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I was suspicious..but my husband spent four hours cleaning the house (I was at a parent advocacy training), my son had to miss his last baseball game of the season and I had to come home early.
I hear your frustration. I probably shouldn't go here, but if your home is on the market for sale, why was it allowed to fall into a condition that required 4 hours of cleaning? And why would you forego something as important as the last baseball game of the season over a single showing? Wouldn't you just do the best you can to clean it up and head to the game when time ran out? Sounds like priorities got out of order somehow.
And yes, the showing system is imperfect, but it cuts both ways. Buyers and Sellers themselves cause a lot of problems. Buyers show up late, spend lots of time in houses (which we can never predict) so, as someone else pointed out, the entire schedule gets behind (or ahead if they are really quick lookers).
Sellers often don't want the home to be shown during the time window given when we call either. I'll try to adjust, but sometimes it comes down to scratching that home off this list or sticking with the schedule due to time constraints and the logical order of showing in map order. Especially with out of town buyers who will be making their decision that day can't "come tomorrow to look".
The number one reason Sellers try to change the showing time/day when an agent calls to give notice that we are coming to show? "The house isn't clean"
Ultimately, it's the listing agent's responsibility to set the expectations about keeping the home clean and to prepare sellers for all of the imperfections of the showing process, due to variables that often can't be controlled by the agents.
I probably shouldn't go here, but if your home is on the market for sale, why was it allowed to fall into a condition that required 4 hours of cleaning?
Ultimately, it's the listing agent's responsibility to set the expectations about keeping the home clean and to prepare sellers for all of the imperfections of the showing process, due to variables that often can't be controlled by the agents.
Great post Austin-Steve! And to all the sellers out there - I feel your pain with the no-shows. It happens. Various reasons, not all are the fault of the showing agent. When you sign a listing agreement, you hire the agency to manage the showings (the listing agency is the middleman when it comes to scheduling appointments) that is, unless you specifically request to be contacted directly by the showing agents (around here, this is mostly done by limited service agencies). Then, in the mls agent comments, you will see "call owner directly" and the owner's contact numbers. In that scenario, we can call you should we be running late, lost, or need to cancel. If you do not want to be contacted directly, ask your listing agent about their office appointment call center hours. In other words, just what happens when you have a Sunday 3:00 to 4:00 appointment and their office closes at 2:00? Who does the showing agent call? Who do you call to get the status? The listing office is closed. Also, if you don't want to constantly change your plans, you can have your listing agent list your preferences, such as "no showings after 7:00pm" or "showings on weekends only". It all comes down to educating the seller about the showing process. Best of luck to all you sellers out there and to the agents who don't call to cancel, change or make an appointment - SHAME ON YOU for being unprofessional and rude.
When you sign a listing agreement, you hire the agency to manage the showings
Interesting. In Austin, the most common showing method is "Call and Go", which means we call and leave a message at the number given (or talk to the Seller if they answer) and say:
"Hi this is Steve with Keller Williams. I'll be showing your home this afternoon between 2PM and 5PM. If you need to reach me call nnn-nnnn. Thanks!"
Other showing instructions might say:
"Appointment with Agent" (rare - results in fewer showings)
"Appointment with Occupant" (not common - results in fewer showings)
"Go" (usually on vacant homes - results in the most showings)
I think it would be highly ineffecient to have to make an appointment, or coordinate with a listing agent prior to each showing, but if it works for you guys, more power to you. It's always interesting to hear the different ways Realtors practice the business in different parts of the country.
Steve
I agree Austin-Steve. It's a shame when a seller won't show because the place isn't immaculate and miss a potential buyer. Usually I think it's better to show in 80% condition than not at all. Of course you don't want showings to control your life and it's really difficult when you have pets (I remember that when we sold ours!) but cleaning all day for one showing might be overkill...and make you unhappy with the whole showing process pretty darn quick.
When my parents bought their last place the guy who was selling was a messy bachelor who left underwear and socks strewn on the bathroom floor, but it was the right home for them and didn't deter them from buying it. :-)
In an ideal world all our homes would look like a pretty magazine photo all the time but that just doesn't happen for most of us and I think most reasonable buyers recognize that.
We need more people to go FSBO, so it becomes common place! It is not that difficult people...especially in a good market.
Yes, go FSBO because I do get some listings from FSBOs! At a certain time a FSBO realizes in most instances the calls have been coming from either real estate agents or buyers who aren't working with an agent. And the buyers who aren't working with agents, ask yourself why. Chances are the buyer hasn't been pre-qualified. Why let this person in your home if we won't let them in our car? Typically, our first meeting with a buyer is in our office for our safety and the safety of the person's homes that we are showing. Yes, there are a few agents who take shortcuts and don't pre-qualify the buyers, but chances are you won't be pre-qualifying them either and now they know where you live. And to the buyers out there wanting to purchase FSBO, as I stated earlier, I do get listings from FSBOs but I also do my due diligence because ANYONE can put up a FSBO sign. Safety first! BTW, the market isn't good either.
Interesting. In Austin, the most common showing method is "Call and Go", which means we call and leave a message at the number given (or talk to the Seller if they answer) and say:
I think it would be highly ineffecient to have to make an appointment, or coordinate with a listing agent prior to each showing, but if it works for you guys, more power to you. It's always interesting to hear the different ways Realtors practice the business in different parts of the country.
Steve
Yes, different parts of the country have different practices. I've never looked at houses in Texas, but have in many other states. For the most part calling a middleman/listing agent is inefficient but I think the rationale is the same as the selller not being home when showing. Then there's always the case of showing agent's calling your seller close to the listing expiration. In any event, Sellers, know what's expected of you, your agent, and the showing process as there are many different ways and it should be done to satisfy you - the client.
Our agent called close to midday about someone who wanted to see the house, needed to buy now and was prequalified. I was suspicious..but my husband spent four hours cleaning the house (I was at a parent advocacy training), my son had to miss his last baseball game of the season and I had to come home early.
Well, they never showed up. Realtor didn't bother to return our realtor's call. This isn't the first time this has happened since we've been trying to sell but this just stung. We're upset, but especially so for my son.
Just needed to vent...
Mariah
I fully appreciate that the agent's actions were unprofessional, but please don't lump us all together. I know how invasive it is to sell your home. I know that everyone spends alot of time and energy to show their house in the best possible light. Many of us make appointments, give the courtesy to cancel the appointment (clients are late, run into traffic, change their minds, kids get sick) and most of us are very careful and respectful that we are dealing with your house...what I call "sacred territory". I like to think that most of us work hard and work to do the right thing. Don't let this experience sour you. Good luck.
Elaine
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Please don't lump us all together!
