What's the deal with no-show realtors? (Meridian: houses, neighborhoods, buyer)

[Rangerspouse]

This is driving me, the homeowner, crazy. We are scheduled for a showing and then the showing agent never comes by. We're out of the house for 2 hours, spent time cleaning and turning on lights, getting the pet out, etc. and they don't call or show. The worst is when our agent's office calls them and they say they did show the house....neighbors say no one was there. What can we or our agent do to ensure that they will actually show? We don't want to offend any showing agent or discourage them in any fashion, but since this has happened several times I would like to know if there's anything to do.

[Houston3]

One way to tell if they have been there is to, on the hinge side of the door about a foot up from the bottom of the door below the hinge insert a small piece of paper sticking out about 1/2 inch, when they open the door it will fall to the ground. Test it before you leave to be sure it will fall...

My wife used this trick to see if the kids were sneaking out out the house in the middle of the night...She never did tell them how she knew....LOL

[bashep]

hahah! That is a great idea Houston 3! I love it! Most agents should leave a card and turn off the lights. Your agent can put that in the showing instructions. When I show I always turn off the lights in the bedrooms and baths so that they can tell that I showed, plus I leave a card. I know how frustrating it is, I sold my house a couple years ago. My hubby worked from home and he would sit in his car for 2 hours down the street waiting for showings. Then nobody showed up. Very frustrating. I hope it gets better.

[Bob from down south]

Could have been a "drive-by" showing. When I was looking for a house, if the neighborhood or the property as viewed from the exterior just didn't appeal, we didn't even waste time going in. I'm sure I made some people cranky back then...I remember my realtor lining up several showings in Woodmen Hills and Meridian Ranch, and one pass through the neighborhood was enough to just keep on driving. People with some local experience that know the area won't bother with a showing somewhere they aren't interested in living, but a newcomer is searching for neighborhoods as well as individual houses.

That's just the way it works.

[MMichelle]

"Bob from down South" has a valid possible answer.

Another thought is to ask your listing agent to verify the electronic lock box. Here in the PPAR MLS area the electronic lock boxes record each agents use of the box.

[Falconlady]

Another thought -- when we were looking sometimes it was the exterior of the house or neighborhood that turned us off. So we just drove on by without going in. Technically, I guess that's "showing" the house.

[Rangerspouse]

The drive-by showings don't bother me too much and we have had a couple of those. I agree, if I were the buyer and I didn't like the area I wouldn't want to waste my time either. My complaint mostly is with the realtors that say they came in and showed when I know in fact that they didn't. I like the trick - we'll have to try that.

Bob from Down South, I agree with your opinion but don't close the book on our area for other readers (although I know that's not your intention). For those of us who have made a home out of the Falcon community love it. Wouldn't trade Meridian Ranch for any other neighborhood at this point for our family. Perfect! If we weren't military and forced to move we'd happily live here for years and years.

[COflower]

In the past, most realtors would leave a business card to let sellers know they stopped in. Not sure if that's still a practice but it seems sensible enough.

But that is a hassle for seller's especially if they have to leave for the time frame only to find out nobody bothered to even look inside. I wouldn't think this would be a Colorado or C Springs specific situation though. If the buyer isn't liking the 'hood, no sense in bothering with a home tour.

[froggin4colorado]

I feel your pain. We just sold our house this fall and got so sick of no shows. It got to the point where I didn't leave until they arrived. When they arrived, we left and hung out at the end of the street and then came back when they left. It saved us lots of time. Either they will love the house or they won't...me walking out the door while they are walking in didn't matter. It is still your home. It took us 2 months to get ours sold. We put it on the market shortly after July 4th and Labor Day weekend we had 2 offers at once. We accepted an offer 2k less than our asking price and we paid closing costs. Good luck!

[KLBFL50]

Funniest showing for us was when a man and his agent stopped in our driveway and called our agent to show the house right then. I usually keep it looking ready to show but was in my fuzzy slippers and lounging around. Our agent called said they were in the driveway and wanted to give us 5 minutes to get ready. We did get ready and sat on the front porch while older gentleman was touring through. On their way out he said "You have a lovely home but we don't want a 2 story story". My husband wasn't amused at the moment but was polite. Did he really think the 2nd floor was fake and the dormers were just for show? At least it was someone looking.