How to Conduct a House Viewing that will blow buyers socks off

Understanding how to conduct a house viewing is something that many of our customers want to know. We receive many advice requests regarding setting up the perfect house viewings to ensure your home looks as appealing as possible to a potential buyer.

To help you along the way, we have put together a helpful guide on how to host the best house viewings yourself. 

Tips on how to conduct a house viewing

1. First impressions count - When preparing for house viewings it is critical to make sure that the front of the house is presentable and welcoming. It is the first thing a potential buyer will see when they approach your home and could be the difference between them taking your home seriously or not when viewing.

2. Keep your house fresh - When we are asked how to conduct a house viewing, one of the first things we advise our customers is to open up the windows.  You want your property to look, feel and smell fresh. We also suggest that you turn all the lights on, unlock all the doors and make sure there’s no clutter or items littering the surfaces. 

3. Remove the clutter - A special little tip we advise for house viewings that we have put into practice ourselves is filling the car with all the clutter, baby walkers, numerous coats etc. and driving your car down the street out of sight. Believe it or not, potential buyers do not want to picture your lives when they visit your home for house viewings. They want to picture their own so make sure you put your car to good use. This leads us on to the next point very well…

4. Free up parking space - When entertaining house viewings, you need to ensure your viewers have somewhere to park. So if you can, park your car down the road and allow them to park in your drive. It will help them picture living there.

5. Always Plan ahead - Decide on a plan before they arrive. When it comes to house viewings, we recommend that you always start with the best room. Then sandwich your viewing with rooms that you may feel aren’t the best selling point, i.e. the box room. Finally, make sure you finish on a high again, ideally back in the same room you started the house viewing with. 

6. Remember to be courteous - I know what you are thinking. You are asking how to conduct a house viewing, not how to be polite, but it is important to make sure that you always let them enter the first room or the hallway first, then follow.

7. Hide kids and Pets - Well, perhaps not literally, but your house viewings will always run smoother without the presence of pets and children. You might think, who wouldn’t love your children, or your dog or cat, but it is important to remember that although we love our own, not everyone will. Also, they take up space and can prevent the viewer from picturing the house as their own.

8. Prepare your answers - Make sure you have answers ready for common questions such as the tax band, electricity prices etc. These are common questions for potential buyers, and if they have the answers, it is bound to put your property ahead of those they have to come back to. If the viewer is looking to make a relatively quick decision or judgement following their house viewings, this information could make or break your chances of a sale.

9. Know your local area - Other key questions that potential buyers have will be to do with the local area. Make sure you can give them the lowdown on things like the distance to local amenities/ best schools, insider knowledge such as pub quizzes, local greengrocers, great walks in the area and so on. The more information potential buyers get from their house viewings, the better.

10. Relate to your own experiences -  Before every viewing, ask yourself what you would like to see as a potential buyer. If you’ve viewed a property recently, what could have been better about those house viewings, and what really sold it to you? You and the viewer are probably on a very similar journey, so connecting with their experience is one of the best ways to present your home in its best light.

Personal tips on how to conduct a house viewing yourself

So above, we have given 10 top tips on how to conduct a house viewing yourself, focusing on how to front your home, what to leave in and take out and the critical conversations to have with potential buyers. 

There are some other things to keep in mind that relate more to how you approach house viewings that we think are important for you to know. Here are 12 further things to consider when conducting your house viewings.

1. Tell them the things you love about where your house is and why

2. Talk about the fixtures of the house

3. Be natural & let people make their own minds up

4. Be hospitable, but silence is always strong - don’t overpower the viewer with too much information. Make sure only to talk when asked questions or you’re telling them about the key points.

5. Don’t talk too much about your connection with the house. It’s good for them to be able to picture themselves there.

6. Don’t over exaggerate- they will find the truth, and this may jeopardise your sale.

7. When they want to leave, don’t keep them there longer than necessary. Thank them for coming, and let them know you look forward to hearing from them.

8. Let them look around independently – No viewer expects to explore your house alone, but you can give them breathing space in each room. Let them go in first, then stand back as they walk around the room.

9. Don’t sell too hard – Building genuine rapport is far better than being too formal or trying to sell too hard. You want your viewers to be relaxed and feel welcome – if they feel like you’re trying too hard to sell your home, their trust can be eroded.

10. Remember to show them less obvious things, such as hidden storage space.

11. Tell your potential buyers to get in touch if they have any questions. That’s the beauty of love2move direct messaging.

12. Don’t forget to ask the viewer if they have any more questions at the end of the viewing and let them know they are welcome to ask you any questions they think of later. Tell them that they can also arrange another viewing if required.

How love2move can help with your house viewings

So now you have our helpful hints on how to conduct a house viewing. What are you waiting for? The best thing about love2move is that you are in control of everything, including your house viewings. However, if you are still unsure or require any additional support, fear not, as love2move is always here to help and advise where possible.

You can contact us directly at hello@love2move.co.uk, and we will try to support and advise you as much as possible.  You can even contact your local estate agent, and they can convert you to their full service if you feel it is necessary.

If you haven’t instructed us to sell, please do keep us in mind and book a FREE valuation here. Your local office powered by love2move will be in touch to discuss their fixed-fee service.