Do I have to leave my home during a showing?

    The short answer is no. No one can make you leave your home for a showing. Though some real estate agents are too scared or too polite to tell sellers to leave or at least stand outside. Listing Agents and Buyers Agents would prefer that sellers are not in the home. Buyers Agents walk with the buyers throughout the home to keep an eye on them and answer any questions about the home. Some sellers don’t want to leave because they think someone is going to steal from their home. They also believe that they can answer questions about the home. Having a seller staying inside the home does not help sell the home.

    There are a few reasons why sellers should leave. One reason is buyers feel uncomfortable. They do not feel free to look and feel like they are invading the seller’s privacy or personal space. Sellers that stay inside their home make buyers less likely to buy the home because they feel they can’t open closets or look in detail at the furnace or other equipment.

    Buyers are also concentrating on keeping quiet on how they truly feel about the home and not talking out any concerns with their agent. The showing is usually a quick showing instead of a buyer taking their time and really feeling themselves in the home, not the seller. Buyers like to critique the home out loud and ask for opinions from the agent. Buyers feel like they won’t have negotiating power if the sellers see them personally and talk about the pros and cons. Sellers can also reveal something that kill any offers. Buyers judge the look of the home and the sellers. If the buyers don’t like what the sellers look like or how they talk, this can make buyers uncomfortable in buying the home.

    The home may seem crowded with the Buyer’s Agent, the buyers, sellers, along with pets. The home may seem smaller than it really is. Sellers usually have to jump from room to room if they don’t leave and if they stay in one room, such as an office, the buyer won’t even look or pay attention to that room. A clingy seller never helps sell a home. Sellers need to give buyers space.

    Buyers seem to feel rushed and not being trusted to go through their home without the seller being there. They feel more like an alleged criminal than a buyer. Hanging around your home makes buyers think sellers are desperate. Buyers also think they may be difficult to negotiate, not trustworthy, and overbearing. It can be very distracting having the seller in their home.

    I’ve been on both sides of having sellers not leaving on the buyers and listing side. When I’ve shown homes usually it’s because of the last minute and the seller has kids, pets, or is working from home. I don’t want to inconvenience any seller, especially for a 10-minute showing. I just ask the Listing Agent if they can just step out while I show. Sometimes they don’t want to leave because they don’t trust anyone to be in their home, so I just let my buyers know to act like the sellers are not there. My buyers usually keep their comments to themselves and rush through the home. I don’t think any of us look at the details because we are too concerned with the seller.

    I’ve had sellers stay inside the home during the showing and all the buyers think about what the seller looked like or what they were wearing. Or the sellers screechy voice or annoying habit the buyers see. Even taking pets out of the house is a good idea. Pets don’t treat owners the same as strangers. Their behavior can change.

    On the listing side I have had sellers not wanting to leave their homes because they didn’t trust the realtor or buyers walking through their home without them watching every move. Usually, they have lived in the home for decades and never sold a home. It’s sometimes hard to explain that Realtors are trained and are ethical with how they show homes.  One of my sellers would not leave. She sat at her kitchen table and asked questions about the potential buyers. I had told my seller not to talk to them about the home. I had told the Buyers Agents that she was older and wanted to sit at the kitchen table. They understood. It did not help to sell the home because my seller was very judgmental of what they commented on and how they looked. The seller didn’t even want to sell to some of the buyers. The buyers didn’t want to even put in an offer because the seller had turned the buyers off.

    Not only should sellers not be in the home during the showing, but they also shouldn’t be in the home during any broker tours, open houses, home inspections, or appraisals. Buyers do not want to see sellers living in their future home, they want to see themselves. It can also give off the wrong vibes if they see the seller crunching down on chips and not closing their mouth.

    Honestly, think about if the roles were reversed. If the seller was a buyer going to see some homes, do they want to see homes with the seller in it? Probably not. It’s uncomfortable and doesn’t help trying to sell the home with the seller in it. Staying at the home is probably going to hurt you more than it will help. Unless you are a superstar, I’d suggest taking a walk around the block for a few minutes during the showing.

Blog written by: Jennifer Corso - Realtor