4 weeks in....

It's been a couple of weeks since my last confession.... Ooops, I mean post and lots has happened...

We've now had a total of 46 groups of people through the house - all for the first time.... we haven't had any return visits which is somewhat disappointing because a few people said that they'd be back and I (naively??) got a little excited...

Nevertheless... we've powered on.

The most difficult thing has been getting the house ready on inspection day - 2 small boys and full time work makes it somewhat challenging.

So far we've had the house open for inspection twice a week, on both Saturday and Wednesday.  Of the 46 "groups" we've had a total of 6 through on the 4 Wednesdays we've opened the house.  2 on each of the first 2 Wednesdays and 1 each on the last 2 Wednesdays.... It shouldn't come as a big surprise to learn that we've decided that we're not doing that any more... Too much effort for too little reward.  Instead the compromise position is that I've added my (prepaid) mobile number to the ad with an invitation to "inspect as advertised or by appointment".  That should weed out anyone who's not really interested and save us some stress!

This week is probably the best I've felt about the house actually.  Of the 5 groups through (1 on Wed and 4 today) 4 actually seemed quite interested. Mind you, the woman on Wednesday said she's bring her hubby today and didn't show - so it shows what I know...

One thing my sister pointed out that I think is a great idea is that we're keeping track of how long people stay in the house when they are here... This is a pretty small house and if you're not interested 5 mins will suffice (and has, for the great majority of visitors)... today 3 of the 4 groups were here over 15 mins... and the couple who were here for 15 mins asked the right type of questions and were taking pics both inside and out....

2200 views so far on the web - on average 1 group come to inspect for every 50 views.... I'll see if that changes....

The most interesting story from today - apart from having my good friend Kylie helping instead of my sister (she had other commitments), was about the last group through.

Young couple come up and pepper me with questions before they've even been inside - mostly concerned with mould and damp... They stay about 20 mins (they arrived 5 mins before the inspection was due to finish) and then leave.  I mark them down for a follow up call... I go into my bedroom and whip off my suit and put on a pair of jeans... Kylie and I were about to debrief and compare notes when she says "they're coming back up"...

So they come back up with her mother and their son... to show them around.  I didn't think they were ready to buy - she said that they have to sell their place, and some investment properties and that they are keen on a house in Wahroonga (further north) that goes to auction in a few weeks... But they are doing all the interested type things...  She says the house is "unique" and has lots of "interesting" things and that she really loves the "feel" of it... He says something about taking a chainsaw to it (then clarifies he means the garden)...  She talks about needing to spend about $100K on it... I've learnt to be quiet and not defend the house - that's my emotional connection but it strikes me that maybe I've found that someone with the emotional connection!

Time will tell.

Stay tuned!