What's next... S'mores and ghost stories?! Nowadays it seems like anything goes in the real estate scene! The latest thing catching on in the marketplace is a "sleepover test drive" before a buyer will commit to an offer. How a house looks is one thing, but more and more buyers are asking to stay over for a night to get the feel of the home. And some sellers have no problem with this whatsoever, as they plan to show off the barbecue, fire up the Jacuzzi, and highlight a few other features that have made them feel at home for so long.
Perhaps inspired by such television shows as "Date My House" and "Sleep On It," home sleepovers are becoming a real-world phenomenon in the modern real estate transaction. It makes sense if you consider that most buyers visit a home upwards of four times before making an offer. In the case of a sleepover, a buyer is seeing the house from all angles and at all times of day. He can even experience just how quietly the house settles in at night, what neighborhood activity there might be, and all pros and cons of the house from the point of view of actual inhabitance.
Not all sellers and agents are amenable to this sort of arrangement, however, citing that in spite of a prospective buyer being able to take in all the positive attributes, there is the chance that negative aspects could reveal themselves as well. And of course, even if the buyer falls madly in love with the house after the overnight, there is still a chance that it isn't enough to make the sale. Whether or not this unconventional means of home selling is for you or your client, it is advised that, as always, some sort of written agreement is in place before engaging in an overnight stay arrangement. Both insurance broker and legal counsel should always be consulted to help create or just reinforce the infrastructure of such an agreement.