WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

DH and I went to look at a property this week. The owner was there leading us throughout the entire property explaining each and every detail and update. It made me uncomfortable. I like exploring on my own and don't feel I need the homeowner to do this. We had our agent on top of that. The owner also started asking personal questions which I didn't feel was the time or place. Huge turnoff for me. I hardly got to view the property the way I wanted to.DH didn't care either way. Does/would it bother you if the homeowner did this?

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I didn't like when homeowners were home. I wasn't able to speak freely about things I liked or didn't like. Plus I didn't pay attention to the house as much bc I was distracted by the owner following me around.

Ironically, we bought a house that the owner was home for each time we went.

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A little, I felt weird opening closets, but we were home most of the time when people came to look at our house. It was annoying to have to always shlep 2 kids out of the house everytime someone wanted to look at our house.

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Back when I was looking there was only one home where the owner was always home when we looked at the house. It was an older lady and she didn't drive so I guess she didn't know where to go?? She said hi to us and stayed in the living room while the agent showed us around. That was ok but not ideal.

Personally, i think the homeowner should get in the car and at least drive around the corner until they are done showing the house. I am planning on doing this when I sell as well.

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Yes! The owner of the hose we bought was literally up our azz so annoying. I didn't open up any cabinets , I asked and felt funny about opening closets, as nice as they were it was not easy. Dh and I are very laid back, if it were anyone else they would have had issues. Even worse we did not have an agent, and their agent was just as much up our azz, 3 pushy old people following us around was not fun

Message edited 3/1/2012 12:22:51 PM.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

it made me totally uncomfortable.

I had the owners show me around
I had the owners just sit in a room while the agent showed us around

I much preferred when the owners weren't there.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

Well we are selling and most of the time I am home when people come to look. BUT, I either go right in the yard or go in basement (i have a 2 y/o so it is sometimes hard to schlep her out everytime.

I never intervene or show them anything UNLESS the buyer asks me something.

But this is an interesting topic....

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When we sold our old house, I was home with the kids when the would-be buyers came to look. I totally just stayed in the living room while they wandered around looking. I HATE when the owner doesn't let you do your thing and look how you want to. When we saw our house for the first time, the owners were here. The wife just got out of the shower and was blow drying her hair.. weird! We came back another time when they weren't here and REALLY looked around.

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I agree it's best if the sellers are not there. I always request that my sellers leave for an open house. As a listing agent, I try to make my sellers understand the value of letting the buyers view the house on their own terms, without the hovering presence of the seller. After all, the goal is to get it sold.

But for an occupied home that people are living in, most of the time they will be there for the showing. That can't be avoided -- someone needs to provide access to the home/let you in to see it. But for my clients, I always ask them to please sit in one room, out of the way, and to let the buyer's agent "show" the house. Sometimes it's good to have the seller there to answer questions (e.g., where's the oil tank? how old is the roof?), but it's best if they just let the buyers walk through with their agent and not follow them through the house. When I come into someone's home with a buyer, I usually ask "is it ok if we just walk through ourselves?" and 95% of the time, they say yes.

As an agent who works with a lot of buyers/shows a lot of homes, I also find it counterproductive when I bring a buyer into a home and either the seller, or the listing agent, takes over the showing. I recently had a homeowner go on and on about the top quality vinyl flooring he put down over the hardwood floors (effectively ruining them) in the 1980s that my young buyers would never view as a selling point. It's awkward because then my buyers, and me, have to direct our energies toward being polite and not insulting the homeowner vs. really looking at the home and figuring out whether it could work for them.

And even when the listing agent does it, it can really backfire. An agent in my office just told the story about how he was showing a house to a couple who he knew couldn't have children. And the listing agent was present for the showing and kept harping on the schools and how great they were. Obviously, she couldn't have known their situation, but that's the point. The buyer's agent -- not the homeowner or the listing agent -- know the buyers and what they are looking for. If there's a great kitchen and I am not really focusing on it too much when I am walking through with my buyers, it's probably because the buyers hate to cook and told me the kitchen is a low priority for them. So it doesn't help sell the house at all if the owner or listing agent jumps in with a 30 minute speech about how fab the kitchen is, you know?

If you go back for a re-show, definitely have your agent speak to the listing agent and see if it's possible for the seller to wait outside or at least not get involved in the showing, so that you guys have more of a chance to take it all in!

Message edited 3/1/2012 1:48:05 PM.

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Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

I hated it! I felt like I couldn't really look around because they were watching me opening up their closets, cabinets, etc. And I felt like I couldn't be honest so I wouldn't hurt their feelings.

It's also awkward when you walk into a house and the family is sitting in the living room on chairs just staring at you. Like, if you're going to be home, go about your business, don't watch me!

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Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

It definately was not ideal for the owners to show the property to us, especially if they harp on every detail. I would prefer for them to let the buyer's agent do the showing. If they just sat in one room while we looked around, I would be okay with that.

However, it would bother me and make me uncomfortable if they asked peronal questions. So what questions were they asking ? Im just wondering.

As Christine mentioned above, I think it is important for the buyer's agent to ask if it okay for the buyer's agent to walk around (thanks Christine for always doing that) so that the owners get the hint. I will say, that as a seller, not every buyer's agent will state or ask that they will just walk around. I had many buyer's agents come into my property and ask for me to show them around (which I honestly disliked because I know it would possibly make buyers uncomfortable). Did your agent ask if it was okay for the buyer's agent to walk you through?

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

When we bought our house many homeowners did this, it did not bother me that they were home. I think as long as you say hi, look around and stay out of the way its fine :)

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I never was a fan of it. I prefer not to see the homeowner, at least on the first showing, until I have made up MY mind on my own about the home.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

Posted by Maybe-baby

However, it would bother me and make me uncomfortable if they asked peronal questions. So what questions were they asking ? Im just wondering.

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The woman asked what I do for work, where my office is, where I went to school and where I grew up in the first 5 minutes before discussion began about the property. DH shrugged it off and did not care. I just felt like she was measuring us up. I dodged the questions. I was not in the mood to entertain her curiosity or nosiness at the moment during a potential business transaction.

Message edited 3/1/2012 3:46:35 PM.

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Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

duplicate post

Message edited 3/1/2012 3:52:10 PM.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

Christine is 100% right.

For me, as a potential buyer, I actually do like when the owner is there if they greet us and then hide somewhere like an office. That way we can ask questions at the end (how new is X? does Y work?) and they might mention something we might not know but I feel very uncomfortable if the sellers follow us around or hover.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

The two times we've shopped for a home, the sellers were RARELY present. The few times they were, it generally didn't bother me. The only time I was really turned off was when the seller's daughter was home with a stomach virus. We open the bedroom door (not knowing this) and there she was, laying in bed. I was grossed out after this, especially when touring the bathroom immediately after

When I was the seller, I HATED being home for showings and avoided it as best I could (this was before I had kids so it was easy to do). The times I was present, I found it incredibly awkward, like the potential buyers couldn't be honest with each other in front of me. My starter home was right by railroad tracks (like, stuff on my dresser would literally tremble when a train passed), and I had one couple actually end the tour, make some rude comments and walk right out of my house when a train passed by during a showing. Awkward and embarrassing!!!!!

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Same thing happened to us this weekend....the homeowner was so pushy I felt like I was at a car dealership!

She actually tried selling us numerous items. "Youwant this bed set? I'll sell it you for $300"

REALLY!? We asked our agent to set up another appointment without her there.

Re: WHen viewing homes does it bother you when homeowner is present.

I hated it.

We also bought a house where the owner was present.