Conducting Property Viewings

Should I show the house myself or let an estate agent do it?

You may know your house well, but the estate agent knows how to sell your house, provided you show them what all the good bits are before they start showing the property at all. They are going to feel much less inhibited, and the buyer is going to be much less inhibited, so I would let the estate agent do it.

Should I be at home when the agent is showing someone round the house?

I'm a great believer that buyers feel incredibly inhibited if the seller is in the property. They don't really know how to ask questions that they may think appear impolite to the owner of the property, and therefore it's a very good idea for the buyer to not see the seller there at all. So, if you're a seller, clear off when the property's being shown.

How many times should I let people come back for extra viewings?

My experience is that after two or three viewings is more than enough, as long as the people who are actually investing in the property have seen it. I think it's a bad idea when buyers start asking to bring friends and family around. They like to have an impact on your decision. If you like the place, the chances are they are going to say the opposite just to try and have an impact on your indecision to buy the place. So I would attempt, if you can, try and stop people from bringing their friends around to have a look.

Is it okay to have pets in the house when there is a viewing?

There are degrees to which having a pet is difficult. If they're big and smelly and making a lot of noise and running around I would advise them to be out of the property. If they're small and innocuous and they're not getting in the way I don't think there's any problem at all.

What is an open house viewing and should I have one?

An open house viewing is sort of Australian or American - that's where it tends to happen principally - but it's a viewing period where you throw the doors open at your house. People are allowed to come in, say between ten and twelve on a Saturday morning, and there will be two or three of the estate agents to conduct viewings around. My experience with these is not very postive here. They're not a standard method of selling in England or Wales. And I think there is also a security aspect with people coming into the house, and it's going to be difficult to keep control of them if you have ten people in the house and real estate agents. How do you know where everybody is? My personally view is that's not a teribbly good thing.

What should I do if someone wants to view the house after seeing the board outside?

If someone knocks on your door because they've seen the board, you have no idea who they are, they could be anybody. I think there's a big security aspect here which you need to be careful of. Not only that, you have no idea whether they're really well qualified to look at your house. Do they have the money? Have they sold their property? Therefore, there's every reason for you to contact your estate agent, and ask this person to go and see them first before they come and see your property.