Selling a home and firearms - you realtors get in here!

[aviator41]

Yes, all the firearms are going to be tucked away out of sight. she didn't even want people seeing the SAFE! and even asked if I would move it out of the house. (uh, no... I'm only moving the safe once. sorry)

What kills me is how she reacted to the reloading room. There at the end, she said "we'll just lock the door and won't show anyone" - why? It's just *stuff* and people need to see that 4th bedroom. I just don't get it.

 

[jrusling]

Yes, all the firearms are going to be tucked away out of sight. she didn't even want people seeing the SAFE! and even asked if I would move it out of the house. (uh, no... I'm only moving the safe once. sorry)

What kills me is how she reacted to the reloading room. There at the end, she said "we'll just lock the door and won't show anyone" - why? It's just *stuff* and people need to see that 4th bedroom. I just don't get it.

That would be a plus for me.

 

[CHenry]

I can hook you up with my realtor, shes a gun nut like me and not hard to look at either. lol
She's very good at selling property also. Shes actually a real estate broker and doesnt work for anyone else like most realtors.

 

[donner]

i wont say whether you should or shouldn't ditch this person, just that she might not be wrong about it being an issue for some buyers.

For one thing, you always want things to look more spacious. But, i also have friends in Maine who are hunting for houses and they've commented several times on how many places they visited that had a lot of gun stuff present. They aren't gun people, and i'm sure if they wanted that house badly enough they'd have overlooked it. But the fact remains that it was their biggest takeaway from several places.

You're still trying to appeal to a broad audience. Imagine walking into a house and finding their 'pleasure den'. Ain't illegal, but still would be a shock.

 

[Fredkrueger100]

okay, so obviously my family has a few guns. . . just a few. under a hundred, lets say.

Well, we're looking at listing our house and had a friendly neighbor who is a realtor come in and want to list it. . . until she saw the reloading room and the safes. then the discussion turned to "hiding" all the shooting stuff because it would scare off some buyers.

So what gives, is she being accurate? something tells me we need to find a realtor who both appreciates and understands a homeowner who has a shooting addiction.... er.. hobby.

What say you OSA?

Want to adopt me??

 

[SoonerP226]

Thats what I'm thinking too Dennis. I know we have at least one realtor on the board but I can't remember his username...if anyone can help with that, chime in!

Code3 is a realtor; I don't know how active he is, but he has/had an ad in the classifieds.

It's not about being pro- or anti-gun, just like it's not about you--it's about the buyer, and making your house appeal to as many of them as possible. It'd be the same thing if you had a bunch of naughty pictures in your bedroom; there's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but a good realtor will advise you to take them down because they'll leave a negative impression with some potential buyers, which means they won't be willing to offer as much money for your house.

Think about it from the buyer's perspective. If you went into a house full of Sarah Brady and Handgun Control, Inc. posters, don't you think that negative impression would negatively impact the offer you'd be willing to put in on the house? Even if you like the property, would you be willing to pay top dollar to someone with whom you apparently disagree?

It's simple "supply and demand" economics. You have a fixed supply (one house), so the more demand you can gin up (more buyers), the better price you can command. If you start out by artificially limiting the pool of buyers...well, you can do the math.

 

[ssgrock3]

I certainly would not have loose weapons out and such. Code 3 could advise you, but the reality of the situation, that often/most times, it is not the listing agent that sells you home, it is someone with a different realtor, and handcuffing a realtor by saying you have to be present during all showings would certainly make it a challenge. I would consider securing it somewhere, safes are safes, and I don't think it is necessary to move them, the rest you might, just so a prospect can see the great hobby space, etc possible. neat and tidy, even if you leave the machines and loading gear out. Put up powders, simply because many people are ignorant to their use and may fear them. ymmv

 

[cody6766]

There's also the issue of clutter and space. You'll want to move as much stuff out as practical to ensure the rooms look as large as they can. You also want to de-personalize. It's not your house you're selling, it's the buyers' future house. They need to see where their stuff will go, not where your stuff is. If those safes can go to the garage, it might be better, depending on how they look in the room. The reloading supplies would be best to pack up if you can.

It's not a pro/anti gun deal. It's a pro-buyer/anti-you deal

 

[Boehlertaught]

Sell the house furnished! Only show it to gun folks. They move in, get all your stuff. You have lots of money and go get new stuff. Problem solved, Ha Ha. Seriously though, I think a safe is a selling point and you could look at making it part of the house deal. No one needs to know what is in it. Although the loading stuff does kinda give it away but that stuff is easier to hide/move than a safe.

 

[Wheel Gun]

T'were me, I'd lease a very secure locker somewhere and locate my firearms and stuff there during the sales process. Sure, I'd retain what I'd need for home/personal defense. But, I wouldn't want to run off squeamish buyers and I certainly wouldn't want lookie-loos studying my collection. It's hard enough to sell a house; why add yet another obstacle?