Should I Let Someone Look At My Home Without An Appointment?

Selling a house is an anxiety-filled task for any homeowner. It’s their home on the market, and with a large proportion of their wealth tied up in the property, smooth sales are a dream come true. In simple words, for the seller, the buyer is king. A seller tries their best to make their prospective buyers as comfortable as possible, hoping for a sale.

While it is important to keep your potential customer happy, what’s the limit till which you can extend favours or curtsies? Many times, sellers face difficulties when buyers make demands that can’t be met. Sellers feel pressured into making decisions that would go against what they want, just so they can keep their customers happy.

But sometimes, it’s important to evaluate just how much you let happen in regards to the buyer’s request. While every seller’s goal is a fast and smooth sale, inconveniencing yourself is sometimes not worth it. Often, when a buyer requests something, sellers feeling conflicted and don’t know how to say no. One such instance is a request for an impromptu showing by a prospective buyer. This puts the seller in a spot. On the one hand, the buyer is showing enthusiasm and is interested enough to want to immediately see the property. On the other hand, though, the seller has to make a lot of adjustments & compromises to make such a showing happen.

While there is no right or wrong answer as to how one can deal with this situation, evaluation is necessary. Let us discuss the pros and cons of letting a prospective buyer have a spontaneous showing without a prior appointment with the realtor or owner.

PROS:

1. They sealed the deal!

Every person that walks onto your property could be the one who finally signs the agreement and helps take a property off your hands. When a prospective buyer views your house, appointment or not, your probability of sale is increasing. Statistics show that 50% of buyers, once turned down for a showing, do not return to view it again.

2. Spreading the word.

Whenever a client looks at your property, their retaining details. Letting the person see the property without prior appointment appears as a personal favour and thus increases goodwill with the client. A comfortable client trusts you more, thus increasing the chances of a sale. Not only that, even if a person doesn’t buy the property, every happy client, even if they turn you down, is a marketer. In community-based societies, word of mouth is a strong marketing tool, that can take you a long way.

CONS:

1. Security

This is one of the most important and strong reasons as to why a seller should turn down impromptu appointments, even at the stake of a sale. Through appointment, one knows whom they're getting into their house or potentially going into dealings with. While you may not know a great deal about them, basic details are shared between buyers & sellers, unless it’s an open house. By agreeing to impromptu visitations, you will be trying to make a sale at the stake of your safety. If you feel uncomfortable, refuse.

2. Privacy

In spite of what buyers may believe, sellers do not sit by the door, waiting for potential clients to knock, so that they can go about trying to sell their property. Sellers lead a normal daily life just like everyone else. This means that a random visit interrupts their schedule, and largely invades their privacy. Often one feels conflicted as to whether to go about their daily routine or make way for a potential customer, even if it is an inconvenience.

During such visits, sellers often don’t even get the time to put away personal belongings

Or valuables, which they would otherwise do.

3. Missing in Action!

Most sellers have real estate agents who help them to put a property out on the market. These agents help attract potential buyers to help seal the deal. Generally, showings are scheduled by both the real estate agent & the seller personally, but sellers prefer to have the agent present, no matter where the client has been acquired. Agents help in describing the amenities in the property, the attractions of the neighbourhood and handle negotiations with buyers, if necessary.

It is often preferred by prospective buyers that the seller isn’t around while they are viewing the house. Seller’s bias to their own property restricts the buyer to express their concerns about the place. In such situations, the real estate agent steps in, the seller make themselves scarce and the buyer can happily have her/his viewing.

The problem with agreeing to the request is that, if a seller agrees to show a property without an appointment, they may not have the time to call their agent and even if they do, their agent may not be free to come help with the deal.

4. Make one decision, stick to it.

As a seller, all prospective buyers are equal for you. Conducting impromptu showings defies the purpose of scheduling appointments in the first place. By allowing this, a seller will make a reputation for themselves and this may lead to people believing every day is like an open house day.

5. Zero set up time.

Generally, before showing a property to a prospective customer, one does many tasks, such as, cleaning the house, maintaining an ideal temperature in the room, keeping flyers handy for them to take home, lightly decorating the property, creating a warm ambience etc. An impromptu showing robs you of the opportunity to prepare and impress. Also, one does not get the time to keep documentation in place, in case the client wants to see any.

While it’s clear that the cons in the situation outweigh the pros of the situation, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the answer to the question is that simple. The points above indicate that while letting someone in may lead to a potential sale, it’s after keeping a lot of things at stake that it will have been done.

It’s up to you as to what you finally decide to do, but here are some things to consider that might help you out.

Is your safety & privacy more important than a sale? Are you comfortable making deals without your agent being around? Are you comfortable allowing an unknown person into your house to see the property? Is it a personal favour? Is it unfair to other prospective clients who have come and gone on the basis of appointment?

Once you answer these questions, you will automatically get your answers. Don’t be scared about offending a potential buyer by refusing the request, it’s your home, your comfort matters most. If you feel comfortable doing a showing without an appointment, then go ahead. But do not agree into situation due to stress or anxiety of the property not selling.

Evaluate all the pros and cons. Do what you think is best for you.

Make a wise and informed decision.