What do I need to know about viewings - from the seller perspective

[newhousequestions]

This is my first time selling a house, and the house is just about to go on the market, so hopefully some viewings in the next few weeks.

I think I’ve figured out all the obvious stuff - have the house clean and tidy etc (basically treating it as if I had house guests coming). And I’ve established that on someone’s first viewing I should show them around, but on a second viewing people might want to wonder around by themselves.

But what else do I need to do/know for viewings? Both things I should do to make it more attractive, and things I should watch out for. e.g. it occurred to me last night that I should probably put out of sight things like house keys, wallet, any jewellery etc in case there is an opportunistic thief.

Having bought and sold many times I will go against the grain and say I much prefer the owner to show me around. If I am interested I want to ask questions, a lot of agents I have experienced have little idea about the property (neighbours, schools, questions about the house itself). If I am showing people around I usually wonder around downstairs with them and then say go upstairs and have a wonder around by yourself then sit in the lounge whilst they have another walk downstairs by themselves. I have always found it works quite well.

I could get a friend to do the viewings, but I don’t have any level of anxiety about them and would be better placed to answer questions.

I have just assumed I would send DH and the kids out for the day. I can’t believe someone left their kid in bed while trying to sell a house 😂. That’s awful!

@CatNutsRoastingByAnOpenFire that sounds terrible. I’ll be on standby to distract any destructive toddlers, and will make sure anything valuable is hidden away. No locking cupboards or drawers unfortunately.

Good tip about having the loo door closed (and the seat down!). I was told to have other doors closed (but with lights on in all rooms) and to open the doors as we got to them but letting the viewer enter the room first. Something to do with (letting the house reveal itself?). Interesting to see so many saying to have all the doors open.

I wouldn’t close the doors and ‘let the house reveal itself’. It is not an advent calendar. You’ll be limiting the light through the house, and unless you’ve got Narnia behind one of those doors then I can’t see there’s that much that could be a breathtaking surprise if they’ve looked at the description and photos properly.

If you do have Narnia then please may I come and view

Good tip about having the loo door closed (and the seat down!). I was told to have other doors closed (but with lights on in all rooms) and to open the doors as we got to them but letting the viewer enter the room first. Something to do with (letting the house reveal itself?). Interesting to see so many saying to have all the doors open

I'm not convinced I agree with this (apart from having the toilet lid down, definitely do that!)

I would have thought having all the doors open will maximise the feeling of light and space as you walk in, rather than having them all shut. Buyers will have seen the photos online already I'd assume, so its not like its going to be a huge surprise. But we viewed a lot of houses during COVID restrictions where all internal doors had to be open so that nobody touched the handles...

Having the room lights on in the daytime would make me think that you are trying to compensate for the house having really poor natural light.

Best advice I got from an agent was that first impressions count. If you can only focus on one area then make sure the front door/front garden/entrance are perfect as these set the tone for the rest of the house.

Oh, and don't leave a dog alone in the house so that the prospective purchasers are greeted with a steaming pile of dog poo (happened to us once as viewers!!!)

first impressions count.
Agreed but last impressions count, too. Make sure that they depart the premises feeling positive and excited.

Stage each room so it is obvious what its purpose is. Don't have a half dining / half study; don't have a half guest-bedroom / half dumping ground; etc.

If you are going to be showing them around your house and you are going to be alone in doing so, make sure the front door remains unlocked and you always stand between them and the point of exit to every room.

I did this too.

Also, let the viewers enter the room first as you tell them what it is. I once walked in to my flat kitchen and my two buyers followed me in. It was a teeny, tiny kitchen that was only big enough for one person at a time really, so having three adults, one of whom was about 6'3" was a tad awkward!

Once they're in the room (space allowing!) you can follow behind and point out anything interesting/useful.

Once you've shown them everything, say you're happy for them to have another look round on their own, and you'll be in the kitchen (or wherever) if they've got any questions.

Also, think about a route. It might be obvious, but when I had a townhouse I prepared a mental route around so no-one was having to go up the stairs all in one go plus I'd have been huffing and puffing

Be careful if you're doing viewings on your own. If you don't like the look of someone that comes you don't have to let them in.

In the US, there are companies that 'stage' a house for a sale. There are many tricks they use ..

1. Empty all the cupboards and wardrobes of 'your' stuff. Leave one suit, one dress, one pair of shoes. No more.
2. Make everything spotlessly clean.
3. Take down any highly personal pictures (kids photos etc.) and replace with generic bland canvasses
4. Move out any King-size beds and replace with a standard double. Make the bed using sheets with hospital corners. Get rid of any duvets.
5. Take out all excess items of furniture from every room. E.g. get rid of any chests of drawers, desks, ironing boards, exercise equipment, drying racks, vacuum cleaners, mops, buckets, lawnmowers. These are your solutions to the limitations the house presents ... let viewers imagine their own solutions to whatever limitations (and opportunities) they think it has instead.
6. Empty out the garage and the shed.
7. Move you and your family into a B&B for the weekend of any viewings.
8. Make a fresh pot of filter coffee and make sure a batch of fresh cookies have just come out of the oven. If you have six viewings in a day, make six batches ...

Seems a lot of work and a sizeable investment, but when you think that the difference between the best two proceedable bids can easily be £20k/£30k on even an average home, if you are serious about maximising your sales price, this is some of the easiest money you will ever make.

We decluttered a lot. A lot of stuff went out (Olio, Freecycle, FB Matketplace and Ebay) but stuff we wanted to keep went into a storage unit. Including some furniture. Made it look a lot more spacious and less of our lifestyle and more neutral, if that makes sense?

@RidingMyBike

totally!
We did the same before photos were taken.

@Mark19735
that sounds good but not sure it really works when people are still living in the property. Am I right in thinking that with the system in the US most people do bridging, so live in the new place while the old place sells?

Regarding first impressions we even went as far as to get a new front door 😄

I think I am starting to look forward to it now!

I don’t think I’ll be doing the coffee and cookies thing. There are a lot of cooking smells that would put me off as a viewer. I might get out the nice Neom spa oils for the defuser though. Will definitely have fresh flowers in reception rooms, although we usually do anyway.

I would say try and sell the lifestyle, so there are lovely walks , clubs /schools for children, cafe, shops ,what you've enjoyed about the area . Try and sus out what might be important to the buyers . Not too much but so they imagine a life there.

The other thing - stating the obvious maybe - but buyers are also looking for clues about you - they want to know how desperate are you to sell, what is your motivation. Anything that might encourage them to make a lowball offer should be gotten rid of. Files of papers from a divorce, payment arrears reminders from a utility company, pay statements, bills, invoices for repairs, signs of cancellation of subscription services like Sky, Netflix. Even particulars about your next house. Get rid of it all ... lock it away.

Or, play the game. Maybe leave a letterheaded offer letter from a made up solicitors firm with a price you'd like to achieve on the kitchen counter ...

Or, play the game. Maybe leave a letterheaded offer letter from a made up solicitors firm with a price you'd like to achieve on the kitchen counter ...

That made me laugh! I like the idea but couldn’t be so devious.

I think we can be reasonably honest. We love the area and will probably move back a few years down the line. And we already have a fall-back offer from a developer so aren’t too desperate.

I can see that in a country where most houses have significant built-in/walk-in storage, chests of drawers could well be viewed as a form of making up for a house’s storage deficiency, but not in the UK, surely?

Other than that, I think this is pretty extreme. I know Mn loves a house-staging thread, but honestly, I don’t think there’s any need to go over the top, unless the house is going to be problematic to sell. I’ve bought and sold a good few houses as we’ve moved around a lot internationally, and I’ve never done more than a good clean, and a coat of fresh paint in areas that looked tired. I’ve certainly never ‘depersonalised’ a house I was selling, or stocked fruit bowls or rearranged rooms for anything other than the purpose I was using them for. I sold a house during Covid just by doing that, and I went for £30 k above the top end of the upper limit we’d envisaged.

And I’ve never not bought a house because it was cluttered, shabby or smelly.

The house we live in now had been a student rental, and when we saw it it was battered, stank of parties, dog and neglect, and had a jungle garden, a leaking bay window roof and a primitive kitchen. It still had lovely plain bones and light.

I don’t think buyers are really as unimaginative as ‘house stagers’ would like us to think.
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Honestly, as somebody currently going through the buying/selling process, most of the above just doesn’t matter. As long as your house is clean & tidy the rest won’t make any difference in cash terms.

Frankly no need to overthink this.

I have been viewing houses and all I really care about is:

• good location
• the house does not need structural repair & no sign of damp
• decent size that matches my need
• within my budget.

Of course the house shouldn't be dirty or cluttered to the point where you can't see things properly or walk around the rooms but beyond that I understand that if people are still living in the house it will be decorated in a way that might not be to my taste and there might be a bit of clutter. But I can sort all that out myself.

It's really hard to sell at the moment. Last Spring two neighbouring houses sold on day one for asking price.

Our larger and immaculate house is coming up to three months on the market and we've had one viewing. It's now on for less than the smaller houses that sold. Zero interest from buyers even though we are in a sought after road.

Just don't be surprised when you've spent hours decluttering and making sure everything is perfect that you don't get buyers.