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[Carmie]

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@on the bay wrote:

@Carmie-

The owners don't necessarily follow the buyers around.

I doubt that a potential buyer would voice to the sellers how much they hate something 

or all the things they want to do. They talk amoungst themselves what they would do.

Anyway, I understand your viewpoint.

I guess its just different experiences I've had with buying and selling.

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Yes, I know.  I have sold houses where the sellers were home, and some where the pets were home too. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it works out really well when the buyers and sellers bond. It's a win-win for everyone, but unfortunally, this is not the norm.

One of my coworkers had to break up a fight between buyer and seller when the buyer said the house stunk and was foul and filthy. I missed that..never happened to me, thank goodness.

My coworker said the house wasn't that bad, the buyer was just picky and a drama queen.

[SunValley]

A realtor needs buyers to buy and sellers to sell so they can earn a living. Their advice is based on industry good practices and lessons learned from the experiences of thousands of realtors handling millions of transactions over the decades. There will always be exceptions, but their advice on leaving the home while potential buyers are there is sound. However, the husband’s disability was not clearly stated in the original post, simply that they were retired and had aches. Possibly the initial responses would have had some sympathy for this inability to leave together with a few suggestions for dealing with a disability situation had it been clear from the start. I can see why leaving the home is problematic, and the agent should have noted this for other agents. There is a disconnect somewhere in the communication chain.

The most significant potential conflict is that the OP has said she won’t be muzzled in her home and wants to be involved in the tours, while most agents would prefer her to be as circumspect as possible if the sellers remain in the house. That’s not a compatible scenario.

Regarding the question that was posed at the end of the post, I do do not see why the OP is reluctant to provide the disclosure statement to her agent since she is willing to give the buyers all this information verbally—“the good, the bad and the ugly”—as they walk through her home. 

[novamc1]

As this thread wanders on, does anyone sense that the OP is a troll, trying to create a scene?

Writing paragraphs excoriating a real estate agent for NOT telling the buyers that "this is the kitchen, this  is the garage"...Seriously???

I found just about all of the OP's responses totally dismissive and combative  to people who were trying to be helpful...... so while many, including me, originally tried to give useful advice, it ain't working!

Buyers and their agents are acutely aware when they are "intruding" on the seller's home and privacy and should NOT be made to feel uncomfortable. 

Also, many buyers are relocating to the new town and they and their agent might be on a  tight schedule and only want a quick breeze-through of available housing.  No time to stand around being polite to the seller and listen patiently to the seller explaining all the benefits of the new deck, where the kitchen is located, etc.

Serious buyers will come back  to a home a second time.........no sense in scaring them away on the first visit.

[novamc1]

@Thebig I

Took special note of a statement you made earlier.

<<I will be glad to be done with it all   and sell it myself so I can actually tell the buyer what they are getting and its all good. >>

Those types of claims about a property for sale can get anyone, including your agent, sued for misrepresentation when the buyer moves in and a pipe breaks or the air-conditioning breaks down.  

A little more advice here,----don't say ANYTHING to the buyers about how good, great, fantastic, perfect, the home is.   No property meets that description.

A  factual pamphlet or flyer outlining the home's features, room sizes, location advantages, ages  of various items that have been replaced or are new can be drawn up and left  for visitors to pick up. 

Respond to questions later IF ASKED..........don't volunteer and take up time of people who are "just looking".

 Use of the term "Disclosure Statement" and what it contains and what it means is an entirely different subject, worthy of a serious look at specific state laws as to what it should contain and what it means. Sellers shouldn't go out on a llimb by using it the wrong way or at the wrong time based on their own assumptions, or try to dissuade a purchaser from hiring his own inspection professionals.

[SunValley]

After reading all the OP’s response, it seems she is second guessing their decision to use a realtor, doesn’t want to pay a commission, and will do sell by owner as soon as the contract expires. The hostility toward their agent and the agents showing the home is palpable. The tension between them will be picked up by the buyers and drive them away.

[Twinkletoes62]

You are to bull headed to understand what we are trying to tell you.  You did ask our opinion but you should put a "Fpr Sale by Owner" in front of that property and save money.  I have drawn the conclusion that your DON't want to sell.

[missy1]

I don't care to look at properties when anyone is there.

[RealtyGal2]

First of all, listing agents are rarely at the showings unless they are showing your property to a client of their ow.n. As far as using your property to sell their other listings that does not even make sense. All agents will the same or simmilar properties to yours, but that is part of the process. If you are priced too high, then you should lower the price.  I am sure your agent is working hard to sell your home and you and the agent should be on the same team, not distrusting each other.

Your agent may have let you know that it is best not to be home when there is a showing. Most sellers do leave or go to a diferent part of the home. I have a client that walks her dog during showings. The agent probably was not expecting you to be home. Even if it is in the listing that you will be home, when you are showing property you are doing a lot of things at once and focusing on your client. If the seller is home, and particularly if you are following the prospects around trying to talk with them, it makes everyone uncomfortable, The prospective buyers cannot speak freely to each other or to their agent or concentrate on really looking at the property. Not all people click instantly. That is why both parties have agents. If the buyers and sellers do not like each other or disagree on something, it can prevent an offer or blow up a transaction. One thing you should be aware of is that you are not all on the same team. The buyer's broker is representing her client and the listing agent is representing the seller.  I'm sure you are a very nice person, but your behavior was not appropriate and probably just made them want to leave as quickly as possible. If you continue to approach the prospects, particularly without an invitation, it will take a lot longer for your house to sell.

It has been my experience that many people do a lot of research to hire the best possible agent and then ignore everything bit of advice and instruction they are given because they want to do things their way. They become their own worst enemy in terms of the goal which is to sell the house as quicly as possible at the highest possible price. The agents have knowledge you don't about how situations should be handled for the most positive result. They are there to represent you and protect you. As far as the Seller Property Disclosure, I put it in all our listings. I answers a lot of questions the prospective buyers have. Many times it encourages an offer. If you refuse the provide it, it looks like you are trying to hide something.

You need to listen to your agent and stop trying to control a process you don't really understand. I am not saying don't ask questions, ask a lot of questions. I am a strong believer in understanding everything about your own transaction. However, right now you are getting in your own way and upsetting yourself for no reason. I hope this helps a little.

[RealtyGal2]

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@kitty60 wrote:

I would normally say I don't think the seller should be at home when their house is shown.  I agree it is not comfortable for the person looking.  That being said, my husband and I showed up with our realtor to look at the house we purchased about 13 years ago.  Their agent never told them we were coming and we patiently waited while his wife dressed and the gentlemen offered to show us the outside of the property. It so happened it was actuall two homes, one they lived in and a smaller ranch he used for his hobbies.  BINGO! This was an instant friendship with my husband.  In fact a few hours after seeing the property we left and had a couple of questions.  We called them and they invited us back and we went without our realtor.  Since we were moving from out of state our son really wanted to see the house before we put in an offer so we returned on our own a couple of weeks later and they were very gractious while we went over the house again and I took all kinds of measurements to be sure I could remodel the kitchen. We then made an offer.  I don't think we would have purchased if not for them.

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You were lucky. This does happen occasionally, but it could have backfired just as easily.

[RealtyGal2]

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@Thebig I wrote:

Kachina  Boy, If I am buying a place i sure want to hear all about it from somebody who knows it as opposed to listening to somebody that had been there all of 5 minutes. This as I mentioned in my post was one of the terms, we are home. Of course we stayed out the way, never said a word. It was weird and I think there is quite a bit of uncalled for pretentiousness in this field.You bet I have a concern, we dont want to get sued for not telling people things they need to know that I know the agents arent talking about because they dont even know. When people cant even introduce themselves I have a problem. You made very derogatory assumptions in your post that seem to be coming from a personal place. 

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Disclosue is achieved by completely filling out a Seller Property Disclosure and answering any questions the buyers may have. The is part of the process along with permitting the buyers to do as many inspections as they would like to.