You want to step out of the house while your house is being showed. This lets the viewers be more comfortable to talk among themselves about what they are seeing. Often a realtor can change a negative they see into an easy positive, but if a homeowner is in the background the viewer will feel less comfortable commenting. When selling my last house I use to take the kids to the park for an hour, or just go hang at a neighbors until I saw the cars leave.

Don't even be outside. Just leave the house altogether.

Leave! BEFORE THEY GET THERE! The object is to make a potential buyer feel like this is "their house", you want them to feel like they can see themselves living there. You want them to feel comfortable! If the homeowner is home, you take all that away from them.

No, there is no reason to leave your house when a buyer is present. Don't follow them and the agent around. Let them go about their business and you go about yours. If I was out when there was an appointment to see our houses,then yes I would be gone. You can stay in the kitchen or go outside and do some gardening. But to leave just because someone is looking at the house, ah no. They are suppose to be adults. Hopefully they will conduct themselves in that manner. NancyLouise

I have sold/bought several properties and looked at numerous places in the process, and in not a single case was the seller around when the prospective buyer toured the property.

As buyer, it would b awkward for me to open closets etc with seller there but I need to ck storage so I would consider it a minus to have seller around.

Also once I saw on HGTV where lil ole lady selling house fell compelled to share stories that were precious to her but of no significance to prospect. She finally had to let realtor handle all

As buyer, I would be crushed if somebody criticized my paint colors here/ there, so better to be gone and spare myself the heartache, lol

This is one of the things that is a problem for FSBOs. A buyer is going to be much more comfortable opening closet doors and the kitchen cabinets without the owner on the premises. The buyer will definitely stay in the house longer if the owners are not in it.

Nancy Louise -- The kitchen is generally considered to be the MOST important room in the home that the buyer wants to see. If the seller is hanging out there, they may as well kiss an offer good-bye from that buyer.

Sellers should absolutely leave the house completely -- don't hang out on the deck or in the garden. VAMOOSE! If the seller stays, whatever room they're in will NOT get toured at all (or not thoroughly) by the buyer. And, the buyer will resent not getting to fully examine the home.

Based on experience, I won't tour a house where the seller stays. It's just a waste of my time.

This post was edited by Jewel654 on Thu, Sep 11, 14 at 12:31

At only one showing when we were looking many years ago, the family was home. We worked, and it was an evening showing. The owners had small children and I can see where it may have been inconvenient to their schedule to leave with the kids. The entire family was in the family room, had no interaction with them other than a smile and quick wave.

We didn't buy the house, but for reasons other than that the family was present when we viewed it.

We were shown another home that week where no one was home, but the house looked like someone had rushed out after oversleeping and late for the office. Breakfast remnants still present in the kitchen, makeup scattered all around the bathroom, towels on the floor. I felt more like I was intruding, stepping into someone's private space there than I did in the home with the owners present ;)

In the early/mid 60s, as a teenager I went house-hunting with my mother during two moves: in the San Francisco suburbs and in SW Connecticut.

Unless the owners had already moved out, a family member was usually in the house, though they left the tour to the prospective buyer and the realtor. Admittedly, that was the day of (mostly) stay-at-home moms ... but it didn't seem to be a problem.

I know it's different now (and when I toured apartments or houses on my own, I preferred the owner/renter not to be present). But once it wasn't seen as a problem.

On the other hand, I had an experience several years ago at a house where the owner wasn't home but had left detailed and eye-rolling instructions for visiting realtors. We felt that woman's presence every minute, despite her physical absence from the house! Once I saw the yard, I had no interest in buying, so I can't say that her personality affected my decision, but it might have for some folks. [Yes, there is red clay in this area, but I had worn sandals that day and didn't feel at ease walking barefoot through her house. And the preschool kids' toys scattered on the stairs down to the back exit weren't exactly welcoming either.]

I have never looked at a home for sale when the owner was present, and I wouldn't want to. It would make me very uncomfortable and I'd find it distracting.

We had 22 showings in 26 days. I had 4 small children and my DH was out of state at his new job. We left the house every single time. During the home inspection the inspector asked for me to stay in case of questions, I said no. It might have put the buyers into an awkward spot. Just leave.

When we sold our last home, I took the dogs and left before realtors showed up. The one time I didn't was when we were having a family party. We had about 12 people sitting down to a festive birthday meal, raucous and loud.
Other than casually waving at the prospective buyer and her realtor, we didn't bother to move. We figured for this one showing we weren't going to inconvenience our entire family.

You can guess what happened - the buyer made an offer which we accepted. The wife later became best friends with my sister in law, who was one of the people at the table, and told my SIL that we were almost like a staging prop, making the house seem happy.

But that's so unusual, I sure wouldn't recommend it. Now that we're looking at homes again, I feel I'm intruding in those instances when the seller is in the house.

Just sold my house. My understanding was that it was a necessity for me to leave the house when a showing was scheduled. What did I do? Sometimes ran errands, sometimes sat in a nearby park, sometimes sat in my car parked just out of sight.

Sorry Jewel, totally disagree, I have been in the middle of baking cookies, making dinner, etc. in the kitchen when people show up. No need to stop what I am doing just because someone is coming to look at the house. And with all the agents we have used in different states, none, not a one have ever stated we should leave during a showing. When my kids were young one appointment even left her young daughter with my kids to play while they toured the house. So is it important to be gone, not in the least. Nor will I leave when we sell in a few years either. As stated before, if I am out already fine. If I'm there when they are touring fine too. NancyLouise

We've always tried to leave in previous sales. One time my DH refused to leave. It was a last minute showing at 7:30 pm. We knew the people just wanted to see our house because they were looking at the less expensive house next door. I left with the kids though. Thank goodness DH stayed. The agent let them in the door and left the house.

Next time we sell, we may not always be able to leave. We live away from town so it's not like we can make a quick run to a park or some place. We also both work in our home offices. We'll go outside, but if I'm in the middle of a conference call or something, I'll be staying inside.

While you don't HAVE to leave ... you should.
You also don't HAVE to stage your house or unclutter it or even clean it.

But if you want your house to show in the best possible light and increase the likelihood of a potential buyer being comfortable in your house (which leads to them making an offer), you should leave.

I have never, ever heard of a seller being home at the time the house was being shown. Just make it clear to the realtor that an appointment has to be made! If you don't want an appointment at a certain time because it conflicts with your family habits, then don't make the appointment at that time.

At least in New England, where I live, it would be unheard of, I believe, for the owner to be home. I may be wrong, but I have looked at many, many houses and bought and sold a few. Just can't imagine.

We have sold several properties and always try to leave. We have bought several, and it's always uncomfortable for me to have the owners there.

This is a true story - we looked at a house (with a realtor) where a single lady lived with her 3 teenagers. She worked nights and told the realtor ahead of time that when we came to look at it - about 5 in the afternoon - that her kids would be in their rooms doing homework and SHE WOULD BE ASLEEP IN HER BEDROOM BUT TO COME ON IN AND LOOK AROUND!! So we did. She WAS asleep- with a pillow over her head. And we did tippytoe in and look around in that bedroom and the adjacent bathroom. Awkward, to be sure.

And yes, the kids were each in their bedrooms doing homework, very quietly.

Weird. Very weird. No, we didn't buy it.

Live in New england. Just bought a 50's house where the elderly original owner-seller was present. It was both an honor to meet her and somewhat of an annoyance as she was very, very chatty, and followed me around a bit, but it wasn't going to affect my interest in the house, any more than her kazillion knick-knacks *every* where. The dear lady was very proud of her home, and selling it had to be a very difficult process for her. OTOH, months earlier I had a different experience when viewing a different house in which the owner was busy baking cookies. This was quite stupid on her part as it only served to highlight the inadequate space around the oven when she opened it and I couldn't pass into the rest of the house. I also felt constricted because I could not make comments aloud to my daughter with the woman right there in earshot. It also seemed too co-incidental that she needed to be baking right then as we had an advance appointment - we both had suspicions she was trying to cover up something like mold smells. The husband was sitting in the living room. In a house in which I have interest, I will use a measuring tape to check room dimensions; with him there I barely stepped in the room as it felt awkward with him silently watching. I left the house feeling irritated.

I just bought a house, and while I was looking there were some houses where the owner was present and it was always pretty awkward. If they just went about their day it really gave the impression they didn't care. We went and saw one where there were 3-4 young adults hanging around various parts of the house and they didn't leave. It was super uncomfortable because we'd walk into a room and there was some guy snacking while watching TV.

The most awkward was the lady who was pet sitting, she had a dog, hamsters, and a chicken in the kitchen. She was sitting in the living room and didn't leave. She'd mentioned there was a chicken in the kitchen, and my Realtor commented it was pretty young, that they only took a little while to go from hatching... and I said "to the dinner plate" of course the owner was horrified we wanted to eat the chicken.

I left every time when I was selling my house, and boarded my dogs so people could focus on the house. It sold in one week, so it wasn't an imposition.

I remember when my Realtor set up several listings for us to tour, and mentioned that "at such-and-such address" the owner would be present. I told him we could just skip that showing.

I wonder how many others do the same if they know the owner will be present?

A chicken in the kitchen and a lady sleeping in her bedroom during a showing?! And I thought I had heard it all. That's so hysterical!!

We've sold a number of houses and each time, if we were not at work, I would take the dog for a walk and my wife would go sit out on the front porch. She would tell the realtor if they had any questions to ask away and left them alone.

The last house we sold worked quite well. The buyers came out and sat down with my wife and just had some generic questions.

When they came back for another look, I was there too. We all sat on the front porch and we talked about the community, how well the roads were plowed in winter, the neighbors, etc. They stayed for almost an hour.

The following day we got a full price cash offer with no contingencies. No inspection, no nothing.

It's been over 12 years, and they're still there.

"She'd mentioned there was a chicken in the kitchen, and my Realtor commented it was pretty young, that they only took a little while to go from hatching... and I said "to the dinner plate" of course the owner was horrified we wanted to eat the chicken. "

That's hilarious!!!

Hayden,
I think you may be on to something ---- go beyond the usual staging and have a party going on with good looking people :)

I've been shown houses either way, and I don't think it makes much of a difference. If you're not comfortable that the owner is there, that's on you. The owner can give you way more accurate information than your realtor can.

Owners are also, in my opinion, way more likely to be truthful about what's wrong with the home (and there's something wrong with every home) than the agents are.

"Owners are also, in my opinion, way more likely to be truthful about what's wrong with the home (and there's something wrong with every home) than the agents are."

This statement is just full of silliness...

I live in a large urban area and, here, it's an ethnic thing for certain owners to stay home during showings. The vast majority of sellers leave and stay gone. One particular ethnic group sticks around.

We went on a second viewing of a house we loved several years ago, and the owners left just after we arrived. They were in the middle of a divorce, had just fought and bad juju hung like a wet blanket in there while we toured. It totally changed how we viewed the house, and we passed on it.

If the owner is present I can see the following exchange;
Looker: "What a beautiful nice new kitchen, are the permits all signed off?"

lol

Bought and sold a few over the years, never recall meeting the other party while viewing. I want to feel comfortable saying to my Realtor after we set foot inside, "Nope. Not for us. The kitchen is outdated and theses rooms are too small." I don't want to feel the need to instead say, "What a lovely home you have here. Interesting approach , keeping the pigs inside."

This post was edited by saltidawg on Mon, Sep 22, 14 at 13:24