Make Your Home Attractive to Realtors
Realtors, like most commissioned sales people, are motivated by the opportunity to be paid well when they do their job well and the more they do the more money they make. This is the reason that home sellers want to make their home attractive to home buyers and realtors alike. Here are some tips to entice realtors to show your home.
1. Try to have your home available to show at a moment’s notice. If you turn down a showing because you are eating dinner, they may never be back. Be flexible.
2. Allow your realtor to put your home on some type of electronic key box so it can be shown if you are gone or at work. Today’s key boxes are safer than ever and only allow access by professionals with authorization and special electronic keys that track who was in your home and when.
3. Ask your realtor to have showing appointments made through a centralized appointment service so agents can call one number and make multiple appointments. The easier it is to make the appointment the more showings you may get.
4. If you have animals, especially large dogs it is best to keep them in a kennel in the house or garage. Many buyers and realtors are scared of dogs, or are turned off by the smell or concerned if they are going to run out the door when it is opened. Too many pet instructions on a showing may keep your home from being shown.
5. Make sure that you are paying the going rate or customary commission for your area since realtors work on commission, and a ½% can make a difference between showing your home or an equal home down the street with a higher commission. Offering a bonus to the selling agent will sometimes motivate an agent to show your home, but most experienced realtors will be more focused on finding the best deal for their client than chasing a bonus.
6. List you home with a realtor. Homes that are for sale by owner are viewed by the general public as sellers that have unrealistic expectations, and in many cases the homes can only be shown when it is convenient to the seller not the buyer or realtor. If you do sell your own home, make sure you are clear if you will work with a buyer that has a realtor and will pay a commission.