Most homebuyers are reasonable people. Of course, there are the odd unreasonable ones…

Find out how to handle tricky buyers and ensure your sale goes through without dispute.

Buying property is a big deal. It’s one of the most expensive acquisitions many people will ever make. So it’s only natural for homebuyers to get particular about certain things. However, there are some buyers who are just plain rude and disrespectful. They point out all the things they don’t like about your home, let their children run amok during viewings and refuse to take off their shoes before traipsing over your new carpets…

How can you keep things calm and amicable when you come across unreasonable homebuyers?

1. Keep your emotions out of it.

As a proud homeowner, it’s easy to take criticism personally. Don’t. You have to treat this as a business transaction. The buyer is entitled to raise concerns about your property. However, if their attitude becomes offensive, stay calm, take a deep breath and politely suggest this isn’t the property for them. You’ll quickly find out whether they are serious about their criticisms, or just trying to get the price down.

2. Place a note on the front door for viewings.

Sometimes, it’s worth wording up interested buyers before they enter your home. Let them know what’s expected of them. If you’re polite about it, they’ll probably appreciate the respect you hold for your home. Appeal to their humanity with a message like this:

“We’ve worked hard to make our home special for you and would like to pass it on to the new owners this way. If you wouldn’t mind taking off your shoes before you enter and being careful and respectful of our things while viewing, we would greatly appreciate it.”

3. 24-hour notice for viewings.

Some homebuyers expect you to drop everything because they ‘are in the area’ and want to view your property, but this isn’t always possible for vendors. While you want to accommodate interested buyers, it can be stressful juggling viewings with work and family commitments. If you lead a busy lifestyle, explain up front in your listing you require 24 hours’ notice to view a property.

4. Get offers in writing from bargain hunters.

You know the kind. They like to make offers on several different properties and play one off the other? When you come across a bargain hunter, ask for their offer in writing and secure a deposit before taking your property off the market. Because when you see an offer in writing, you know you have a genuine buyer.

5. Respond to unreasonable demands rationally.

Some buyers get demanding once contracts have been signed, insisting you fix ‘new’ issues that have come to light before settlement. In this case, you can point out that as the issues were present during inspection and before contracts were signed, you’re not legally obligated to fix them. Sometimes, it may need a bit of compromise and if the demands are reasonable enough, you might want to avoid the headache of dispute and just fix them!