Tuesday, July 07, 2015

Frustrated Seller: NO Notice for Showings... and Agent left lights on

I had a client that is selling 2 properties with us right now. One is vacant and the other has a renter in the property. He has been really frustrated with the past couple showings.
 
I wanted to share with you my response to him commenting on an agent that gave no notice for a showing and another agent that showed his vacant property and left all the lights on, and the door open.
 
Here was my response to the seller after we made some changes in our listing instructions to do our best to get agents to be more mindful and responsible:
 
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I do apologize for the inconveniences you are experiencing, and selling and buying real estate should be FUN! The thing to really keep in mind is that there is really no common sense "etiquette" taught in most (if all) real estate schools AND most agents only sell one house every month or two... so they never really get great or experienced at selling real estate. Then on top of all that, Buyers only buy a house once every 10 years, and they are just excited about seeing homes and they call ALL the time adding more houses to a list of homes to see, and they especially don't think about whether or not their request was enough time for the seller to prepare.

What you want to know as a seller is that when the buyer throws on a "last minute" showing or even if the agent does... they are probably looking at a bunch of other homes. Every showing that can't be accommodated will 70% of the time just be 'passed over' because they probably have 5-8 other homes they are going to see.

Whether they give you notice or not... you can lose them as a potential buyer. The last minute looker has probably considered your property as a possibility because they weren't finding what they really wanted, and when we can't get the showing through when THEY want to go through, they will talk themselves out of seeing it.

As for agents leaving lights on and doors unlocked... believe me, I GET that is so frustrating and for our industry as a whole, I am embarrassed that someone could go into another persons home, and not treat it like their own, or respect the fact that they are in a strangers home. AGAIN, the reality is, we want every agent to show to every buyer whenever they can get the to look even if they don't give us notice (for the reasons above). AND along with that comes making the property available to agents that sell 4-10 homes per year. In fact, the National Association of Realtors sends out stats that show the average Realtor sells 4-6 homes per year. That is truly not enough sales to understand the level of professionalism full time Realtors would LOVE to see in our industry.

So, my advice to every one of our clients is in order to make sure you get the most money and most equity for your property and to make absolutely sure you sell as fast as possible is to accommodate every showings no matter what. When you do have to cancel or change a showing, even for all the reasons above, just say to yourself "Even if this is the buyer that will buy my house right now, and pay the most money for my house, I don't want to sell my house today". I know this is a little harsh, but 24 years and over 2500 sales... it is the best advice I can give every client.
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The Korn Team has sold over 2500 properties over the past 24 years and we bring ALL the advice and professionalism to our clients to best take advantage of the current market conditions for their market. We are glad to help you understand HOW to beat the market and HOW to get the most equity possible when you are selling a home.