(November 27, 2023)
You have decided to sell your home and hired a real estate agent to help you with the process. Your agent wants to know how much access you will give potential buyers who want to see your home.
Four factors affect the quality of a listing. Access is the most important, followed by the condition, financing, and home price. You can select different access levels for agents who want to show your home to buyers. Here are five options for access levels that you can offer, along with a short explanation of each:
- A Lockbox on the door allows buyers to visit your home as soon as it is on the market or whenever they want.
- Providing the key to the home means that the buyer’s agent may have to go to an office to get the key, which may cause a slight delay in showing the home.
- Open Access with a Phone Call – the seller agrees to let buyers see the home with a phone call ahead of time.
- By Appointment Only (example: 48-Hour Notice) – This is not ideal for many buyers from out of town/state or who are relocating and only have the weekend to look at homes. They may not have enough time to schedule an appointment or wait too long to see the house.
- Limiting access (for example, the home is only available twice a week for only a few hours each day) – This is the most challenging way to show your home to interested buyers. In today’s competitive market, access can make a big difference in getting the price you want or even selling your home.
Access is a crucial factor in today’s competitive market, as it can determine whether you can sell your house or get the price you want.
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