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Amberleighe
I have seen numerous posts from buyers who pefer to view a house in this manner. You truly see what you are buying without a lot of damage being hidden by rugs, wall hangings, and furniture.
The last two homes I purchased were both vacant when we were shown them. I guess I prefer them that way too.
I wonder about a downside risk though. That being that potential buyers thinking that the owner might be dealing with two mortgage payments, and vulnerable to lowball offers.
It may depend on the area your home is in. If you are in an "ify" area you could be a victum of vandels. (or sometimes even better areas)
Vacant listings do have an advantage of easy anytime access.
I personally prefer to look at empty homes. But I have noticed a lot of empty homes in Las Vegas that have been vandalized.
Some insurance companies will not insure your home if it is vacant and we do get more vandalism on vacant homes in bad areas. It can be very costly.
Steve
Thanks that is something I had not even considered! There is no way I would leave my house 7 hours away uninsured, or uninsured at all for that matter!!
I spoke with an agent today via email and she is confident our home would sell in 4 - 9 mos at full asking price, sooner if we ask for less. :) I am excited to get our to do list complete and get it on the market!!
We had someone in our neighborhood leave their home vacant and with a monitored security alarm. After 6 straight days of notices tacked to the front door by irate cops having to respond to false alarms, I called their real estate agent and demanded the stupid thing be disarmed permanently. Those notices were a big neon sign saying "nobody's home, come right in!"
UG! Yeh I imagine that would be a bad idea! Although when I was considering this as an option I was going to have a family member in the area be the person that the alarm company would call if the alarm was triggered.
Also that is a good point that people would assume the seller is desperate to sell and offers would be low!
If you leave the house vacant you must have a monitored security system. I would be sure to include smoke detectors. Advise your insurance company of this and you might even get a discount. The vacancy thing might disqualify you from the usual available discount. What happened in nehope's neighborhood can happen. It is just the fault of the installer. Who knows, maybe a bird got in the house and was tripping a motion detector. However, these situations are not the norm. You will probably have to sign a monitoring agreement that lasts for a couple of years. I used ours as a selling point and paid the contract off.
As you can see, there is no right or wrong! Some people prefer a bit of furniture because it is hard for them to imagine the size of a bed, or a couch. Others prefer empty. Another option if the budget allows, empty your stuff and hire a stager who will bring in some basic furniture. (I did option 3, house sold in 10 days).
as a buyer, I prefer vacant homes. With a vacant home, I know that no utility is being provided to the owner whatsoever, they are pissing money away on the home, and thus more eager to get rid of it. If someone is still living in the home, they many not be as negotiable.
"as a buyer, I prefer vacant homes. With a vacant home, I know that no utility is being provided to the owner whatsoever, they are pissing money away on the home, and thus more eager to get rid of it. If someone is still living in the home, they many not be as negotiable."
I guess this is all the more reason NOT to vacate prior to selling! Because desperate we are not.
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Vacant?
Amberleighe
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Is it a bad idea to leave a house vacant while its on the market?
We've considered this as an option if we have to move before the home sells. We would install a monitored security system (and we live in a very safe area).
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