Visiting a House in the Winter is Like Online Dating – How You Can Avoid Surprises

In the age of selfies and online dating, the internet can be full of surprises! Have you ever met someone online and they did not look as they advertised, or maybe they did, but once you got to know them more deeply, you learned that there were things about them that you did not like that much. Where are we going with this? It’ll make sense in a minute.

Morphing into an analogy on real estate, when you take your clients to see properties during the winter, it can be difficult to see what is under the snow. Not just on the outside of the home but also in the neighbourhood. In fact, getting a sense for the neighbourhood is extremely difficult, especially north of the GTA where there is more snow during the winter.

The winter with the cold and snow is one major reason why many people wait to buy and/or sell their homes until the spring. Not good news for you because you need to still move properties – snow or no snow.

Showing properties in the snow

The beauty of mobile technology is that you can now do more when you are out with your client. If you are showing clients properties when there is a lot of snow on the ground, there is a lot you can do to overcome this challenge!

·         You can run a report on the property that includes past sales and you may be able to retrieve pre-winter imagery.

·         You can look at aerial imagery to look at the property from above and identify things that may be desirable or undesirable to a client but are otherwise covered by snow.

·         You can look at Street View imagery to see not only the home from the street but also the surrounding properties.

·         Crossing your fingers that that Google truck passed the property when it wasn’t covered in snow, you can actually drop yourself onto the street on Google Maps, right from your tablet and virtually walk around the neighbourhood.

Running an open house in the snow

When people attend your open house, they may be thinking that they can’t see much outside as a result of the snow, but may not bother to voice that it is the reason that they may make the decision to buy once the snow melts and they can see more.

·         Be prepared – ask your clients for family photos outside of the home in different seasons – also photos at local parks and around the neighbourhood. Have them loaded on your tablet to show the client more.

·         Tend to outside – ensure that your client has removed as much snow from the front of the property as possible. The front steps, patio, driveway, walkways and sidewalk if there is one. If there is a deck out back, shovel and salt it. If there is a walkway leading from the front of the house to the back, ensure that the client has shoveled it and salted it as well.

·         Use your tools – Leverage the same tools you would when showing a property to help the prospective buyer visualize the home and community, making them potentially more comfortable to make an offer.

Help your buyer avoid an online dating style disaster by letting them know everything there is to know about the property they are considering starting a long term relationship with.

For more tips or to leverage everything ViMO has to offer as far as making winter showings a breeze, please visit www.myvimo.ca today.