About every other house we list in the New Orleans real estate market, one of our sellers will utter the phrase, “my friends want to buy my house.” Which makes sellers feel insanely great about getting their house on the market for everyone to see!
We hate to burst your bubble, but we have some things to tell you.
Your friends are being polite.
Your bestie may LOVE your house. It may even feel like they love it as much as you do! However, it’s doubtful they are going to buy your house. Most of the time, they are just being polite.
Look, we don’t deny that they adore your abode. But it likely won’t result in them making an offer.
Your friends can’t afford it.
Many times, home sellers have us contact their buddy who is interested in buying their home. Most of the time, this results in the friend saying, “I didn’t know it was going to be so expensive.” So, while they may WANT to buy your home – oftentimes, they CANT.
They are afraid it would hurt your friendship.
Only once (out of over 500 transactions) has a friend bought a seller’s home. AND IT GOT WEIRD. The seller didn’t even like this person very much and refused to budge on anything. And the buyer took everything personally. The mutual friends were spreading the gossip quickly. It may have ended in a sale, but it also created the loss of a friendship.
While this wouldn’t keep me from buying a friend’s house, I would also need to remind myself that this is a business transaction and not based on us sharing beers on Friday nights.
At the end of the day, while your well-intentioned friends are saying, “oh! I love your place so much that I may buy it!” Forge ahead with getting your home on the market; don’t give that much more thought. If they actually want to buy your home, tell them to have their REALTOR® contact yours!
Ready to talk home selling? Contact us!