The Empty House

Sell. Buy. Move.

It’s those three steps – in that order – that make up the delicate dance home sellers aim to perform

Sometimes, the steps get reversed, with sellers moving and leaving behind a vacant home that’s up for sale.

Indeed, the number of vacant homes reached a high early this past year, reaching nearly 19 million, according to Census figures.

It may not be the plan, but is an empty home necessarily filled with difficulties for a determined seller?

Like the proverbial half-empty, half-full glass, experts say there are both positive and negative aspects to marketing vacant properties.

Here, insight for both sellers and buyers on how to look at the empty home.

Motivation Matters

An empty home means the owner has moved on, and now may be paying mortgages on both a new home and his old one.

But in this market, buyers shouldn’t assume that means the owner is more motivated than other sellers, warns agent Ellen Klein, with Century 21 Christel Realty in Rockaway, N.J.

“It all depends on the individual circumstances,” says Klein. “You can have a very motivated seller who’s living in the home – perhaps because they can’t afford the home.”

Clutter-Free Viewing

Although a “homey” home, perhaps with the sweet smell of baked cookies wafting through the air, is a listing agent’s stereotypical dream, stark spaces do have advantages.

“If a home is vacant and has a lockbox, it raises the number of showings,” observes Debbie Sinagoga, associate broker at Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty in Scottsdale, Ariz. “That’s because agents don’t have to make an appointment. Also, they may be passing by with clients and decide to stop by on the fly.”

Home sellers often have to scramble to clear clutter, and refuse spontaneous showings, agrees Chris Longfelder Doucet of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty in Seattle.

Imagination Required

While clutter-free is a plus, the downside of empty spaces is that they deprive buyers of a vision of what it would be like to live in a particular home, a critical factor in prompting a purchase, say agents. “The typical person really isn’t that visual,” observes Sinagoga. “They have to see furniture in place.”

In an empty home, adds Klein, agents have to do more talking. “I try to point out the advantages of different rooms, and point out where they could place furniture.”

Lived-In Look

Some companies see opportunity in vacant homes, by providing furniture, accessories – and even people to live in the property and keep it well-maintained.

Franchise firms of Nashville-based ShowHomes.com, for instance, typically provide owners of middle-upper and upper-bracket priced homes with furniture and a “renter” who agrees to pristine maintenance, says Thomas Scott, ShowHomes.com vice president.

When the home is sold, the firm collects a fee that ranges from one-quarter of 1 percent to three-quarters of 1 percent of the sales price, says Scott.

Most clients call after they’ve had a vacant home on the market for a few months, Scott adds, and have been told that “the empty home doesn’t smell right or look right,” he explains.

Right Policy

When owners leave their home, they need to say hello – to their homeowner’s insurance agent, warns Don Griffin, vice president for personal lines at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

“Risks rise on vacant properties,” he explains. Unless owners notify the insurance firm their home is vacant and make arrangements for a policy that will cover certain hazards, like fire, but not other perils associated with vacancies, like vandalism, they can be denied coverage when they make a claim.

Some states allow insurers to drop coverage if a home is vacated, says Griffin. But in many cases owners can arrange for new, albeit more expensive, coverage.