In my previous post about buying my first home, I mentioned that Kay and I had a ‘WONDERFUL’ time viewing houses during our house hunting. Well today let me share what happened and some tips on what not to do if you are in the process of selling your house. Let’s go!
1. Dirty! Dirty! Dirty House!
On one of our viewing nights, our agent have planned 2 units for us. As both of us are working, we can only do viewing at night on weekdays. As such, we usually can only cover 2 units per night. And on this particular night, we are viewing a unit in the north area on the ground floor.
When we step into the room, we instantly knew we won’t like it. The floor was sticky and you can feel that it has not been mop in a while. Worst is, the smart me was not wearing socks at that time. Not a good night for me.
But out of courtesy, we viewed the whole house and have small talks among ourselves and asked questions. But it was one of the quickest viewing we have ever done as both of us don’t feel comfortable.
There were a few cats in the house, things all over like they were hoarding it. And basically the owners did not put in any effort to sell the place. It’s like this is how it is – like it buy it; if not then it’s ok.
Another Day, Another Unit, Same Dirty
There’s also another unit that we viewed on a separate occasion. The house was rented to a group of people who seems like they do not care about living hygiene. There were scraps of food on the table, dishes were not washed and there’s even a cobweb. Arrgh! The horror. Simply put, the tenants spend ZERO time cleaning the place and there were 4 of them. How to sell the house like that?!
2. Crowded Homes Macam Pasar Malam
Another no no when you are expecting buyers to view your place is to have many people in it. I understand that there are some big families living together under one roof. That is perfectly fine and normal. Even Kay and I currently living with our parents and there are 6 adults in total.
But if you are expecting a buyer and you really really want to sell your house, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to minimize the number of people in the house. Maybe can get your siblings to go out for an hour or two. The best would be for the house to be empty and the agent and buyer can come and view the house without anyone around. (You have to trust your agent and pass them the keys)
Why This Is Necessary?
Buyers would feel more comfortable viewing the house without prying eyes observing their reaction and they can discuss freely with each other.
The worst part about having owners and lots of people around the house when we are doing our viewing is the owners literally follow everywhere we go macam scared we are going to steal something. It became really uncomfortable for that particular viewing session that it distract us from viewing the house thoroughly.
3. You Can’t Enter The Room
My last no no tip when you are expecting potential buyers to your home is not to restrict your home. Obvious right? Apparently not based on our experience.
This happened on a Thursday night where we Malays called Malam Jumaat. (We believes Malam Jumaat is the night where HANTU come out to play!) So on this particular night, we were excited to view a unit that was walking distance to MRT. We met our agent around 8ish after our evening prayer.
When we reached the place, the lights were dimmed. No one was around (which is good in most cases) except for a lady who I presumed was the owner. In that dimmed surrounding, everything looks fine with a unique decor and artifacts. Then we saw a shrine – not those religious shrine. This was something different. Something you see from a witchcraft movie. When I first saw it, I thought “Oh cool, maybe this person collects witchcraft things” and didn’t think twice.
The kicker was when we are viewing the rooms and one of the rooms was locked, FROM THE OUTSIDE! There was a custom hinged and a lock. Before we could say anything, she quickly come towards us and said “Sorry, you are not allowed to go into the room.” We were a little stunned as this is the first time that we were restricted to view the rooms. We didn’t say much after that. Viewed the rest of the house that we were allowed to go in and leave.
Let’s Assume The Best, Shall We?
After we get back to the car, we were all discussing the weird vibe and feeling the place gives. And we were all throwing out possibilities what could be in that room that it is restricted and locked from the outside. But at the end of the day, I guess there must be a good legal reason for doing so. Oh wells…
Anyway, what’s inside the room is not why I shared this story. But more importantly, the idea of restricting your house to potential buyers is a no no if you want to sell your place. Try as much as possible to make your entire room available for viewing.
Good Practices When Expecting Potential Buyers To Your Home
Having shared 3 things you should not do, here are 5 good practices that you can easily do to help improve your chances of selling your house.
- Turn on a soothing calming music to create a relaxing ambience
- Turn on all lights. The brighter your place the better!
- Turn on the aircon an hour earlier
- Light up a scented candle if possible
- Turn off the TV
First Impression Counts When Selling Your House, Do It Right!
With that, I hope you have learn a thing or two about what to do and not to do when expecting a potential buyer to your home. It is not easy to get leads of buyers. There is a reason why the buyer wants to view your place; maybe they like the location, maybe they like the photos or maybe they like the copy in your Property Guru listing. So do not waste the opportunity to sell your home by doing any of the 3 above.
All the best if you are in the process of selling your place!
