When a property is listed in the MLS, the Buyer’s Agent will see ‘Showing Instructions’. It may be to ‘Go Direct’ (vacant homes generally), or ‘Call First’ and then go, or ‘Appointment Only’. My advice – be careful with ‘Appointment Only’.
With inventory high, it is critical that your home be easy for a buyer to access with their Realtor. Today, I had a showing that illustrates how ‘Appointment Only’ can place your home in a negative light.
We had 5 homes on our list to see and we were meeting at 10 to begin. It was the 4th home we intended to see so I called the agent to tell her we would be there between 11 and 11:30. She assured me she would be there so later than 11:05.
The first problem has already happened. When a buyer’s agent has multiple properties to show, it can be a challenge to be very specific about arrival time. The amount of time to show a home will vary with interest level and the travel time between homes can be impacted by traffic.
I arrived with my buyers at 11:05. The listing agent was not there. No lockbox. No sign. No access. Just waiting…in 100 degree temperatures…in Corona, California…..no listing agent….
The listing agent called at 11:10 and said she was just 10 minutes away. More waiting…100 degrees….
We did finally see the property and my client likes it. The listing agent was very nice but I suspect that she’s struggling to make it up to this property every time it is shown. It recently expired after 90 days on the market and this is likely a contributing reason why. We could have passed on seeing it if we had been in a hurry or if my client became impatient. Some agent’s will just skip a property altogether if it requires going through too many hoops to show it. Frankly, there’s just so many options out there right now.
When is ‘Appointment Only’ ok? When your area considers that type of showing style the norm (some areas of the country do) or you have a very, very high end home. Even if you have pets, allow the agent to call with a big enough window that it still is convenient for you to remove pets, and then let them access via the lockbox.
The bottom line – make your home accessible and easy to show!
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This is really good advice for today’s sellers. I believe if you make the decision to sell in this market, you have to go out of your way to make the homes accessible to show and if you miss one showing from the hassles of having to make an appointment, that is too many.