5 Unwritten Home Selling Etiquette Rules That Can Make or Break Your Sale By Kayleigh Roberts Apr 4 2019

Selling a house takes, well, salesmanship. In other words, you have to prep your house so it looks its best. You have to open your door to strangers who’ll traipse through your home, open closets, and ask all kinds of questions. And, you have to do all of this without getting annoyed or overly emotional!

1. Don’t take offense when your listing agent says your house ‘needs work’.

• Don’t be offended by this advice—your agent isn’t trying to criticize you as a homeowner or a human being; she’s just trying to help you achieve your shared goal of selling the house quickly and for as much profit as possible.

2. Don’t view low-ball offers as insults.

• Someone who makes a low-ball offer might be testing the waters or trying to establish room to negotiate. Or it could be a novice at home buying who doesn’t realize the offer is insulting. At least keep the door open to further negotiations.  Always counter to make sure that you can still engage buyers who are getting bad advice.

3. Do respond quickly to offers.

• It’s frustrating, from a buyer’s perspective, to have to wait on a response, so be courteous and answer as quickly as you’re able to.

4. Don’t tag along during the home inspection.

• Following along on the inspection is a bad idea for several reasons.

5. Do agree to reasonable requests for repairs.

• The buyer has a right to request repairs, or a deduction from the selling price. While you don’t want to get nickel-and-dimed with requests for every little thing, it’s also not in your best interest to reply with a flat no to reasonable requests that are turned up by the inspection, unless you listed the home “as is” or already priced it under market value to reflect significant repairs you anticipated it needing.
• You’ll now be required to disclose that issue to future potential buyers
• Don’t let a few repairs keep you from the closing table, because going back and relisting your house won’t be any better the second time around.

For more information on keeping your cool during the sales process go to bmre.us/hint17