chat so they can be more open and honest if it's more than one person.

Obviously be welcoming .
To make the rooms look bigger let them walk into the room first, you stand in the doorway.
If you've had work done in past few years, let them know. ie. New boiler , re wire , etc.
Ask them if they want to look around again by themselves.
Be positive about any plus points of the area. The shop around the corner is handy, the pub serves great food etc.

Oh and if you have an agent involved don't talk money! Tell them to speak to the agent.

clean tidy declutter but not to the extent it looks souless, have information about utilities etc handy in case they ask, let them wander on thier own, the last time i was selling a house i encouraged them to start upstairs and work thier way down as the downstairs rooms are where they will be visaging cooking relaxing etc more than the bedrooms and bathroom

Following on from @victoriabun it's also a safety thing. You being last in the room and near the door means a quick get away (not that this happens often at all , but it's worth keeping in mind. These are complete strangers after all)

It's best by far if an agent shows them round.

If you really must conduct the tour, make sure you have a little leaflet with all relevant info printed out to give them for reference.

Leave lights and lamps on.

If you have 2 entrances, decide which one you want the viewers to enter by.
We had one person arrive unseen at our back door and had to call them round to the front door, as it wasn't in "the route"
The first impression they have of inside the house is very important.
Decide on your route through the house and stick to it - upstairs first or downstairs?
Will you save the biggest / best room until last? Or show it first?
Close all doors before you start and open them to show the room, stand in the doorway as others have said.
Close each door after viewing the room and move on to the next one.
Let viewers look round on their own after you've shown them round.

Thank you all! I may get the agent to do any further viewings but I'm doing these to start as I can be more flexible! Wish it would just be the weekend already so I can start to clean and prepare.

So i should show them around, allowing them to enter room first and walk upstairs ahead of me, then leave them to re wander around themselves? Where will I put myself whilst they do?

You are paying your EA a significant sum, make them earn their money!

I did one and I found it really hard not to point out all the things that I didn't like / that bothered me about the house. So bite your tongue and don't do that!

I would say it's best to let an agent show them round of possible. I was shown round a house by the owner. I knew straight away it wasn't for me but felt obliged to play along because I didn't want to say "I don't like your house".

We saw one house which we loved, the second viewing was done by the vendor and put us right off - partly because she kept labouring the point about needing to achieve a certain price as she had overpaid for her onward purchase and needed to minimise her loss! I'm not sure why she felt we should compensate her by overpaying for her current property

She also talked about how she planned on removing upstairs windows to get her furniture out when she moved, and frankly we didn't want to run the risk of having issues once the house was ours so we just opted out

So think through what you wouldn't want to hear, as much as what you would ....

We viewed a house where the vendor said her daughters were upstairs. We kept expecting to go around a corner and see them but they weren't there. It was a nice house but we kept looking at each other like, where are they? So, I would make sure you know for sure who is in the house and who has gone out

Lol @francienolan like a horror movie, you know someone is going to pop out but not from where or when! I'll maybe try that if they're cheeky! Perhaps she was worried that you were going to rob her!

We’ve done lots of viewing of our house (it’s cheaper if we show) it’s been a bit exhausting as we have had 16 viewings in the last month, one day 3 in a row.
We’ve got quite a large rambling house and it was good to tell them what work has been done on the house, told them all the positives of the area, local shops, transport, schools etc.
We had a route around the house, they followed us, but as others said we let them go into rooms whilst staying at the door, also said to look around on their own if they wanted afterwards.
Never discussed money, although did mention our onward plans (we are moving abroad).
House was kept very clean and tidy, smelling nice, smelly candles lit in main rooms and some lamps on for atmosphere.
We’ve done a lot of work on the house so I think it’s helped that we’ve been there to answer questions, but I must admit it’s not a process I enjoy, my husband is much better at it than me!
Good luck with your viewings OP.

Show them round and then give them time to look around on their own.

Make the house smell nice. I used to boil some frozen berries 😊

Our last house was a town house. When I did showings I would start downstairs, then up and up to the top floor. I would then leave them there to come down in their own time and look again at anything. I waited in the kitchen and used to offer a cuppa and to answer any questions.

be friendly but don't talk too much / give too much detail as this makes so,e viewers impatient and wanting to 'get away'! they will always ask if they have questions.

We were shown round a house by the agent last week who said although the property was technically empty, the vendor was letting a friend stay there for security and she was upstairs. We got to the master bedroom to find all the lights off and her in bed at which point she grunted rolled over and put the duvet over her head.

So basically, don't do that and you should be fine 😂

Omg showmethegin 😂

If I was to buy again I would prefer an agent to take me around for sure

Don’t try hiding little stuff - just fix it - the last owners managed to slyly hide a lot which has caused us some bother. Yet they thought painting a room which was photographed as pink and now grey, would help sell the house better. Priorities....

Dont try and fill in silences with endless chatter. Let them absorb each room fully before distracting them! I always invited potential buyers to wander round on their own whilst I waited downstairs (listening with ears like a hawk to work out if they were spending toolong in a room or opening doors!!)

Definitely let the agent do it - that is what you are paying them for.

I find it really difficult viewing with the owner,