By far the number one offense cited by buyer’s agents were home owners that were present for the showing. The worst are those who follow buyers and the agent all over the home. Agents call sellers who get involved at showings “stalker sellers.”
This can occur where the seller is overanxious. The seller thinks their involvement and interaction with the buyer is important to a sale. But there shouldn’t be anything crucial a seller needs to offer – that is what the listing agent is for. If the agent or the buyer have questions they should be directed to and answered by the listing agent.
Paradoxically, the actions of this kind of seller can make a sale almost impossible. Even if there is no interaction, simply having the seller present makes the agent and buyer uncomfortable. It can lead to them not going into the area where the seller is, not spending as long looking at the home, and not feeling comfortable talking freely – so not to offend the seller. So a seller should be gone before – or should leave when, the agent and buyer arrives, and come back only when they are gone.
When signals as to when a showing will occur get mixed up, awkward encounters can result. Buyer agents have found sellers taking a shower, asleep in the bed, and even having sex. But those type of mistakes belong in the category of real estate showing surprises. Read about one type – that happens when the seller won’t leave because they are dead, in my blog article, Dead Men don’t Tell Tales, Part II.
