How to Conduct a Viewing
Your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There’s vomit on your sweater already, mum’s spaghetti. You’re nervous, but on the surface, you look calm and ready. To drop bombs, but you keep on forgettin’ what you wrote down, the renter goes so loud. You open your mouth, but the words won’t come out. Your chokin’, how, everybody’s jokin’ now. The clocks run out, times up, over, blaow! Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity.
We’re pretty sure Eminem’s famous song, Lose Yourself, was about the first time you conduct a property viewing. It all adds up. No further questions, please.
The idea of showing a property to a renter might seem a bit daunting at first. But don’t worry; you’ve got this. You can do it.
Actually, come to think of it, showing a potential tenant around a property is a breeze — if done correctly.
“How is it done correctly?”, you ask. Fear not, as we’re here to tell you with your guide on how to conduct a viewing like a pro.
Advice landlords and tenants can use
Whether you’re a landlord showing your property, or a tenant taking part in our Tenant Team Up, these following tips will have you showing renters around better than the high-street agents. In fact, you will be so good that renters will think you’re ARLA qualified.
So, get reading, and find out how to show your property
Tidy up and declutter
You don’t want a potential renter to have a look of utter horror on their face during a viewing. Which is why preparation is involved with making a success of your viewing. We recommend doing one big spring clean when it’s listed, so you only need to do a small tidy before each viewing.
But that clean needs to be a good one. You’ll need to declutter and depersonalise to an extent, as renters want to visualise themselves living in the property. They can’t do that if your clothes are hanging over the chair and your DVD boxsets (are they still a thing?) are piled up in the corner.
You don’t want the property to come across as completely soulless. But, at the same time, it shouldn’t be filled to the brim with your sentimental items.
Do a big clean
Accompanying your declutter is that big spring clean we referenced earlier. Windows should be sparkling; kitchens and bathrooms spotless. Renters hope that they’re going to view a showroom-like apartment with a nice shiny kitchen surface and bathrooms.
Doing one big clean before it goes on the lettings market means that you can do little touch-ups before viewings. This will save you valuable time so that you don’t have to spend an hour before each viewing making everything prim and proper.
Put extra care into your kitchen
Let’s be honest here: the kitchen is the star attraction, the centrepiece of a home. A top-notch kitchen increases the chance of renters falling in love with the property. It’s not solely a place to cook and bake. No, it’s the place to socialise. All the cool people can be found in the kitchen at parties.
With all of this in mind, you need to make the kitchen clean, homely and pleasing on the eye. Many people cite a bad kitchen’s as a dealbreaker, so if they walk in the property and see something not up to scratch, it could be game over.
Your kitchen doesn’t have to be top-of-the-range with all the latest appliances. But it does need to be clean and look the business.
Don’t go overboard
There’s no need to have baked products and a fresh pot of coffee ready for renters. They won’t be fooled, and while they might think it’s a nice effort, your tasty treats won’t impact their decisions on whether they’re going to call your property their home for the foreseeable future.
We know that you’re keen to get the property rented, either because you’re the landlord or the current tenant who wants to earn one week’s rent. But don’t go over the top and come across as too eager. In other words, keep it chill, dudes and dudettes.
Sell the home
You don’t need to be salesperson extraordinaire, but there is no harm in highlighting the benefits of the property. Renters spend around 10 minutes on a viewing, and most will be doing so in the evening after a long day at work.
If the home gets good light during the day time and is south-facing, let them know. If there’s underfloor heating, show them how it works. Perhaps there’s something unique about the kitchen appliances? All of these aspects should be highlighted during the viewing.
Sell the area
The property’s location is also important. Ask people viewing if they’re familiar with the area. No one knows the property and the area as well as you do, so put that knowledge to use and tell them where all the good stuff is.
Let them know how far it is to the local transport hubs, where the good cafes and restaurants are located, if there’s a farmers’ market and if there are any good bars in the area. The more information they have about the postcode, the more confident they will feel making a decision.
Be friendly and approachable
Ok, ok, you don’t need to become best buds with the new potential tenant. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be friendly, though. We recommend going for friendliness with a professional tone — warm and courteous but still about your business, which is the business of letting the property.
They are there to see what could be their new home. You’re there to let it. Nothing else really matters, which is why we say you should keep things light and breezy with a professional tone — just like that person who served you in a shop the other day who was wearing a suit with trainers.
Letting with the best of ‘em
Showing a renter round your property will be a piece of cake if you follow the above tips. And the more viewings you do, the more confident you will become. Just remember: the property is the main attraction. You’re there to highlight all of its awesomeness.
