Congratulations, your home is now on the market and all the hard work you’ve put in thus far should start paying off soon! So far you’ve done a lot of prep work to get your home market ready. Now it’s my job to bring you an offer.
Generally, it takes 36 – 72 hours before I get the first showing request. As soon as a request comes in, I will let you know via text, email or phone depending on your preference. Usually I ask the buyer’s Realtor to give us 24 hours notice for showings, but it’s not unusual to get showing requests in the AM for that afternoon or evening so when you leave each day, plan to have showings even if we don’t have one on the calendar. If that is an issue due to pets at home, kids, etc. let us know and we can require 24 hours notice.
Once a showing request comes in, you can approve it, deny it, or ask for a different day/time. Remember, the quicker I can get buyers into your place and the fewer showings I have to deny or reschedule, the quicker I can get your place under contract. My mantra is that the buyer shouldn’t have to work around our schedule, which is why it is preferred to put a lockbox on every property I sell. I want to get buyers in as quickly as possible and, in order to do that, we need to work around their schedule.
Typically, showings last 15-30 minutes. You’ll need to be out 15 minutes before the appointed showing time in case the buyer and his/her Realtor are early so plan to be out of the home for 45 minutes for each showing request. For example, if a showing is scheduled for 5pm, please be out by 4:45pm and don’t come home until after 5:30pm.
As soon as a showing is finished, the buyer’s Realtor will immediately get an email asking for feedback and if their client is interested in the home. Unfortunately, only about 30% of Realtors take the time to give feedback. Don’t be surprised when we don’t get feedback and don’t be offended by feedback. We’re looking for that ONE buyer who loves your home. For some your home won’t be the right fit for various reasons, but we only need to find one.
Questions? Call me at 202.821.5145 or email [email protected]