Timing is everything

When you get a call from your estate agent to book in a viewing, are you ultra accommodating, eager to please? Do you change your plans in order to make sure that your viewers can view your home when they want to?

Let me ask you another question – when is the best time to view your house? There are usually several factors to consider, including traffic flow, and I suggest you need to decide in advance which are the very best times for someone to see your house at its best, and arrange your viewings accordingly. Here are some of the times to avoid wherever possible:

School times – if you live anywhere near a school and parents have a tendency to park near your house when collecting and dropping off.

Commuting hours – it’s not easy to compete with the noise of the traffic when you’re in your garden telling your viewers how quiet the area usually is.

Bin days – no street looks nice with a row of wheelie bins waiting for the bin men.

Crowd noise – if you have a football ground or other event venue nearby, keep an eye on the schedule and avoid any large and potentially noisy events.

As well as these times to avoid, think about when your home actually looks its best; when the light streams through the kitchen window for example. Lots of buyers are keen to make sure the garden is well lit at key times of the day, so show yours off and arrange the viewings accordingly.

A keen buyer won’t be put off by restricting the times they can view, and I’ve heard many stories of buyers viewing properties at simply the wrong time of day. By helping your viewers to fall in love with your home before they see it at a more compromised time, they will themselves overcome these objections, without it becoming the deal breaker it can be.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.