We are about to advertise my previous house - currently rented to a friend. We both work long and irregular hours, often 7 day weeks.
It therefore seems to make sense, for us, that the Estate Agents do any viewings however Andrew Winter, at least, always advises it is best to do the viewings yourself.
Which would / do you prefer ? To view a house with the vendor or our best buddy the Estate Agent ?
For the record, I did all the viewings myself (good practice). I always find estate agents can't sell a house they don't know about as easily.
Saying that it took 6 months to sell my house, due to it backing onto a 4 lane road. I got 2 offers on my house and eventually got an offer for 2.75% below asking price (I did drop the price by 5% previously to generate interest).
If you do the viewings, you can prep the house before hand, get the heating right, ensure the lights are on, ensure it smells ok etc and talk about the area, the neighbours, the local pub etc....'big it up' in other words
well - if you are selling around where I live you'd find it very hard to find an ea who is prepared to do all the viewings.
as a viewer myself I'd rather the ea did the viewings as then you can talk honestly to anyone you are with and take your time to peer at things without feeling you are invading someones home and privacy. In my experience those folks who need to be told about an area aren't generally serious buyers unless they are relocating some distance.
I guess overall you should get an ea who at least seems to have enough staff to cover viewings so that you can make a call after you have tried both ways.
The quickest sale I ever achieved (flat on mkt only a few hours) I was out on the razz after work and my mother conducted the viewing for me. She is available for hire at very reasonable rates....
I did think we were maybe fortunate that most of the local agents still seem happy to do viewings even though they all have lots more property for sale on their books. Perhaps the problem is maybe more the restricted hours that would then be available for anyone viewing who works "normal" hours.
Personally, for similar reasons to your own, I usually preferred looking at houses with an EA.
Although as Reverand says I am sure it certainly also helps to prep the house a little if you can.
Really quite an interesting suggestion. I think most mother's would talk up their siblings' achievements. My own mother is "retiring" soon from her day job so this might just be the very solution.
I like the ea to do it. So many people were rude last time it was quite disheartening. I can understand people not wanting to buy my flat. I'd just rather hear the feedback from the ea. The people who walked round, sniffed and muttered something disparaging made me depressed.
As a buyer, I preferred the vendor to show me the house. I found that they would slip up and mention things about the house when the EA would have known better.
I was amazed at how many vendors can't wait to tell you about their leaking roof or the council's plans for social housing on the spare land next door.
If you work irregular hours & weekends then it seems you have little choice but to ask your EA to conduct viewings. As a buyer, I would much rather view a property at a time which I find convenient, rather than wait until the vendor is available.
Just make sure that no-one from the EA conducts a viewing if they haven't been to your house before. Suggest to the EA that you will show their staff round your property as if they were a buyer, let them know key features such as how good the schools are etc that buyers are likely to ask, & they should be fine.
I'd suggest that if anyone wants to come for a second viewing, though, that you're there to meet them, as they'll probably come armed with more in-depth questions.
I like the ea to do it. So many people were rude last time it was quite disheartening. I can understand people not wanting to buy my flat. I'd just rather hear the feedback from the ea
I know what you mean - I pressurised my ea to do viewings for me when I'd reached the conclusion that 1 in 4 are no shows. some how it hurts less if you're not the one hanging around. I also figured it might stop a bullying ea 'persuading' a viewer to see my unsuitable house just for the sake of seeming to be active, if it was their time that was being wasted. I also think this is a good time for the ea to get feedback on the spot - as soon as people have decided they don;t want your house most simply don't bother to return the ea's calls asking for this.
I agree we really should try to meet anyone wanting a second viewing as logically they are likely to be more serious potential buyer.
Is it common to be able to get all the staff from the EA that might conduct viewings to actually view the house with you initially. It does sound a good idea. Do you think it is something which we should try to insist they do ?
I have noticed someone mention this before but I was grateful really that the local agents were able to do do the viewings when they already have plenty of property on their books. Perhaps the service you can expect depends to some degree on the commision you negotiate / agree with them.
I can only speak from personal experience, but me & hubby both work long hours too & are often away at weekends, so having the EA do most of the viewings was the only option for us.
Our EA was happy to do viewings & suggested to us that we show their staff round first. It was really helpful as we were able to tell them which car-parking spaces belonged to us, that the pub in the village does B&B (useful as we only have 1 bedroom), that we had the CH replaced last year etc - stuff that EAs wouldn't normally know.
We actually went for a second viewing on a property only to find that the EA had booked two of us in at the same time knowing that we were very interested in the property and would most likely put in an offer.We thought this very rude not to even told about the other people viewing.
At the moment it appears you need as much luck (and perfect timing) as anything else to get a sale through to completion - short of an absolute giveaway price.
We too have recently replaced the CH (and bathroom) and as you say it is the type of stuff that EAs wouldn't necessarilly know or think to mention but surely good selling point(s).
Good luck with your own sale - 7 months is a long time to wait
If I look around a house the house sells itself to me agent or no agent. It's the agents job to sell the viewing not the house once you are there. If you think that means I would shy away from accompanying the viewer you are wrong. I would hate to let the often over zealous vendor wreck the viewing by showing every power point and over sell it! Viewers will happily view everything available even if they think there is little chance of them liking it. Take the viewer out with you in the car and you can establish far more accurately what they are looking for and then show it to them. this makes us more efficient and prevents the seller having their time wasted with unsuitable applicants
"The greatest trick the Devil played, was convincing us all that he did not exist"
We are trying to buy a house in an area approx. six hours drive from where we live. Hubby is already down there working and is doing first viewings to narrow down the field. It is surprising how many properties he has tried to arrange a viewing for where the sellers are insisting on doing the viewings themselves (so they can demonstrate the property in its best light - which is understandable) but are at work so won't do daytime viewings or let the agent do the viewings. End result - he is viewing at 8.00 p.m. plus he's tired from work and facing a six hour drive home. (He weekends it and can really only view Mondays and Fridays anyway)Obviously he is not in the best frame of mind to view the property and little niggles about a property (i.e. decor) are becoming bigger issues than they need to be / should be as they are easily rectified. We had a neighbour do the viewings we could not and she knows the area and house as hers is identical in layout etc. Is this an option? At least with someone who lives nearby they can give a better picture of the area etc. and probably know more about your house than the ea. It worked well for us - we went away on holiday and when we came back she had sold it for just below asking price and it had been on the market for 10 months with little interest so she must have done something we were not. Plus it looks good to meet the neighbours before buying.
Originally posted by immy21: If I look around a house the house sells itself to me agent or no agent. It's the agents job to sell the viewing not the house once you are there.
I apologise for calling you a salesman in the past - you obviously work in advertising, a job considered lower than sales in most people's estimation.
I hope that your clients are aware that you are merely an advertising agency for their property and that you don't expect to actually do any selling on their behalf.
This does, however, explain the attitude of 99% of the estate agents that I dealt with a couple of years ago when I was considering moving. The younger agents pointed out to me which room was which (because I'm obviously so stupid that I can't work out that the room with the cooker in is the kitchen and the one with the loo is the bathroom ). A couple of the older agents (probably mid 30s, early 40s actually knew something about the house and the area and were able to point out things that might not have immediately occurred to me about the property such as putting the washing machine in the understairs cupboard in a house that had a tiny kitchen).
Crikey it's tough to win over some of you lot. I'm in my 30's and have only ever worked as an Estate Agent. There is this misconception that you should 'sell' a house, that comments made by you will be wholeheartably swallowed by the naive purchaser certainly that's what many of my vendors think. However it would irrate the hell out of me to have an 18 year old sales man tell me the benefits of gas central heating over economy 7, especially as he would no doubt still have his parents paying the bills anyway. Are you really saying that purchasers need the help of an agent to make a decision of the heart when buying a house. As I said we sell the viewing not the house we match needs and requirements to target properties. Before you say it. How many people go on to buy something completely different from their original requirement. An agent that shuts up and listen's to a buyers requirements will suceed not the agent you are proposing.
"The greatest trick the Devil played, was convincing us all that he did not exist"
I agree with you immy that the EA is more or less irrelevant during a viewing. They often don't know the answers to the questions a buyer has - often don't even know where the back door/garage keys are - and they are not going to 'sell' a house to me, I either want it or I don't and the EA spouting about the view/heating system isn't going to help.
However I have never had an EA sell me a viewing either. Maybe that is because I do know what I want in terms of location and type of house. In the past the EA has just given me all the property details and I then told them which ones I'd like to see. No selling involved. Of course it could be different with other buyers who need 'guidance'.
My experience of the EA's role is that they only really come into their own (if they are good) during the negotiation stage and while the sale is going through. A good EA can be invaluable in keeping a sale together in the face of difficult, recalcitrant or demanding buyers/vendors.
Back on topic, as you can see I am not bothered who shows me round a property . The vendor can be useful in giving answers to questions, but if it's the EA you can be honest in your opinions without hurting anyone's feelings. But either way, I don't like to be constantly shepherded from room to room (although I understand why they do it!).
Although Immy, IMHO often of his own making, regularly gets a hard time on here it does appear that the general view so far is that there are at least as many and probably more advantages to the EA doing the viewings - particuarly a (more mature ?) EA who gives you time to have a proper look around without constantly stating the obvious and at a time that may well be more convenient the viewer.
A decent EA has to be the best source of advertising to initially promote the property and I agree with Velvet that, in my experience, they do (or at least can) come into their own pushing a sale through to completion. Of course they do have a vested interest in ensuring they get their sales commission. Unlike, again in my experience (and it's not an unusual topic on here) solicitors who seem to live in a parallel universe constantly creating unnecessary problems and particularly delays. Frequently too is the one you are actually paying to supposedly work for you that is causing the problem(s) and misunderstandings ...
Don't you think it depends on the Estate Agent? When we were buying, I expected to be told something about the house (not just 'here's the kitchen'), and the owners seemed much better at that than the E.A.s. On the other hand, one E.A. was very good - he said straight out that it wasn't much cop as decor, but that the layout of the house was good and that the kitchen was only a year old. He genuinely seemed enthusiastic about the house. Ultimately, the garden was too small, but if it hadn't been for that I might have considered it seriously.
We have had our EAs do all our viewings because we work in another city so wouldn't be home till late (as Karen's husband has found out). Ou agents have all come round the house first when we were there and had us give them a tour. I prefer it this way as I love our house, and any sniffy comments from viewers I would take far too personally!
Offspring perhaps. 
Sibling is my other half's pet word at the mo 
). A couple of the older agents (probably mid 30s, early 40s actually knew something about the house and the area and were able to point out things that might not have immediately occurred to me about the property such as putting the washing machine in the understairs cupboard in a house that had a tiny kitchen).
