Open for Inspections, Selling Your Home

On The Market and Open for Inspection

We decided not to have an Open for Inspection last weekend, there was too much happening and the wedding of our daughter was far more important. 

Putting aside any thought of our home and the sale of it for an important event. Do agents fully comprehend this? It gets to who they are focused on – themselves or the client.

When you are selling your home, it can be your entire focus. Plans are cancelled and life can be put on hold. All for a half-hour inspection and housework prior. This truly sounds crazy. 

I am not saying to drop an open whenever you want, far from it. If you decide that Opens are part of your selling strategy then holding regularly scheduled opens is important, stop starting may look as though your motivation to sell is not strong. 

It’s like a For Sale board. It’s telling your neighbours and passing traffic that you intend moving house. It’s a big, bold statement. Intention and motivation, two big interconnecting points of conscious action.

My thoughts are adjusting as we are on the market. Things that I thought were crucial, are not. Feeling supported and made to feel important are crucial. Not a number, not a process, your goals, your outcome should be just as vital to your choice of agent as they are to you. 

This is radical thinking that agents only pay lip service to. Generally what is important to agents is being chosen to sell the house, getting their brand out there, and selling the house to get the reward and recognition. 

The longer I advocate, to guide and to counsel clients through real estate, the more I see what is important and what is not. 

Open for Inspection

Opens are often held once a week, usually on a Saturday. The logic behind an Open is that it gives buyers the opportunity to view your home without the pressure of a private inspection. They can come and go within a short time frame or not turn up at all if another priority comes up. The logic continues that a buyer may view your home even though it is out of their intended budget or buying criteria. They may come and fall in love with your home and the Open gives them the opportunity. 

My question becomes: why just once per week? Why just on a Saturday? Agents like Opens because they meet new people, and hopefully, potential sellers. Then why not more Opens, more opportunity to meet people who can’t make a Saturday but don’t want to commit to a private appointment? It’s funny being on the other side of the fence and questioning why things follow a ‘Selling a home’ formula. 

As a home seller you are paying the agents to market and sell your home. They should continue to market your home, to be creative about it, and they should do all that they can – even if it’s outside the norm, to encourage buyers to view your home beyond the usual Saturday. 

As a home seller, your house is clean and ready so do you care if your home is Open for Inspection beyond a Saturday? Sundays can be productive, or even mid-week. As a home seller, does it matter if no one turns up? Sure, it’s disappointing but it’s giving buyers an additional opportunity to view without pressure. 

Daylight savings is about to end on April 6th and for many homes in the Dandenong Ranges, they are not seen at their best in the dark. There are few street lights (and we like that, so does the wildlife) and there is no neighbourhood or city lights to provide ambient light. It’s black as pitch unless you have an excess of garden lighting. Opens may be risky if they are too late in the afternoon (nobody wants to lose a buyer down a wombat hole) but around 4.30 pm should be fine before Winter sets in. 

Proving to your client that you are exploring all options is vital to the ongoing relationship, whether you are the agent and seller, or the advocate and seller. Prove your worth, leave no stone unturned. Action creates reaction after all.