There are a few important factors to keep in mind when putting your house on show.
When a property owner is serious about selling a property one of the best ways to ensure success is to put the property on show.
Show house attendees often do so in their own free time after working hours or during weekends and have generally done a lot of research on the property prices in a specific area by the time they decide to attend a show house.
Mr Billy Fick, managing director at Seeff Secunda said for this reason property owners can rest assured that the vast majority of show house attendees are serious buyers despite recent reports of people who target show houses around Johannesburg and Pretoria to steal easy-to-carry valuables once they have gained access to the home when the estate agent is not looking.
“In my eight years at Seeff we have had no incidents ourselves (although we heard about incidents in Secunda), but it is always good to remain vigilant about the security of your property while on show and our agents are thoroughly aware of the possible dangers,” said Mr Fick.
“One way to minimise the risk of theft is to award a sole mandate to only one agent.
“This person will then be the only one with a set of keys to your property and in turn security, privacy, control and viewing access is much better managed.
“Seeff agents will also provide you with feedback after every show day and suspicious behaviour will be reported immediately.”
Mr Fick also offered the following tips to property owners before they put their homes on show to better the chances of multiple offers and a quick successful transaction:
* Ensure that your property is in tip top condition.
If the property is priced correctly the only other way to make it stand out is to spruce it up so that buyers may favourably compare it to other properties they have seen.
* Check the following items: Peeling paint, roof leaks, cracked tiles, cracks in plaster, damp, leaking toilets, broken cupboard latches, leaking gutters and broken fascia boards, silicone around baths and showers, light bulbs and cracked windows.
It may not bother you that much, but it creates an unfavourable first impression and the idea that the property will need a lot of fixing.
* Uncut lawn and flower beds with weeds as well as dirty swimming pools are unattractive.
* If you want to create a homely and cosy feeling on a show day the smell of a fresh pot of coffee, the scent of flowers and background music are winners.
* Lastly it is important to leave the discussion of price, terms and other factors with clients up to the agent who is the expert.
If possible it is better for the owner not to be home during a show house in order for show house visitors to inspect the property at their leisure without feeling uncomfortable.
