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Home Seller Asks Real Estate Question
August 6th, 2008 categories: Ask Gena, Real Estate Tips, Seller
Sacramento Real Estate Voice received a question that many home sellers ask. Today, we will spend the time to address this question for every home seller that is selling their house or will sell their house and clear the air. 
Whether selling your house in the Sacramento area or across the nation, there are simple rules to follow and common courtesy that should come in to play.
Let’s take a look at this Home Seller question:
HOME SELLER:
We have had our house on the market for about 2 weeks and have been very lucky as have had traffic just about every day. We have made every effort to show, sometimes in as little as 30 minutes notice.
However, we have a dog and work schedules so it can sometimes be hectic to accommodate, but we make it work as we know how important it is. However, my husband is out of town on a business trip for 2 days and we have both our home AND my cell phone listed to contact us.
I came home at 4:30pm with a message on my home machine from an agent at 2:49 pm saying she would like to show my home between 3-4pm and if she did not hear from me she would assume it was fine and leave a card. ??!! She attempted to arrive at 3:05 pm and hearing my dog bark, did not enter.
When I called back, I was pleasant but said I did not think it was reasonable to leave such a message and enter my home with 10-15 minutes notice. She was rude & nasty and said this was perfectly appropriate and she did not need to reach me to show my home. I found this inappropriate as I have a large (but nice) dog as well as a laptop and other items out in my home as I had NO ONE call to schedule with me.
Out of curiosity, do you feel this is appropriate?
ANSWER:
First let me say that common courtesy should always be how every real estate agent approaches showing a home. As a Realtor, we know that selling a house and having to keep the house in showable condition is not as easy as it may seem.
In California, there is a section of the MLS listing with “showing instructions” and another that is for “agents only.” In the showing instruction section, the listing agent writes “call first, lockbox,” “call and make an appointment with seller.” In the agent remark section, there should be information about the dog. Whether a dog is friendly or not, does not matter. This information needs to be documented for the selling agent and buyer protection as well as your own.
If the showing instructions indicated that an appointment needs to be made with the seller prior to showing, then you are absolutely right, the agent should not have tried to show. However, is there is no indication that an appointment needs to be made, then the agent was correct in attempting to show your home.
Most selling agents will call 24 hours ahead to let home sellers know that they wish to show a house. However, home buyers sometimes do not give the agent enough notice and want to see a home for sale right away. Personally, I don’t operate my real estate business like that. I don’t show homes for sale on the fly.
The proper procedure in showing homes for sale is to first and foremost have the home buyers approved by a qualified, licensed Lender, schedule appointments with home sellers and then show homes. This not only protects the home buyer and let’s them know what they can afford and what type of loan they will be obtaining but it also protects the real estate professional and the home seller from those home buyers who think they can afford a house, only to find that they do not qualify.
You never know which home buyer will end up buying your house. I always tell my home sellers that yes they don’t have to show their property if it is inconvenient but it might just be the one home buyer that would have bought your house had they been able to see it. The one time you deny access to your house, may just be the one time you would have received an offer on your home. This is a chance that only you, the home seller can make.
I have shown many houses and had many home sellers and always with those that have animals, I always request that either the animal be secured, a note placed that is easily read where the animal is located in the house and of course always make note of it in the “agent remarks” on the MLS listing. No matter how friendly an animal is normally, this is their home and strangers are entering. This is a liability that should not be left to chance.
Be sure to read an article written by Mans Best Friend May Be Costly When Selling Your Home appearing in a newsletter by one of my favorite Realtors, Lucky Lang of Davenport, Iowa.
In conclusion, in a perfect world, yes the agent should give you proper notice of 24 hours prior to showing but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way most of the time. If your house is for sale, you need to leave the house each morning knowing that someone may show the house. If that is not acceptable, then have your agent reword the MLS listing on the showing instructions to read, “make appointment with the seller.” Appointments will give you a better sense of when an agent will show but also limits who will show your house.
There are 3 things that effect whether or not a home will sell:
- Price
- Accessibility
- Appearance
Ask your Realtor for a copy of the MLS printout sheet that other Realtors see and check out what it says. I always provide my home sellers with a copy and have them sign it so that each of us knows exactly what the selling Realtor reads.
It is difficult living under a microscope when selling a house and I know that the stress level is high, I wish you good luck with the sale of your home and hope you receive an offer shortly.
Here is a REAL example of one of my home sellers a few years ago:
I got a phone call early one Sunday morning from my Home Seller who told me that an agent from the Bay Area knocked on her door to show her house with no prior notice. She asked me if she had to show. I told her that “yes, it was rude on the part of the agent to show up announced and she didn’t have to show but that this might just be the Home Buyer that buys the house.”
The Home Seller decided to ask the Home Buyers to make themselves comfortable on her front porch while she prepared the family to leave the house.
These Home Buyers are now the proud homeowners of this house. Had the Home Seller refused to allow the home buyers entrance, they may not have bought the house and found another house where they could gain entrance.
You never know when you turn down a home buyer or make it difficult to show your house for sale who may have given you an offer you couldn’t refuse. It’s a chance you take.
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Other Home Buyer and Home Seller Questions:
Sacramento Asks Real Estate Questions
Burning Real Estate Questions, Answered
Ask Gena Answers Homeowner Question
Home Seller Articles You May Enjoy Reading:
Dress Your Home to Sell-Inside Home Seller Tips
Dress Your Home to Sell-Outside Home Seller Tips
Tips In Preparing Your Home For Sale
A lot of agents don’t understand what “Call First Lock Box” means in the MLS…generally it does mean (at least in our market’s customs) that we call, but we’re coming even if no one says it’s okay.
Great questions and answers!
Upstart Agent, yes “Call 1st Lockbox” does mean to simply leave a message that the agent will be showing the property and give the date and approx. time of the showing.
I always leave my name and phone number just in case there is a problem with the availability of showing.
Many times, the seller actually call back to acknowledge the phone call, which isn’t necessary but adds a nice touch.
Sometimes, I think we lose a little bit of the human side of all this so it’s nice to communicate.