Open house viewings – for many years a popular selling technique in America – are slowly but surely making their way across the Atlantic. Sellers, eager to exhaust every possible plan of action, are increasingly turning to (or at least considering) this way of selling.
What, though, are the main upsides and downsides to open house viewings?
Below, using our experience as a leading estate agent with branches across Essex, East London and Kent, we take a closer look.
The benefits
Open-house viewings are a very useful time-saving device, for both you and your prospective buyers.
After all, only having to prepare for a day's worth of house viewings will be a lot quicker than having to prepare your house again and again for a number of different individual viewings. Rather than lots of different viewings – all at various different times and of differing lengths – an open house viewing allows you to set aside one day (probably at the weekend) to get all interested, pre-vetted buyers to your house.
Each prospective buyer will be given a pre-arranged time slot/appointment, so you won't have the issue of lots of different buyers viewing your property at the same time.
That’s the other main benefit of open house viewings; they tend to be much more convenient. The majority of buyers are likely to have hectic schedules where, for whatever reason, free time is at a premium.
It might be work, kids, leisure or other commitments, but the amount of time available to most buyers is likely to be minimal. This, of course, makes the prospect of just the one viewing (at a set time) that much more appealing.
From a seller’s point of view, arranging house viewings – at a time that suits all parties – can be a bit of a nightmare, so the idea of one day's worth of house viewings will also have plenty of appeal. You will have only to prepare your property once for one full day of viewings, rather than multiple viewings across different days.
What’s more, open house viewings can increase competition among would-be buyers – which is excellent news for you as a seller. Certain buyers, eager to secure their dream home, will not want to be outbid by rival buyers – as such, they may look to act quickly, to push through a fast house sale. This puts you in a strong negotiating position, if buyers are chomping at the bit to make offers.
The downsides
There is a fair amount of preparation needed for an open house viewing. Although you’ll only have to get your home ready and spruced up the once, organising and planning for an open house viewing is likely to be more strenuous and stressful than ones carried out on an individual, one-to-one basis.
You are also likely to have to work harder at an open house viewing – with more questions and queries being fired your way. Hosting a whole day of viewings is also likely to be exhausting.
Here are Balgores Property Group, however, we handle all the viewings for our clients to try and make the property selling process as hassle-free as possible. If you like, you can even go out for the day and leave executing the whole open house day to us.
We operate branches in a number of areas, from Gravesend and Hornchurch to Romford and Basildon. Please get in touch with us for more information and advice on selling or letting a property.
If you’re wondering how much your property could be worth in the current market, our free instant online valuation could give you a good idea.
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