How To Sell Your House

Show Your Property

Once you have your property listed online and you have prepared your home for sale you will start receiving phone calls and scheduling appointments for home viewings. Before you schedule any appointments it is a good idea to have the following documents on hand to show any potential buyers.

Useful Documents To Have Ready

Buyers will have questions for you when they arrive to view your property, it is essential to have documented proof to back up any statements you make to them. Make sure to have the following documents available to show buyers when they visit:

• Property assessment and property tax statements
• Recent ulility bills (gas, water, hydro) - up to a year if you have them
• Invoices for any work and renovations you have performed in recent years
• Deed or title for the property
• Home inspection report (if available)
• Home appraisal report (if available)

How To Prepare For A Buyer Appointment

Prior to your potential buyer showing up to view the home it is a good idea to do some last minute staging to set the proper mood and remove any distractions that may affect the buyer's mood.

Use the following tips to help prepare your home to receive buyers:

• Open any curtains or blinds to allow in as much light as possible
• Turn off any televisions that may be present
• Remove any pictures, personal momentos or other personal items from eye sight
• Set the temperature at a comfortable level depending on the season
• Perform a quick vacuum, dust and remove any sign of pets

How To Handle Potential Buyers When They Arrive

When the buyer arrives at your home make sure to greet them warmly and with a smile. Set a positive tone with them before they have crossed the threshold to your home. Let them walk around the home alone and tell them you are available to answer any questions they may have.

At this point, keep your answers brief and undetailed. It will become obvious very quickly whether the person is interested or not in the property.

When the potential buyer is done viewing the property ask them politely if there is anything else you can help them with or provide clarification on. Try to pick up on their body language at this point. If they move quickly to the door and do not ask any questions and quickly thank you for your time then your property is not a good match for them. Do not take this personally.

If the person is inquisitive and hangs around to ask multiple questions then you know they are interested. Often they will smile and joke with you as well which is also a good sign they enjoyed what they saw.

At this stage if they have questions make sure to provide direct and full answers. Remember the person has read your online property profile, seen several pictures, called you to arrange a showing and now has seen the property. They are also aware of the asking price so if they are still talking to you at this stage you can feel comfortable that they are very interested but also knowledgeable about the property.

Honesty is the best policy since any information that contradicts what they already know about the property will destroy your credibility with them.

Follow Up With Your Potential Buyer

Your job is to take this very interested person and turn them into a buyer. After the question period has completed make sure you have their contact information (which you should have on your phone since they called to arrange a showing). If you have not heard back from the potential buyer in 3 or 4 days it is safe to give them a call and politely follow up with them to see if they have come to decision about your property.

Try to solicit comments from them if they say they are not interested in buying your property to see if there are any improvements you can make for future viewings. Remember you can also adjust your asking price to try to accomodate a sale as well. If you are selling for sale by owner or only paying half commissions to a buyer's agent you have more wiggle room to negotiate your sales price than another seller who has to accomodate a full agent commission.