Wasting Time on Unqualified Buyers
It is a wasted effort to show your home to someone who cannot buy it. An example is a seller who spent two weeks preparing his home for an acquaintance who wanted to buy his home. The seller spent $1,000 removing an old shed and met with the prospect several times to discuss price and terms. It was well into the process when the seller found out the prospect could not qualify for a loan. Real estate agents spend considerable effort weeding out showing to non-qualified and unqualified home shoppers. I always ask that any offer MUST be accompanied by the buyer's lender pre-approval. You also must understand the difference between a pre-approval and a pre-qualification. ("pre-qualifications" are not worth the paper they are written on). However, unfortunately, many lenders issue what they call a "Pre-Approval Letter" that is just a glorified pre-qualification. Being that I was in the industry I can easily determine what is being handed to me to ensure we don't accept an offer from an unqualified buyer.
“Hovering”
Whenever possible, don’t be home during a showing. This is difficult, impossible, or impractical if you are selling the home yourself. If you have a real estate agent, leave when the house is shown. Lurking sellers make buyers nervous. Buyers may feel they are intruding and then rush through. They may be hesitant to talk about changes to the home or features they don’t like. Buyers will feel uncomfortable closely inspecting the house in the presence of the owners. It’s easier for buyers to visualize the home being theirs when they have a chance to critique and discuss the home among themselves. If you must be home, try to stay out of the way and answer questions only if asked.
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