I don't like the owners around. Keeps me from saying what I have to say about the house to the realtor and to my DH. Realtors need to know on the spot what their clients like and don't like. It helps them narrow the field of possiblities.
The one time it happened to me. I was the seller and the realtor called last minute. He begged to show the house. I wasn't too happy but I didn't want to loose a possible buyer so I agreed. They weren't in the house two minutes and the realtor asked me about something in the house. As it turned out because of the uniqueness of the house and some of it's features I ended up showing the house to the realtor and his client. Turned out I sold it that very night to his client.
Realtor came right out and admitted several hours later when he handed us a contract that I sold the house. He had no intention of selling a house that night as he had plans to leave for a trip out of town that night.

I went to an Open House where the entire family was there. The husband sat on the couch in the LR, the wife and kids were sitting at the kitchen table playing a game. Even though they were somewhat unobtrusive, I felt uncomfortable as the realtor showed me around. Had they tried to "sell me" on the home, I would have walked out.

As for the original question, I don't feel comfortable when the owners are there. I would feel awkward looking in cupboards, cabinets and closets and it would severely taint my opinion on whether to buy the home.

I think this is something that has changed over the years. When I saw my house 12 years ago, the wife and kids were home, she was a very pleasant woman. She mentioned something about the street (it is a little busy) and what she said reassured me. They were being transferreed and we could not agree on price. The DH wanted to meet so we could discurss the house and up the offer but we were at the top of what we wanted to pay so we refused. Plus we had the impression from somewhere that he was not nice, not sure why. Several months later it was empty and we bought it from the company. I think seeing her nice furniture helped the sale. And so did paying almost 20k less than our prior offer!

Back then homeowners were often home and I never thought twice about it. It was rare that they were not home if the house was occupied. A couple of houses we almost bought because we loved the cute old couple so much. One house DH is convinced we lost because he thought the DW did not like us, either she thought we did not look wealthy enough or were too young to own her house which was a more upper end house. I think we just bid 5k less the other people!

However, now I find it strange when the owners are around and I am usually a bit disappointed as I like pointing out the flaws in houses (yes call me superficial, it helps me decide) and I would rather not have to watch what I say so as not to insult. The owners teenage child or a maid with a small child actually does not bother me. Also, sometimes if the owners are pleasant and people I think I can be friends with (no plans to) it helps to reassure me that I am making the right decision about changing neighborhoods

There was one house in a nearby neighborhood where the owner insisted on being there even after she moved out (so there was nothing to steal!) Previously a friend had gone to see it with an agent and she immediately started questioning him about his resources and price range! He said he would not buy the house even it had been perfect. He even discouraged me from seeing it because he hated her so much. I did go and it was not right for me but while I was in the house, if the broker said something she would be listening from the kitchen and would shout out corrections. It was not enough to make me walk but it was memorable

Another house we saw a while ago which was kind of a white elephant, an 1840s farmhouse with 8 bedrooms. This house would have been perfect for us (many children) ecxcept the age scared me. The owners were very pleasant and did conduct the tour and almost sold the house except they were too honest. When I wanted to see the basement, the DW suggested I leave the baby upstairs with my father as it was kind of toxic! Then when I asked about mice, the DH said only the occassional field mouse in the kitchen! Frankly that did it for me on the house, no thank you. If they had not been so honest I might have brought DH. In my state you can pay 500 instead of disclosing things so they would never have had to disclose this stuff otherwise. Still they were very charming and would have been fine to have around

Actually I have a question, owner is at work, would a non English speaking nanny with 2 year old Twins bother you when seeing a house?

I really, really, really dislike having the owners there. Period.

I looked at a house and lost the chance to buy it because the owner was home. I mentioned to my broker that since there was an abandoned apt. in the lower level (raised ranch style) that I could turn it back into an apt for income since i wouldn't need the space. I knew the place was underpriced ($150,000) and heard there was a full price offer coming in. I offered $180,000. The owner later told her broker about overhearing me mention the apartment downstairs. Her broker convinced her to sell for the lower full price offer because he knew that she would hate to see her beautiful house turned into an apt. house.
The broker had his motives...he had the buyer with the full price offer and didn't want to split the commission with my broker.
What really teed me off was that even at my 180 offer, it was a steal. It had a huge rear yard that fronted on another street. I knew that I could cut off a third of the yard, sell the 1/8th acre lot for $80,000 and still have 1/2 acre remaining for myself. So, I guess this was a reversal...an owner being home cost herself $30,000.

I absolutely do not like having the sellers there, especially if they are asking me questions or trying to sell me on their upgrades...makes me really uncomfortable. I would have to really love the house to put up with that.

When we recently bought a house, there was another house that was in our top 3, but the seller was talking loudly on her cell phone during the entire showing in the family room. I thought it was really rude. If she was that rude during the showing, she would probably be a nightmare to deal with under contract, so we just passed and moved on.

I don't like the owners to be in the house either, nuff said.

Not only do I hate the homeowners being there during viewings, I hate their realtor being there, too. In our area, however, homeowners staying home is an ethnic thing. Certain nationalities hang out in the house and sing it's praises as you walk through it. I find them extremely bothersome and, as a result, we haven't looked seriously or had the chance to look seriously at the property.

In my opinion, if homeowners are home, they hinder the sales process.

Linda, in your case it sounds like the sellers need to leave.

When my parents were looking for a house we went to a few where the owners were home, they didn't get in the way, and if they were in the room we were going to next, they went to the area we already walked through. What was uncomfortable was my mother couldn't hold her mouth, and made comments through the whole viewing.

My mother wanted a new house, no matter what house she saw, it wouldn't pass because they hadn't built it. They ended up doing just that and she still wasn't happy.

I'd seen their realtor in Sears about a year after the last showing. She told me she knew she wouldn't sell my parents a used home.

Put me in with the others who don't want the owners there. Two of the homes we looked at were quickly crossed off after the owners followed us around saying "now this is so and so" and "this is a new feature" etc. The second one was even worse asking questions that were none of their business, i.e., how many children did we have, what exactly were we looking for (I wanted to say "A house, what did you think we're looking for? but thought better of that) what did we think of the neighborhood, etc. Talk about pushy.

Nope, I prefer to be able to take my time, eyeball everything, and not have someone trailing after me.

I prefer it when the owners aren't home. That being said, the house I ended up buying was one where the owners were here for both showings and the inspection. Because the house was perfect for us and was a real deal I could overlook the owners being here. Thank goodness they did not follow us around. The man of the house worked nights and during the first showing he was in bed sleeping. The lady of the house told us to go ahead and go in the room because he was a sound sleeper. The realtor and I ended up tip-toeing past him to see the ensuite lol. Still makes me laugh thinking about that :-)

Ahh, I think I might print out all your answers and keep it as part of my listing presentation! LOL, bet you all didnt know you would be famous!

The answer to your question is obvious, the more interesting issue is how agents deal with clueless homeowners. I am not a real estate agent, but it seems to me that you have a duty to talk to the husband about his behavior. Don't assume that it sunk in the first time - some people lack social awareness, and you have to all but hit them over the head to make them understand.

Graywings, I hit him over the head yesterday, I think he finally got it.

It is not necessarily the owners but realtors too. In the past I've become frustrated when there is too much jibber jabber going on to the point I can't concentrate as I do some rather strange things such as take measurements, fill out check lists and draw a floor plan. And I also get frustrated when I feel like I'm being rushed. But with that said there is a time to get a little... not pushy... but more aggressive and that's when the buyer heads for the door. That's when I want someone to sell me the house and answer my questions and persuade me that I can afford it. Until then, get out of my hair.

I was looking through some photos I took of a house I was looking at a few years ago and the owner was in every single picture!!! He would not get out of the way so I just kept snapping away.

I really have to agree with everyone here........ Its very uncomfortable and unpleasant to have the owner follow you around the home. I want to take my time and see every inch of the home, that said, how can I??

Having the home owners present during a showing is the worst possible scenario. It is simply not done and it is up to the agent to make sure the home owners leave during a showing.
The home owners must not really want to sell their homes. Everyone knows that the slighest little thing can influence the possible sale.
If I was looking at a house and the home owners stayed, I would get back in the car and tell my agent to have them please leave. If they refused, then I wouldn't look at it.
I want to be able to talk to my husband or agent without fear of the home owner listening to my every word.

Well, I'm a seller and have NO desire to be here when showing the house. Even if it is a realtor preview I leave. I think my feelings would be hurt to hear someone say something unkind about my house and I'd make them uncomfortable with my presence. Besides, my dog would demand they give her so much love they'd never see the house. Yeah, the owners should totally go away.

"If I was looking at a house and the home owners stayed, I would get back in the car and tell my agent to have them please leave. If they refused, then I wouldn't look at it.

While I would have no plans to be at home while my house is shown, there is no way I would react positively to being asked to leave my own house so I I think you can guess my reaction no matter how much I wanted to sell

It sounds like with this group that any FSBO properties would be out of the question. Personally I have purchased many investment properties and I would guess that half were done dealing directly with the owners. I think the owner being present is more of a detriment to the listing broker than the purchaser. The owner might tell you something that you could miss or that the broker would like you to miss:-)

The owner was present when my agent showed the house that I bought in November. She sat unobtrusively reading a book on the lanai, and didn't look up or peep unless we asked a direct question about the house. It was nice to have the questions answered right then and there because we were on a tight schedule and didn't have a lot of time to go back and forth with the agent calling the owners to answer questions. We went back for a second look the next day, just for a sanity check to make sure we weren't crazy and made an offer the next day.

I agree with much of what has already been said. If you call on the services of a realtor, allow them to do their job and prospective homeowners take in the property without the influence (or distraction) of the current owners.

We did a FSBO on our last property and while we greeted incoming guests, we left the home while they were viewing so they could have privacy and freedom to browse. We kept ourselves accessible on the back deck with lemonade and snacks if anyone wanted to stop and chat. We found ourselves with half a dozen offers within 24 hours of our first open house all at the listing price or above (and this was in a strong BUYER'S market).

Slight variation --

It's pretty clear most buyers don't want the seller around, but I work from home. Is it a big impediment to ask the realtor to call when they're a few minutes away so I can leave? And is it a problem to see the homeowner walking out the door? Do you think buyers take a look at the seller and make a judgement just from what the person looks like?

When we were househunting in Seattle a few years ago I think about half the owners were home. One was even in the middle of a Pampered Chef party!! In one case, it made us make an offer-the woman had drawn a map of the cul de sac and the ages of the kids in each house, she filled me in on schools, really talked up the neighbors. We made an offer but were beat out. We looked at another house where the owner was home and she said something that stuck in my head and made us NOT make an offer-when I asked if there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood she said there were but her kids didn't know them very well because they all went to different private schools. So obviously my thought was why do all these kids go to private schools? We never bothered to research it because we bought a different house.

When we sold our first house in Virginia I was home for 1 showing and never wanted to be home for another-it's hard to see someone NOT in love with your home!!

IMO, it's 'bad taste' for the owner to be home. A prospective buyer cannot be as opinionated as he/she would like, and this would make me uncomfortable.

The home owner needs to take a hike.

Linda, you do walk thru with the 'lookers', don't you? Since i've decided against an open house, I would like to feel my home is somewhat 'protected' when being viewed. ;o)

patty_cakes

This is so interesting that so many don't want the owners there! Of the 7 showings I've had, we were there for 3! One because they actually showed up AN HOUR before the scheduled time and DH couldn't get out fast enough between scrambling to put his lunch dishes away and such. One was because I had a napping child in the house (my listing mentions it), and I gave them the choice of waiting, or seeing it with me there. And the last one, they were driving by and the realtor didn't have her key, so they asked my realtor to have me let them in. They didn't give me much notice and I was still picking up toys on the other end of the house while they were looking! It was awful. I finally grabbed my son and went in the front yard while they finished up.

I'd rather not be there for showings, but what is one to do in these cases?? I try to stay out of the way and not say a word besides the initial, "Hi, take your time!"

We had not choice when we sold about 6 years ago Our realtor (friend-never again) insisted that we be there to answer questions--Rural area, fuel oil furnace, water etc. She was from the city and knew nothing about country living.
She wrote it up completly wrong--like a glamarous house--We had built is ourselves and did have a lot of special things as we were not planning to move for a long long time. We also had dogs and they were not receptive to vistors as most dogs in rural areas.
Second relator also the same-refused to show house unless we were there to answer questions--would only advertise in big city and always brought her mom along. Found out later she was scared to drive mountain roads. and the lived in mountains.
3rd from area, reviewed the house knew area and sold on first showing.
Sure wish I knew about this forum years ago--lots of good advice here.

sweeby wrote:
Is it a big impediment to ask the realtor to call when they're a few minutes away so I can leave? And is it a problem to see the homeowner walking out the door? Do you think buyers take a look at the seller and make a judgement just from what the person looks like?
==================

Whenever I have sold a home, we put in the listing for BA's to call our agent to set up an appt to view. The first time I sold, my realtor suggested this and told me to absolutely not take people who just showed up without calling first.

When we sold our home in Flagstaff, my husband was on a strange shift and our realtor put in the listing that there would be no showings prior to 10AM. She also called us with notice of showings to give us time to leave.

On one showing, the people were early and showed up before I had a chance to leave. We're talking an hour early, so I just put on my shoes and left. These things happen all the time and really can't be avoided.

When I sold my first house, my realtor called saying someone was in the area and would I mind allowing them to see the house without the proper notice. I said sure. I just sat on the patio while they looked and answered any questions they had.

Personally, I wouldn't judge the home based on the look of the owners.

Since you work from home, you can ask your realtor to put in the listing to call him/her first to give you time to leave. Be prepared for no-shows or those who are late.

GardenGwen, I've never heard of any one selling their house quite like that. I can't imagine selling my home, opening the door to complete strangers and saying, go ahead, have at it, i'll be in the back yard.

Linda, you do walk thru with the 'lookers', don't you? Since i've decided against an open house, I would like to feel my home is somewhat 'protected' when being viewed. ;o)

Patty cakes, Personally, I stick with my buyers wherever they go in someones house. If there are more than one of them, and they start to seperate,(husband, wife, brother bob, whatever) I ask them to please stay with me in the home so I can point out the features one time. (its really to make sure nothing gets "lost". For this reason, I dont like open houses, too many people at one time, there really is no way to watch all people at the same time and very few homes sell from open houses.

Sweeby, Im not sure what area you're in but in my area, all appointments have to be made in advance. Ocassionally, I will be out showing a house and we drive by something that interests my buyer. In that situation, I may call the listing office to find out if its in their price range and if its possible to show it now. In such a case, I would not expect the homeowner to leave their home. In the case of people working from home, they work. I wouldnt expect them to leave every time the house was being shown, but I would expect them to be as invisible as possible. (go upstairs when we are showing downstairs and vice versa.) My question was really posed for the homeowner that feels the need to sell their own home when they have hired a realtor by following people around, talking up the features, saying more than people want to hear and just basically being a nuisance.

Thanks for the responses -- Linda, I certainly took no offense.

And as a buyer, I completely agree and prefer that the owners not be there. And having been a buyer, I know that sometimes schedules get shifted and appointments run early or late -- So I was thinking that a 5-minute notice in addition to the 'regular appointment' would allow me to clear out while not vacating hours in advance for no-shows.

Don't like anyone there. If someone is, I speak my mind anyway. Had one guy tell me its nice living next to the cemetery as his mother is buried there. I said, "what cemetery? Didn't know till you told me. Fence is too high to see."

Now, viewpoint from a vendor tho is this. We ALWAYS tried to not be there for showings. 15 Minutes before we would leave and wait till 15 minutes after to come back. Didnt always work because at times we didnt know if they had been there or not (some didnt leave card) so we could not avoid the rings at the doorbell 30 minutes after scheduled time and we would be sitting eating lunch. My wife would be so pissed they were late she would just stay.

This would actually be a cool idea if we can get a text message to see when they enter/leave. I think in the city we are moving there are such devices but only reports to the listing agent when lockbox is entered and locked.

I work at home, too, so I told the realtors the people should just ignore me and let me work. But most of them wanted to quiz me. I was very annoyed and told them to let me work and let the realtor do his job. Sheesh.

I'm gonna be the minority opinion here. The last two homes we sold were sold either in spite of the fact that - or more likely - *because* we were there. Likewise, when we bought our home, I had the good fortune to meet and interact with - and later befriend - the seller.

In the first instance, my DH and I were sitting on our deck and a passerby stopped to look at the "for sale" sign. We invited him up, he like what he saw, contacted his realtor and made an offer.

The last time we sold, we hadn't even put our place on the market yet (we hadn't gotten around to cleaning it out or even begun to get it ready yet - talk about clutter and lack of curb appeal!!). At that point, we were still trying to decide if we should go FSBO, flat fee-MLS or traditional realtor.

In any event, I contacted a realtor I knew that moved a lot of inventory in the area (I had met her at an open house) and told her that we were thinking about putting our house on the market. She came over, gave us a few tips, showed us some comps, etc. Three days later, she calls me up with a potential buyer and want to know if I'm available to show the home (I was in the middle of being a burning bush in a Passover play in my daughter's school). I quickly put my burning bush away, rushed home, did a quick emergency clean up and tried to make myself as unobstrusive as possible (difficult to do when you're a bright orange burning bush), but was available to answer questions, etc. To make a long story short, we had a nice chat, played Jewish geography and generally hit it off...they ended up buying the house, and we became friends and still see each other 3 years later, have spent holidays together, etc.

Likewise, much my to her realtor's chagrin, I met and interacted with the seller of the house that we purchased two years ago. Again, we have both had the good fortune of enlarging each others' social circle, and have since become friends, attending our children's birthday parties, socializing together, and with our respective friends, etc.

I think the whole real estate business has become much too impersonal, and I don't appreciate the layer of bureaucracy and lack of personal interactions that one experiences in the typical real estate transaction, wherein the agents control all of the communication/interactions and the buyers and sellers never meet. It's just not how I prefer to do business, but that's just me...

I don't like it period.

We showed up with our realtor and before she could open the door with the lock box the owner flung it open, glass of red wine in his hand and a list of things his realtor had "forgotten to mention in the listing." There we were, on the door step, being read to off a crumpled piece of legal notepad. It was bizarre. They followed us around as though we would steal from them. We left after ten minutes and said we'd seen enough.

Another time the owner turned out to be the listing agent and his ENTIRE family, including three small children, walked behind us room to room pointing out the great features. Awful! The house sat for months and months. I'm sure they scared away everyone.

We just bought, and although I was a little uncomfortable that the owner was there when we first saw the house, she was extremely forthcoming about how rotten her estranged husband was, and how intense the animosity was between them. Without her presence, we might never have known how motivated they were to sell! So it definitely worked out to our advantage as buyers.

Only read half the posts (dinner's behind schedule!) so hope I'm not reiterating a point, but one thing you could encourage the sellers to do would be to create a notebook or color handouts with all the highlights they wish to point out (though I would coach them on it).

I really like it when an open house has such a book. Then if I am interested, I can peruse what improvements they have
done. Pictures accompanying are nice as well.

Let's look at this issue as part of "de-cluttering". We advise sellers to make the house a blank slate so that a buyer can envision his or her family living there. The sellers are part of the "clutter" that gets in a buyer's way of seeing the house as his or her home. If a buyer has qustions only the seller can answer, the Realtor needs to relay the answers to the buyer as quickly as possible.

2 townhomes in my complex took a long time to sell in the past year - one was a FSBO and the owner was a dweeb and not good at showing his place. The other one, the family stayed home during open houses - teenage children, big dogs, friends, it was like a dang party. Hello? Do you really want to sell?

The FSBO owner finally gave up and hired an agent and the home sold within a couple of weeks. The second one I heard the couple is going through a contentious divorce, so that may be why they act like they don't want to sell the home.

When we sold our first house, the realtor called one night about 8:30 pm and said she wanted bring people right then. Okay, so I grabbed the dog and cats and put them in the back seat and in my bathrobe I drove to the end of the cul-de-sac and parked until they were done. They bought the house, though: only one showing. So it was worth it! And no, I hate having owners in the house while I see it: don't want to hurt their feelings, but want our agent to know what features we like and don't like. I hope we won't sell again for a VERY long time!

IMO- if the owner is home should have no bearing on being able to say something isn't right about the house. most of the time the agent that is showing the house has never been there before and is giving bad info to the potential buyer because there is nobody there to ask the questions.

Well, guess I'm in a minority but I do not mind the owners being home. In fact, I rather like it, because they tell me everything I need to know about the home and neighborhood - most aren't savvy enough to gloss over potential problems or areas of concern.

By the same token, I need to be present when my own home is shown for various reasons - I have pets, and I also don't trust people. I am as unobtrusive as possible unless someone wants to approach me, and I find that many enjoy hearing what I have to say about my property. Being home has NEVER hampered a sale, and in fact have sold my properties myself rather quickly.

Having said this, I realize in most cases it really is better if the owners aren't home and a good realtor can do his/her job properly.

I'm bumping this back up with my response mainly because it was an informative post that might be helpful to new posters.

I can answer now that I've been on the buying end. Of the more than 25 homes I looked at the owner was present in 4 of them.

One owner followed us around looking desperate and giving up way to much info such as "the horrible HOA board."

One owner was apparently lonely and wouldn't stop talking so we could leave for our next appointment. She did give plenty of information such as the history behind the antique interior doors and the energy efficiency features of the home, but she went overboard.

One owner sat on his porch and was very helpful with questions I had about the neighborhood and the house.

The owner was present for the third showing of the house we chose. He was the builder and this was his personal home. He showed us secret hiding places behind shelves, told us about unique design features we hadn't realized, gave us the 411 on neighbors and told us about the local utility companies and which internet service was best for the area.

My realtor was very good about leaving diplomatic feedback.

As a FSBO seller I was present for all 8 of my showings. I gave a quick walk-through pointing out not so obvious things and then excused myself to take the dog out and told them to look around again if they would like. Of course I had no valuables out and am good at reading people. If I would have gotten bad vibes from someone I had a neighbor who would have been over in a minute.

I understand why most people don't like anyone home. For me, when I was younger I would absolutely have not felt comfortable. I was quite shy. And it certainly is nice to be able to comment and discuss things as you walk through. Now that I'm older, less shy, and a tiny bit more savvy (hopefully) etc. it doesnt bother me and I sort of see it as a buyer's advantage. I get really tired of trying to tease out all the answers to all the questions I have, all the back and forth between the realtors just to find out rather simple things. If I'm really interested I'll just ask to come back for a second showing with the proviso that the owners aren't there. If the owners let something slip all the better for me the buyer, and meeting them can give me the buyer a psychological advantage. If the house is right obnoxious sellers aren't going to put me off.
If I were the seller or seller's agent, i.e. your position Linda - I would want them out of there.

I accidentally met one of the sellers of the house my husband and I are buying. My agent and I arrived early to see the house on the first showing. We caught the seller unaware, but she was very cordial about it. Her cute little dog was home too. I was not the least bit put-off by either of them. The seller and her dog stayed in a little office space while the agent and I toured the house. She stayed out of the way and didn't make any comments. It was a little awkward having her there, but I think she was actually more concerned about it than me. I did compliment the woman on her house, which we love.

We did look at a FSBO shortly before putting an offer in on this house. The owners were there and were very aloof. They answered questions if asked but pretty stayed out of everyone's way.

We have our home on the market, and we disappear during all showings and open houses. I wouldn't want to be home while people are walking through house and making comments, especially negative ones. Plus, I wouldn't want to answer their questions. That's our agent's job.

If the owners are quiet, I don't mind if they are there as long as they stay out of the way.

I think it is a detrimental for the seller to stick around. They frequently give out more information than necessary. Great for buyers, not for sellers.

As a seller, a couple of years ago, I wanted to be gone during showings. But very rarely, did I get advanced notice from the buyer's agents about when they would be coming by. Most of the time, I had no idea that folks would be coming for a showing. If possible, I would leave, or take a walk. But sometimes I just took a book out to the patio and waited for them to be done.

So, it is a two way street -- sometimes the realtors don't get the word out to the property owner.
Susan

As a seller, who still hasn't sold BTW, I always WANTED to get out of the house, but with preemie infant twins and an unusually cold spring, I wasn't going to risk it. It was especially hard when people would show up late or not at all. No one said anything negative--some even asked questions about the house--but some you could tell from their vibe that they were not happy. Now that the house is empty maybe we'll get an offer, soon I hope.

Well, during our last home sale, we pretty much had to be there. Farm property, 50 hilly acres, 6 horses, 1 of whom bites, barn cats that were pretty much feral, 2 indoor cats I wanted to stay indoors. Place was on the MLS. I'd get 20 minutes notice they were coming, if that. Realtor would show up wearing a sundress and sandals or Sunday best suit to try to show 50 acres. DH ended up in the hospital with sunstroke after escorting potential buyers over the property in 95 degree weather. One realtor had had a heart transplant and basically never moved out of the shade of the barn. One was so morbidly obese he ran out of breath walking from the driveway to the house. Listing realtor tried to be there (he was young and in good shape), but couldn't always make it on a moment's notice.

And why, oh why, do the buyers all show up with their undisciplined young 'uns? Hello!! It's going to be your house, you're paying for it, and it doesn't matter if 3-year-old Billy doesn't like it. Worst part was when they expected me to sit their kids while they looked the property over. I'm sorry...I don't have kids, didn't want kids, and don't want anything to do with your kids. Especially when they wanted to "pet the horsie" and, of course, the one they want to pet is the cute black and white, previously abused paint that will take their hand off at the elbow.

Seller rant over.

I don't mind the sellers being present. If I have a question I want an answer now, not a week from now and then only after I harp on it 16 times. I don't want your life history, but be available to answer questions.

It's nice to view the home the first time without the homeowners being present in case you don't like the home at all. You don't feel like you aren't insulting them personally.

If we want to return a second time as we did with the home we are purchasing right now, we wanted the owners there to answer questions about the property, major systems and actually found alot of common ground and had a great time. After we asked all our questions, they left and we had a chance to poke around to our hearts content. We made an offer that afternoon and within 5 hours agreed on a price.

Now the home inspection process is going on and thats nerve wracking in itself and we are busy fixing things in our home that we now know the inspector will write up that we didn't realize!

"Do you think buyers take a look at the seller and make a judgement just from what the person looks like?"

At the risk of sounding very shallow, I did in fact do that with a house I was looking at. The seller was a total slob, stains on his shirt, greasy hair, sitting at his computer playing video games while we looked at the house. I wouldn't have bought it anyway (bizzare floor plan and flimsy construction) but the seller was just not someone I thought I could do business with.