as someone who tried to buy FSBO, and tried to sell, i went on my own experience.

I was happy with being walked through by the owner, but it was totally not necessary. I could see the kitchen cabinets, and the built-in shelving. I didn't need commentary. But I did really wish we'd had time to look WITHOUT the homeowner being within earshot. So we could say, "would you want to rip out this bathroom?" or "I think this room is too small" or even "what a stupid paint color, I wish they hadn't repainted" or even "this room will need some work; look at this here! we should offer a lower price."

So, when we showed the place, we walked through with them, gabbing about the place, and what we thought were its advantages. Then we told them they should walk through on their own, and open closet doors, and cupboards, etc., and we'd wait in the entry way (or the other room) where we couldn't hear them.

(Of course, when we walked through with them, we opened closets for them, etc.)

If anybody came back for a second look, we made ourselves totally scarce.

Also, our broker (whom we eventually signed with but didn't get a buyer for us) said that owners should be careful not to talk too MUCH. They might dwell on the fact that they'd knocked down all the walls, and be talking to someone who was groaning that they'd have to put them all back up. DH touted the plug-mold bcs he thought it was cool, but some people hate it.

it might be best, I got the impression, to ask people what they were looking for, and highlight those parts of the house, but not to volunteer too much of anything.

And maybe best not to "tour" them through the house at all. Basically, DON'T sell them on the house. If they like it, they'll see it.

I'm a gabber as well, and the few times that I showed them the house, I

We put together a flyer that listed what we thought were our home's advantages--either generically, or an advantage over the other identical units for sale during the same time frame. And we let that do the talking for us. Beyond that, they could tell what the bathroom looked like, and whether the room was big or small.

DO. NOT. HOVER. NEVER-EVER.
Simply let them know you're available if they have questions.

When you hover , you'll seem
a)nervous
b)pushy
or
c)desperate.
and
d)you'll tell them things you should not.

Be friendly yes, hover no.

(not that i have an opinion)

having sold 1 home fsbo, and actually showed and sold my last house(realtor cut their cut without ANY work), i would walk the "buyer" around, give insight to the year improvements were made, pointed out things that might be subtle, then said they were free to walk about and look on their own...

Glad you don't have an opinion, Melbat LOL

I happen to agree-Don't hover. Tell them where you will be IF they have any questions. As a buyer, I am reluctant to closely look at a house if the owner is there.

I meant to finish this sentence!

"I'm a gabber as well, and the few times that I showed them the house, I..."

I tried to say as little as possible. It was hard, but I did it.

As a buyer, I really feel uncomfortable when the sellers are in the same room with me, just because I am very opinionated and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

I think you should give them a "short" tour and then let the buyer take their own tour through the house, while you are outside, not listening what they might be saying about your house.

If they have any questions about the house, they will ask you.( I think)...

Just my opinion.
Good luck

LOLI've both sold FSBO(3x), and shopped FSBO..

I think one of the hardest things to do is not to hover,and to stay quiet.

Be available to answer questions, but don't hover! If they don't like the house, the fact that you just put in new insulation and a top of the line water heater or that the solid oak cabinets were made by the best cabinetmaker in town won't make them want to buy it. Those are things that you tell them after they have looked and seem interested.

I just did my first showing FSBO and I walked the buyers through and then told them to make themselves at home and they were free to wander around all by themselves. I then left and waited on them to finish their own personal tour.

As a buyer too - in some places where we have looked the seller's agent would meet us and let us in and "show" us the house. Generally, my agent would stay with the seller's agent and my DH ad I would take another tour.

It's a little creepy having the seller's agent follow you around after they have shown you the house the first time but I sort of appreciated the first "tour" just to get the lay of the land so to speak. Most were very helpful and were able to answer questions or suggest other houses they had listed.

But I am an odd duck and I liked having instant answers to my questions. Otherwise I would have to do a lot of "follow up" questions.

I much prefer to see the house on my own but to have the owner available should I have questions afterwards. Since you're getting mixed responses, why not just ask them when they come if they'd prefer the guided tour or just to browse through on their own?

Here's a bit different of an opinion.

One of the reasons I don't look at FSBO's very often is that I HATE looking at a house with the buyer there. I don't want to do it. I want to go through the house with no buyers anywhere near, not even to offer a tour or to answer questions. If I have questions after I walk through it, I know who to ask, and I can contact them (and believe me, if I'm interested, I will).

I would recommend for a FSBO seller to walk through their own house prior to listing as if they were giving a 'tour' and thus identify everything they would otherwise want to point out to a buyer during a tour. Then, put those things in a flyer.

A few years ago we bought a FSBO. When we looked at the house the seller sat in the living room as we looked through the other rooms with our realtor. If he had hovered it would have made me feel very uncomfortable.

We sold FSBO and gave the lookers the option of a tour or 'on your own" when they came in. Half wanted the tour, half didn't.

We are going FSBO soon again and this time, no tour. They will be let in the house(it is vacant) and told take their time touring and to let themselves out when done and if they have any questions, call or email. Then seller will go outside and sit in a lawn chair under a shade tree with a magazine, until the lookers leave. I just don't want to hover and really don't want the sbuyers to start asking all kinds of questions, such as 'how old are the cabinets', 'how much is the electric bill', 'why are you selling', etc. I just don't want to get into a 1/2 hour conversation with the buyers, and say too much or to take too much of my time up if they are just lookie-loo neighbors (lookie-loos will talk your ear off and pry about everything then tell the rest of the neighbors). So dissappearing should help. I hope.

If they are serious, they will get back with us later via email, phone or fax or come and find me outside if they really have an important question. Botom line, when looking at realtor listed homes, most questions are not answered on-the-spot anyway.

Flat fee perspective: bc we've agreed to pay comm. to buyers' agents, we've been getting lots of agented buyers.
When agents call we ask if they'd like us in or out of house. Most say out. We leave those folks a fact sheet pointing out the features in ea. room that aren't obvious. Some agents ask us to stay & give a short tour and then hit the road, which we're happy to do. With unrepresented buyers only one of us stays home to give short tour and then hides in remote room with music playing so buyers can talk amongst themselves. I'm shy but force myself to be outgoing; DH is chatty and forces himself to be less so.

After greeting the possible buyer, I would ask them if they wanted "the" tour or they preferred to wander at their leisure. It seemed to be around 50/50.

Definitely. Don't hover. I hate touring a house with sellers there! To be honest, I don't like to see or meet the sellers at all.

no hovering.....it's a deterent...

Give them a reasonable amount of time to look around then be talkative and informative and get them to talk and offer their opinions. Unlike with agents, that in the past I have told them to respectfully stick a sock in it and go wait in the other room, you can't do that with the sellers.

Everyone has been so helpful; thank you for all your feedback. I've been 'enlightened'.

akkw: thanks for that tip. I'm planning to create an information flyer and that is a good approach.

So, I believe the conclusion is that my husband will be at home to let the buyers in, give them the informational flyer and ask them if they'd like a tour or to wander at their own leisure. If not, then he'll be in the garage tinkering on something, available for questions. I'll take my 2 crazy kids and scary-barking-dog out during that time.

I should have posted this before, because I think my husband and I may have driven away a really good potential sale. I don't know...they were there for over 45min, leaving only because their son had karate lesson. Their 2 kids were playing with my son in the playroom/familyroom. They want to come back w/ their parents to see what they think of the place.

That was 1/27Saturday, and they haven't called back (about 5days).
Would it be WAY nagging/pushy to call them to remind them/nudge them to come back, by letting them know that for this visit with the parents, we'll be across the street at our neighbors'?

I wouldn't call them. It will make you look desperate. If they haven't called by now, they might not be interested in your house any longer. If they do come back over, just be available, but don't hover.

Disclaimer: I am a Realtor.

However, prior to getting into the business, I HATED to tour FSBO homes, as I'm one who doesn't feel comfortable exploring a house with the owners homes.

I've carried that into my profession. When showing a house, I do what many people mentioned above; I point out a few key features that I think are unique to the property, and then I let them look around. As was mentioned above, there's no need to "sell" someone on certain features if they've already decided the house won't work for them.

One caveat, however. People steal. They steal jewelry, prescription drugs, and various other items. Make SURE you lock away anything that you don't want taken.

I sell in a pretty affluent area of our state, and I've *still* heard horror stories of lookers "lifting" things from house tours. Tacky, but true.

Best of luck!

We looked at 2 FSBO's when we were house hunting and after those two, didn't look at anymore FSBO's. Why? The owners of both properties followed us around pointing out EVERY feature they considered an asset. We were polite to the first one we saw, but when the same thing happened on the second one, we thanked them after about 5 minutes and left. It made us very uncomfortable having them constantly chatting while we were trying to concentrate on what we were seeing. As a prospective buyer, I'd say no trailing people around and definitely no chatting.

What melrose girl said..
of course if you are desperate, call them, but expect a low ball if they respond.

I prefer a brief tour with the owner/agent. After that, I want to be left alone to walk around at my leisure without someone hovering over my shoulder or chatting in my ear.

reno_fan
"One caveat, however. People steal. They steal jewelry, prescription drugs, and various other items. Make SURE you lock away anything that you don't want taken"

Good advice. That is why I like to look at empty houses. I have walked through many a house where people have left valuables sitting out in clear view. One house I viewed had a large jewelry box sitting out on a bedroom dresser. The agent had offered to let us walk through by ourselves. I declined and mentioned why. I said I wouldn't be comfortable being alone in that particular room in the event that something turned up missing later.

I have talked to other people about this. Some have said they don't want to say anything because to do so attracts attention to the fact that they were even thinking about this. I look at it the other way. I'd want to know if I had left something valuable out and didn't notice it because I see it all the time. The owners were a nice, elderly couple. I felt not saying anything would be doing them a disservice.

The whole time I was scrolling down this thread I was wondering, but what about security? I'm glad Reno Fan brought it up.
As a buyer I would prefer to wander alone. So as a FSBO seller I would prefer to let people wander alone.
But I also don't like the idea of having people roaming through my house on their own. If you have a realtor/open house hopefully people are more honest because someone else is in the house somewhere, or for an individual showing normally a realtor opens the lock box - but if its FSBO what do you do?
Then there is physical bodily security. I had a friend who's wife was mildly assaulted by a client when she was showing a guy a house. (She's no longer a realtor at her husband's insistance) I'm single. So in a way - yea I guess I'd rather not be there. But I don't want to leave my house alone either.

Get one of those large fireproof boxes. Like, legal-folder size (~1.5 ft cubic). They come with a lock, and are big enuf for most valuables (and to make it awkward to walk off with). Keep your important stuff in there, including drugs, and keep it locked. Heck, even put your 1899 cabernet in there. Also, it might be a good idea if you have a lot of papers (old tax returns, IRA statements, etc) to get a small 2-drawer file cabinet, also w/ a lock, and keep all that stuff in there. No one can snoop or steal account numbers.

And please, put away the checkbook. We looked at a house once that had the checkbook sitting out on a counter in the kitchen. I was shocked that they'd do that. Imagine--I could have drained their account the next morning.

Helicopters hover. Wise FSBO sellers offer a choice. I like to tour a home on my own first so I can use my imagination without distraction. If I'm interested I'll approach with questions.

Huango, this next comment references you, in no way whatsoever...more of a general appeal. Sellers, when you're locking up your valuables, could you please take a minute and lock up your porn too? True story. I really don't need to see your collection, no matter how vintage. That's not a part of the imagination you want me using, when I look at your house.

I bought a FSBO, the owner hovered. I just kept wishing he'd go away, but he was probably waiting on us to leave so they could eat dinner. I bought the house anyway.

If you are moving, why not make the valuables the first things you pack away? I was running through my head a mental picture of what is out and about - and aside from my very used laptop and a digital camera that I can put in my car when someone comes, I suddenly realized I'd already pack up all the good stuff. I do have to lock up my check book, I had forgotten about those. If they want to haul away a TV I'm thinking I'd notice them panting and sweating trying to get it out the front door, cause it's too big to get out any other door.

My biggest concerns were for my personal safety, this thread has been quite helpful.

Thanks.

YES! CALL THEM! Ask them what they thought of the place. Ask them if they want to come back for another look. Flat out ask them if they want to submit and offer! You're not trying to play hard to get, you want to sell the place!

I've sold two FSBO homes. I did an info sheet so the basic stats of the house were already known to the potential buyer. I greet the potential buyer at the door and give a quick rundown: "the three bedrooms and main bath are upstairs, and don't forget to see the TV room in the attic. You get to the basement from the door in the hall, and feel free to explore the backyard. Just hollar if you have any questions."

I try to stay out of sight and whisper distance of the lookers, but near enough to hear a "hollar." I don't follow them upstairs.

What would you want your real estate agent to do--call them?

If yes, then YOU call them.

One problem we had was the our agents did not know the area or could care. Yes I was at fault because the first one was a friend, who did not know the rural area. In fact the only person who was interested, she just said, you tell them about the house, I really don't know much about the septic, fuel oil furnace and water system, and after I got rid of her, the next one was familiar with the area and refused to advertise locally, and I did not realize she had personal problems. She brought several people who really did not want to live in a rural area. After I got rid of her the 3rd agent was local, very knowledgeable, and sold in a week to a person who has been looking in the area for 6 months, and had been told by my first two real tors, some bad features that were lies. Guess, what I am trying to say, know your realtor or if you have to be present, walk outside but be available especially in rural areas.

If you let potential buyers walk through on their own, be sure to check ALL your window locks and door locks to make sure they are all in place after they leave.

A thief can unlock a patio door or bedroom window to gain access later when you are away. It's easy to rob a home that has a 'For Sale' sign on the front lawn, as the neighbors probably wouldn't think anything of it when they see someone carrying out a big TV. They would just think you are moving your stuff out or selling off the things you don't want to move to your new place. Even if the thief was just leaving with a laptop under their coat and a pocketful of prescription pills that they couldn't see, the neighbors wouldn't think anything of it because homes with 'For Sale' signs always have people coming and going from it.

In my area it is becoming more common for agents to ask for ID before they show a home. Sure, part of it may be to compile a mailing list, but it is also being done for their own personal saftey, and to cover themselves in the event of a theft from the homeowner.