# Would you let a potential buyer spend the night in your home? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143 "2013-02-02T20:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/1 "2013-02-02T20:49:50Z")
Just to get a feel for the place. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/2 "2013-02-02T20:55:13Z")
Any stranger that walks in or calls? No. What do you mean by “potential buyer”? ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/3 "2013-02-02T20:55:35Z")
No. I mean, my first impulse was to say, “Sure, come on over!” But then I started thinking about things like personal safety (if I was still living in the home) and the security of my belongings. I’d also be reluctant to form any personal relationship with a potential buyer of my house. By its nature, a home sale is really best suited to strangers - you don’t want to be around when they start making snide comments about your decorating style. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/4 "2013-02-02T21:01:59Z")
You can decide the criteria Czarcasm. The thought just popped into my head. I know about home swapping but that’s a little more involved, I think. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/5 "2013-02-02T21:03:56Z")
If you’re confident it will close the deal. However, those spending the night are looking for deal breakers. As a buyer, I’d love to do that just to hear how quiet (or not) it is at night or in the morning. Or what the commute is really like when I want to leave in the morning. OF course, if not as hoped, I’d back out of the purchase. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/6 "2013-02-02T21:11:55Z")
Is the house empty, or are you still living in it? ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/7 "2013-02-02T21:17:09Z")
No, that’s ridiculous. Way too many ways for it to go wrong. They can spend as long as they want looking at it, but there’s no reason for them to just lay in the house unconscious for 8 hours to make their decision. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/8 "2013-02-02T21:17:47Z")
Not a chance. ---
**Author:** ![jacobsta811](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobsta811/32/2893_2.png) [@jacobsta811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobsta811)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/9 "2013-02-02T22:00:38Z")
With a hefty deposit, them paying for my hotel, and pictures of the house before they stay there to make sure they don’t steal anything, sure. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/10 "2013-02-02T22:00:50Z")
Hell no. I’m iffy if they can even come in and look around. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/11 "2013-02-02T23:38:34Z")
No. I don’t think I’d even want to try to sell a house to a person that makes such a request. It sounds way to flakey and not worth me time. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/12 "2013-02-02T23:50:36Z")
At first I thought no, he might find the bodies in the cellar and I’m _not_ moving them before we have a signed contract. Then I thought, well, maybe if I sleep here too, then, well, Teddy! ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/13 "2013-02-02T23:50:50Z")
Absolutely not. If they want to gauge the neighborhood they can park their van in the street overnight. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/14 "2013-02-03T00:03:52Z")
I’m on the hell no side. I’d have to be very desperate to sell to agree to it. I’ve always vacated the house for showings and in fact I don’t think I ever met the purchasers in person the last time we sold a house. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/15 "2013-02-03T00:15:21Z")
No way in the wide world. What are they going to find out while they’re sleeping that they can’t better evaluate walking around looking, checking and knocking on the timber? (Or whatever house buyers do.) ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/16 "2013-02-03T00:52:57Z")
For free? No. But I would entertain offers to rent my house for a night. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/17 "2013-02-03T00:57:32Z")
Depending on whether I’m still living there, whether I have moved out and just my stuff is there, or wether the house is empty, I’d say no, no, and no. Respectively. Really, this is just a very bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/18 "2013-02-03T01:31:08Z")
Really, anyone eccentric enough to request this is also likely to be a huge PITA in a million other ways as well, and then back out at the last minute before closing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/19 "2013-02-03T01:40:35Z")
I would invite them of come over in the evening and spend a little time, so they get the feel of what it’s like in the neighborhood at night. And so they can see what the house looks like when it’s dark outside and the lights are on. I wish I had seen our house when it was dark, so I could see how well (or not) the light fixtures light up the rooms. I would not let them come spend the night. There’s just no need for that. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143/20 "2013-02-03T01:42:04Z")
It depends. If I, say, lived near an airport and they wanted to be reassured that they couldn’t hear the planes taking off and landing in the middle of the night … I’d consider it. But I’d certainly be there in the house as well, and it’d have to be one HELL of a buyer’s market and I’d have to be desperate to sell. I can’t say no unequivocally because there may be some legit reasons to do this, although rarely. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-a-potential-buyer-spend-the-night-in-your-home/649143.md?page=2)