I read a story the other day about a new ‘trend’ in real estate buyer behavior. It think the word ‘trend’ is probably a little over-stated . . . seems only a few buyers in rare instances are doing this, hardly a trend.
In a few instances recently, home buyers have made their offers contingent on a sleepover.
Yep, they want to spend the night before they commit to the new home. Sounds odd at first, doesn’t it? But when you think about it, maybe it’s not such a bad idea. Most people look at homes during daylight hours, occasionally in the early evening. The entire ambiance of a neighborhood can change after dark and without some mechanism for inspecting this crucial time . . . well, you might be in for a surprise.
As a Broker, I am sometimes asked about the demographics and makeup of a neighborhood. Fair Housing guidelines carefully define what I can and cannot say about a neighborhood and sometimes I get questions I just cannot answer. Thanks to the Internet, there is abundant data online about crime rates, schools, neighborhood demographics and so on. But data alone rarely gives the comfort level to some that this is the right neighborhood.
That’s why I often ask nervous home buyers to visit their prospective neighborhoods during odd times. I suggest they go to the closest super market between 4 and 7 pm (peak shopping hours). I tell them to drive by the closest schools about time classes end for the day to get a feel for kids and parents and that whole dynamic. I ask them to drive from the neighborhood to their workplace during morning commute time to get a feel for traffic. All of these activities are aimed at helping people be comfortable with their choice of neighborhood.
The lengths to which sellers will go to get a quick or a great offer is shifting as well. Today we have professional ‘Stagers,’ who – for a fee – will do everything from rearranging furniture to re-furnishing a re-sale home so that it shows like a model home. More than a few sellers have told me professional staging was the most important thing they did towards getting a great offer. Some sellers have re-worked landscaping or substantially remodeled their homes to maximize their return. In some locations, real estate companies that renovate very outdated homes prior to marketing them have sprung up.
But as a home seller, how far would you go to secure an offer? Would you permit or encourage a sleep-over? Would you offer your back yard for a cook-out or pool party? Of course, in these cases, we at Help-U-Sell Honolulu Properties would be there to advise you – and clearly, in some cases it would not be a good idea – and to secure the proper agreements and deposits.
Thankfully in today’s Oahu market, sellers are in pretty good shape. Housing is in demand and properly priced homes sell relatively quickly with few seller concessions or inconveniences. Usually all a seller has to do to have a marketable product is to price it properly and make it easy to be seen via lockbox and continuous availability. When you talk about selling your home with us, we will advise you about what might help get it sold quickly and for top dollar … and in most cases it will be things like a little paint here and there and a thinning-out of closets!