Showing a home isn’t always as easy as it sounds…
Posted by Colleen Kulikowski, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson (716) 650-0051 on Nov 1, 2011 in Area Information, Home Seller Resources, Lewiston Homes, Real Estate News | 2 comments
Buyers can make showing homes difficult for Realtors...
Let’s talk about showings for your home for sale. I am frustrated with the lack of professionalism by some Realtors. Not all, just a few. And I am not the only one who is frustrated.
I am sure that it is the behavior of these agents that give those of us that work hard to facilitate every showing and keep home owners informed a bad name.
Are you considering selling your WNY home? Here are a few things you need to understand. Those Realtors that are working with buyers have a lot to do. First off they have to qualify their clients, then select properties that:
- Their clients can afford
- That has the features they desire
- Deal with people that may not be completely honest
- Difficulty in scheduling appointments
There are times that these agents are faced with trying to schedule last minute appointments and are meet with resistance. But as a homeseller you need to be aware that it is not always the agent’s fault. I have a system in place to make sure that if someone wants to show a property last minute they can.
Life happens while you are making plans, things like:
- They drive up with clients and they don’t want to go in
- There is a sign in a yard that wasn’t listed on the MLS before you went out
- Criteria changes and the agent knows of a home that would be perfect
- The previous showing ran late, and the agent is running late
- perhaps the showing agent was late
- they were running late
- poor scheduling
- The agent may have notified the showing agent about a delay but the agent fails to notify you
Now here is something you need to know about. Sometimes agents make it impossible for agents to see a property. I constantly run into situations that I call to set an appointment and the agent does not get back to me. As I write this on Thursday, I have a home that I called on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to get into. We will not be able to see it because the instructions say 24 hour notice required. The agent hasn’t bothered to return my phone call. I have an interested buyer and I cannot get the agent to call me back to confirm an appointment. I understand last minute not being able to reach but three days prior?
Before you decide to list your home with an agent, you should test and see how they handle showings. This is how you showings are going to be handled. Make sure that you see how they handle requests.
Interested in more information about listing your home for sale? Please call me today at (716) 743-5297. Be sure to leave a message, I will return the call.
Great real world advice for sellers and agents alike.
Agents not returning calls for showing for day is a huge pet peeve of mine.
Next is sellers who want to sell but want 24-72 hours notice before “granting” a showing. Typically and not surprisingly, a huge percentage of these listings expire unsold. We can’t sell it if we can’t show it.
Hmmmm…. this all sounds awfully familiar! Sellers often get very frustrated with agents that don’t show up exactly on time, at all, don’t give enough notice, or don’t stay long enough. If they only knew… most of the time it’s not our fault! You gave some great examples of what can happen along the way. My favorite? When you make the obligatory 24 hour notice appointment, drive your clients 15 minutes out of the way to the property, and then they don’t want to go in.