If you’re gearing up to sell your home this spring, one of the early conversations we will have is setting up appointments for you. While outside of New York City, there are lockboxes and public open houses, the process to gain access to apartments in coops, condos, and new developments is different.
New York Showing Process
In New York City, the various buildings and sellers have specific showing time rules to gain access to an apartment or townhouse. Furthermore, real estate agents have busy and complex schedules and can be anywhere in the city due to work obligations. It is industry standard in New York City to request a showing at least 24 to 48 hours before the requested time, and longer timeframes may be needed for certain situations. Situations, such as the owner’s children, maybe sleeping or engaged in a work situation during certain times of day, tenants, or buildings with specific showing time requirements.
Buyer’s Agent Scheduling Complexity
The buyer’s agent generally schedules several showings in different buildings and units and must contact numerous agents to derive a schedule that meets everyone’s requirements. Also, when showing in a new development, the buyer’s agent must register their customer before viewing the property. Open houses are generally by Appointment Only. The buyer’s agent contacts the listing agent to set up a personalized showing.
Spring Selling Season in NYC
Spring is the peak homebuying season, so opening a home to secure as many showings as possible helps capitalize on the extra buyer activity the market witnesses at this time of year. Buyer competition ramps up in the spring, and buyers want to move quickly to see a home once they identify a listing online that appeals to them. And if they see it and fall in love with it at a time they know they’re competing with other buyers, you may be more likely to get the offer you’re looking for on your home.
Keep The Home Clean and Clutter-free
Understandably, you want to keep the disruptions to your schedule to a minimum, and you may be stressed about keeping it clean, but it’s worth it. As an article from Investopedia explains:
“If someone wants to view your home, you need to accommodate them, even if it inconveniences you. Clean and tidy the home before every single visit. A buyer won’t know or care if your home was clean last week. It’s a lot of work, but stay focused on the prize.”
Showing Plan
As your agent, we will walk through options like the ones below to determine what’s best for you. This list breaks things down, starting with what’s most convenient for buyers and getting less buyer-focused as the list goes on:
- Provide a Key to the Home – As your agent, provide me a key to the apartment and Fob to amenity spaces if applicable. Another option would be to provide access by leaving the keys at the front desk. This is still pretty convenient for showings too. It’s important to register the showing agent’s name at the building.
- By Appointment Only—This provides you with a more advanced warning so you can get the home tidied up and be sure you have somewhere else to go in the meantime. But it’s also a bit more restrictive.
- Limited Access – You might go this route if you only want to have your home available on specific days or at certain times of day. But realize this is the most difficult and least flexible of the choices.
Buyer’s Desire Accessibility
As an article from U.S. News Real Estate says:
“Buyers like to see homes on their schedule, which often means evenings and weekends. Plus, they want to be able to tour a home soon after they find it online, especially if they’re competing with other buyers. If your home can be shown with little or no notice, more prospective buyers will see it.
As your agent, I will help you find the right path forward based on your schedule and what’s working for other sellers in your area. And if you’re hard-lined about granting buyers more access or have interested out-of-town buyers who can’t be there in person. Then we will get creative and help you explore other options like video tours, virtual showings, and more.
Key Takeaway
When selling your home, you want to attract as much buyer activity as possible. Let’s discuss which level of access helps make that possible.
Other educational articles about the market and your home search are under Karen’s Blog. Additionally, explore the search bar for other topics of interest.
