Mistake 6: Being Present During Showings
Buyers are uncomfortable about having a seller in the house when they are touring it. They feel like they cannot look inside closets or speak openly with their agent. They become very aware that they are in someone else's house and have a harder time picturing it as their own. If it is possible, you should leave the house whenever a buyer arrives.
Concern About a Buyer's Honesty
Are you afraid that a potential buyer will take something? If you are, the first thing you need to do is store your valuables in a safe place. If you imagine that your buyer will bring a four year old with a penchant for shiny objects or if you imagine your buyer as a big, clumsy person who will knock things off tables, you will automatically put away a lot of items that could accidentally be taken or broken. While it is unlikely the buyers will take anything, it is worth putting things away to allow you the comfort of letting a buyer view your house without being followed around. It may not look as pretty without your objects displayed, but you will feel more secure in allowing your house to be shown in your absence.
Attempting to Hard Sell the House
Another reason sellers like to hang around is to sell the house. They may not think of it as hard selling, but a buyer usually sees it that way. Of course, you know the house better than anyone, but does that mean you are able to sell it? In fact, a seller's knowledge can actually hurt the sale. Giving a buyer all the details of what you did when building or remodeling makes them feel like you put your heart and soul into the property. They would not want to take your heart and soul away by buying it. Sellers have a tendency to oversell and turn off the buyers.
People can't visualize themselves in your house if it's so full of you that there isn't room for them. Start by packing up your trophies and hobbies. Pretend you're camping. Decide you will be camping without your personal stuff until your house sells. Box it up and put it in storage. Besides making your home look more spacious, you will make it easier for buyers to envision their treasures in the house.
The details of every hand-laid block in the foundation and every hand-milled piece of trim may be interesting to you, but they will usually just bore the buyer. Not every buyer thinks like you do. Solid construction may not be as important as closet space. Each buyer has her own hot buttons, and days spent showing property to this buyer has educated her agent as to where those buttons are. A few minutes with this buyer in your house is not enough to educate you. You may be selling a feature that doesn't thrill her or overlooking one that she really cares about.
