CHAPTER 3 Not Living in Your Home our Home Makes it Easier to Sell o Sell
Some real estate professionals profess that it is 10 times easier to sell a house that the seller is not currently living in than an owner-occupied home. For instance, buyer-agent showings may be increased. It is more efficient for real estate agents’ schedules to show unoccupied homes. If they have 20 homes to show and five are occupied, they may show the vacant homes first — or only — because it’s easier. They do not have to call and make an appointment. They can arrange with the seller or the seller’s agent to go to the home and access it via the lockbox. Also, a homeowner is not interrupted at inopportune times to show the home. A seller doesn’t have to go to a neighbor’s, go to the store, or lurk about the house while buyers are looking. Furthermore, the seller isn’t under constant pressure to keep the home in immaculate showing condition and spotless. With small children, this can be almost impossible to do, even if only one parent works outside the home. Finally, the home can be “staged” for sale.
STATISTICS FOR SELLING VACANT HOMES
Statistics from a 2015 survey indicate that homes expiring from their primary listings were generally homes that were lived in by tenants or the homeowners themselves. There were 400 homes listed for sale as owner-occupied. Approximately 36% of these homes’ listings expired, versus the 29% that were unoccupied by the owner. Therefore, the statistics actually show that owner- occupied homes will take longer to sell. 9
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