#21 First Viewing - Senior Affluent Clients | What I Kept in Mind for Viewings While Living in the Property | Sales Phase 1 (Part 4)

Hello. This is Amaguri🌰.
I am writing a realistic account
of when we sold our condo.

We began the process of selling our home condo
in a city in western Japan in January 2025.
It unexpectedly fell into a high price range, and our joy was short-lived...

It was a difficult field with limited buyers
who made severe judgments.
I'm sure this will be helpful to someone!

So, I am documenting the days leading up to the handover.
(I post an article about every 3 days)
Click here for details on what kind of condo it is↓

Click here for the previous article↓
#20 Criticism from Other Companies - About Contract Non-Conformity Liability | Working Hard on Sorting Out Household Goods

[Background so far]
We are currently selling for 128 million yen through Real Estate Agency B (the original developer). After tweaking the photos on our SUUMO listing page and receiving some sharp feedback from other companies, we finally got a viewing request!

[ Character Introduction]
- Mr. J
Sales representative from Real Estate Agency B (the original developer). He is in his mid-30s, kind, and gentle.

Now, please continue reading😊

The First Viewing

It was about a month after we started sales.

I received an email from Mr. J, our sales representative at Real Estate Agency B,
saying, "We have received a request for a viewing from a party via another company."

(Note: In City A in western Japan where our condo is located,
they used the term 'nairan' (viewing) instead of 'naiken'.)

For a while, we had been completely absorbed
in struggling to clear out a massive amount of belongings
from two rooms: our own condo and my mother's room at our temporary residence.
We had almost forgotten

that we were currently in the middle of selling
and that there was such a thing as a "viewing."😓

"Viewings come when you least expect them."

...Looking back,
our sales process felt like that from start to finish.

What I Kept in Mind for Viewings While Living in the Property

Our sales representative, Mr. J,
did not give us any specific warnings or instructions
like "please do this"
regarding the viewings.

However,
since it is an important factor that influences the client's impression,
we looked up "viewing etiquette" online
and took our own measures.

We put more effort than usual into cleaning the water areas.
We were especially careful to keep the kitchen, washroom, bathroom, and toilet clean.

Checklist of things to tidy up

Also,
reflecting on the fact that when we took the initial advertising photos, we released photos full of signs of daily life,
we made a checklist for tidying up.
(↓ Click here to see how we despaired after looking at the SUUMO listing photos


#19 Finally seeing reality by looking at SUUMO )

On the day of, things get hectic with cleaning and preparations in various places.
Because my brain would get overloaded and stop working,
it was helpful to have made a list in advance.

Odor control

When stepping into the room,
as a measure for that crucial first impression,
deodorizing the entrance and having a pleasant scent might be important.

I worried about it quite a bit and
tried several deodorizers and air fresheners,
but in our case, we used this one.
It says "Charcoal Scent," but
it's a refreshing scent that works for both Japanese and Western styles.

For the main living/dining/kitchen area,
I avoided chemical-based products and used natural scents.
I used lavender essential oil.

Being mindful of meal menus too

In terms of odor control,
I also had to be careful about meal menus on the day of a viewing.

With things like curry or grilled fish,
even with full ventilation,
the smell doesn't go away easily.

On days when there was a viewing,
I had to think about things like choosing simple menus that wouldn't cause odor concerns.

BGM is Apple Music

Also, I felt like the silence was a bit awkward,
so I played music from Apple Music at a low volume.

I chose things like light jazz,
the kind you might hear as background music in a cafe.

The biggest struggle was the laundry

And, above all, the biggest stress of having viewings while living in the property
was probably the laundry issue...

For normal guests, you can hang laundry
on the outside balcony or
dry it in the bathroom using the dryer (Kawakk),
using inconspicuous places, but
during a viewing, there is nowhere to hide it 😣

From the client's perspective,
I think the balcony and the bathroom
are places they definitely want to check thoroughly.

So, I would finish it the night before
and take it in during the morning,
or
I would hide it inside the washing machine during the viewing,
and after it was over, I would run the machine
and dry it all at once using the dryer.

But it definitely changed my daily rhythm,
and I had to be creative with my time,
so it was certainly quite stressful.

Checking common areas too

It's not just the inside of the room that I checked.
If the viewing was on a weekday, the building manager would be there
to clean the apartment complex.
But that wasn't the case on weekends and holidays.

From the area around the apartment entrance
all the way to our room,
I also checked the bicycle parking area and inside the elevator.

I walked around looking at places the client might pass by and see,
and if there was any trash, I would pick it up and clean it.

It was a large group for a viewing.

...So, let's get to the main point.
Here is how the first viewing went.

Unfortunately, it was pouring rain on the day.
I had a bad feeling about it right from that moment...

The clients were a senior couple living in the city.
(Perhaps in their late 70s?)
How should I put it... they seemed like very ordinary people.

It might be rude to say, but
I didn't get the impression that they were wealthy at all.
They were no different from the seniors I see every day at the supermarket
dressed in casual clothes...
And then, along with the client couple,

two sales representatives from another company,
and Mr. J, the sales representative from B Real Estate on our side,
a total of five people came over! 😲

...That's quite a crowd.

According to them,
due to issues with the aging of their detached house
and the fact that it had become difficult to manage due to their age,
they had apparently sold their home.

And they were considering moving to a condo
that is convenient and
places less strain on their bodies.

They were having a conversation like, "Would this be easy to use even if we end up in wheelchairs?"

Barrier-free condo

By the way,
our condo is
a barrier-free design with almost no steps.

Also, when it was newly built,
we had handrails installed in the entryway and restroom as an additional option,
and we had a folding chair attached to the wall
to make it easier to put on and take off shoes.

Mr. J, our sales representative,
had introduced it on the online listing page
as "having excellent barrier-free features."

Perhaps because of that,
they seemed to be interested.

Even though they were from another company

By the way, the other company that came this time,
while not what you would call a major firm,
is a real estate company with an image of having many affluent clients.

The two sales representatives from the other company who came were a young person and a veteran.
Among them,
the veteran, who was probably around 50,
was mainly leading the tour.

And I was surprised at how naturally that veteran sales representative was conducting the tour!
Even though it was their first time at our home,

they were explaining the various parts of the room and the facilities in a smooth, flowing manner.

Well, I suppose most condos
are pretty much the same, though...

Mr. J, the sales representative from B Real Estate, the original developer of our home,
was just watching the situation quietly.

I wondered, "Is that okay for the original developer?" but
perhaps he was doing it out of respect
for the veteran sales representative from the other company.

They are concerned about the differences from a detached house

Judging by the conversation between the husband and wife, I think they were initially resistant to coming to see a room where the owner is still living.

The veteran sales representative told the clients, "Isn't it good to see a room where someone is living, as it helps you imagine life there?"

・・・However,

It seemed that the couple was more confused about the differences between a detached house and a condominium than whether they liked our apartment or not.

Our home is about 85 square meters with a living-dining-kitchen area of about 23 tatami mats. I think it's quite spacious for a condominium. But it seems the couple has lived for many years in a grand house with a magnificent garden, and they didn't seem used to the functional yet compact structure of a condominium.

Compared to their spacious detached house, they were concerned about the ceiling height and the size of the balcony. They also looked at the kitchen range hood with fresh eyes, saying, "So this is what modern ventilation fans are like."

They didn't seem to know about the 24-hour ventilation system either.

Do you really want to see things like that?!

After they finished looking around, they went back to the kitchen sink.

Then, the wife said, "Come to think of it, the drain in our kitchen has turned red and won't go back to normal, and we're having trouble with it. How is it here?"

"!"

The wife is staring at it with great interest, but...

I polished the water areas like the sink, but are you really saying you want to see inside the
drain trap as well?! 😱

No, I really didn't anticipate that! It's not really something I can show to others... What should I do, should I open the lid...?

Seeing me freeze, our sales representative, J, who had been quiet until then, finally threw me a lifeline and steered the conversation to another topic...

・・・

・・・Property viewings are terrifying.

I vowed to myself that from now on, I would work hard at cleaning so that I could proudly show even the drain and the drain trap.

The couple also asked about things like
earthquake resistance, noise levels,
and where to go for shopping,
so I answered them
from the perspective of a resident.

How affluent seniors choose condominiums

Watching them view the property,
I felt something was off, thinking,
“These people are different,”
and the result confirmed it.

Later, our sales representative, J, told me,
“These clients seem to be planning to
look at various other properties,
so it will likely be a while before they reach a decision.”
That's what he said.

Well, that means it's a no, then. 😑

In addition, J shared this with me:
“Older clients really take their time searching.”
“I’ve even had people come back a year later after looking at everything else.”

Many seniors
have already retired from work,
so they don't need to worry about commuting.
Also, they don't need to consider school districts,
which likely makes their area options freer and broader.

(Given their age, they do care about places for daily shopping and
whether there is a large hospital nearby.)

And since they spend a lot of time at home,
it seems many are quite particular about
comfort and how pleasant the interior is.

The couple who came to view our home this time
were going through a major life transition,
moving from a detached house they had lived in for years
to a condominium.

It didn't seem like a match for our home,
but I hope they find a wonderful property.

That was how my first viewing ended.

Since this is about real estate, it’s not exactly a moving story that would make you want to 'like' it, but...
It would encourage me if you could feel free to click the 'like' button as a sign that you read this... 🙇🏻‍♀️