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Agents everywhere are famous for leaving doors unlocked before leaving. Happens all the time. Buyers may open doors the agent isn't even aware of. Make a checklist of things to lock before leaving, tape it to the wall or window so they see it on their way out.
I am most concerned with YOUR agent from what I have read. Putting a unit with furniture and special requests such as you mentioned above on lock box is pretty lazy and pathetic.. Not showing for the inspection?? more pathetic... Listings agents should own the property and be the last one to leave the premises after a quick scan to be sure the place is back in the order it was left and secured. Your agent is the one acting in a less than professional way. There is really never an excuse for lockbox showings unless its an empty house in need of a bunch of work, under construction or to be used in rare situations when you cannot make a showing and know and trust the judgement of the other broker who will be entering the unit that your seller trusted in you to do everything to protect his or her interests and deliver a smooth, stress free and damage free sale to a qualified buyer at a fair and agreed upon number. Your agent should be there meeting the other agent and establishing a relationship of sorts as it will help to know one another in the coming weeks or months as documents and emails and calls are exchanged. Your agent set up a sloppy careless and lazy sales plan and while the other agent may have been messy... ....
Are you kidding me? As a listing agent, it is not my job to make a buyer and the buyer's agent schedule showings around MY schedule so that I can open a door for them. If I had to be present for all showings for every listing, when would I be doing the marketing for said listing? When would be I getting the word out for other agents to come show my listing? When would I be getting new buyers to show the listing to? Putting an obstacle in the showing instructions is one of the worst things a listing agent can do.
And being present during a showing is the most awkward thing for a buyer. Buyers can't speak freely if the listing agent is there. If they can't look at the house at their own leisure and speak their opinions with their own agent, that doesn't do the seller any good. Buyers have their own agents for a reason, and they don't need a listing agent talking on top of them.
Are you kidding me? As a listing agent, it is not my job to make a buyer and the buyer's agent schedule showings around MY schedule so that I can open a door for them. If I had to be present for all showings for every listing, when would I be doing the marketing for said listing? When would be I getting the word out for other agents to come show my listing? When would I be getting new buyers to show the listing to? Putting an obstacle in the showing instructions is one of the worst things a listing agent can do.
And being present during a showing is the most awkward thing for a buyer. Buyers can't speak freely if the listing agent is there. If they can't look at the house at their own leisure and speak their opinions with their own agent, that doesn't do the seller any good. Buyers have their own agents for a reason, and they don't need a listing agent talking on top of them.
You gotta love the listing agents who want to be present at showings around their schedule. I've had many where I might be showing buyers 8-10 homes from 10-12 am and 1 Listing agent says their busy but can be at the house at 2pm.
That house is usually dropped from my list of homes to show. We are looking from 10-12 am not 2 or 3pm. I maybe way across town at that time frame. There are too many homes on the market to make a home hard to view for a buyer and their agent.
Only in instances of very expensive properties... and New York City..... I can't think of any reason for a listing agent to be at a showing, let alone an inspection.
Buyer's inspection, buyer's agent present... they're the ones who open the house for the inspector.
You gotta love the listing agents who want to be present at showings around their schedule. I've had many where I might be showing buyers 8-10 homes from 10-12 am and 1 Listing agent says their busy but can be at the house at 2pm.
That house is usually dropped from my list of homes to show. We are looking from 10-12 am not 2 or 3pm. I maybe way across town at that time frame. There are too many homes on the market to make a home hard to view for a buyer and their agent.
I called for an appt last month and the seller didn't want a lockbox so the key was at the listing agent's office. I was showing 10 houses and told him I wasn't driving around town to pick up a key (and return it) and if a key didn't miraculously appear at the house for the showing, we weren't looking at it. The buyer thought that was ridiculous and said to cross it off. He said, "my time is for looking at houses, not chasing a key." Exactly! It's also not for arranging around someone else's schedule, like the listing agent.
I would not expect my listing agent to attend house showings. It will limit showings as it requires several people to juggle schedules.
In my last sale a "Scheduling Service" was used. We would be contacted (telephone and Email) about showings. We were offered several options. One was no showings unless we notified the service that the requested showing time was acceptable. We wanted to sell so went with the option of schedule all/anything. If we want to cancel the showing, we will call you back. We never cancelled any showing. With some we were walking out the door as they arrived. We also had several showings from agents calling that had not scheduled anything but were in the neighborhood. We accepted them also. One of them turned out to be one of the final offers we had.
The last few months we did not live in the house, so I did request that our agent "check" on the house more often then when we were livng there. We did ask her to check the house more often. She actually volunteered her husband to do so also. We also used a cleaning service and lawn service so they kept their eyes on them also.
Candidly, I would expect nothing less from my agent.
So... my house I've been trying to sell for a month and a half just went under contract and will close (hopefully!) in 3 weeks. Woo hoo! Everything seems a go and on track. My concern is with the buyer's agent. (My listing agent said she spoke to her about what I'm about to share but I know she was nicer than I would have been and did not want to ruffle feathers.) So I am wondering if it would be advisable to write the buyer's agent and her broker a letter after the sale goes through.
Background: I had 20 showings in a month before contract and after every showing I would check in on my house (it's vacant) to make sure things were left ok. I had spent months painting, cleaning, updating, etc....and obviously wanted to protect my investment until it sold. The only instructions I left for showing agents upon leaving were: lock all doors and gates, pull down any blinds you pull up, leave on any lights that are on when you get there on. Nothing out of the ordinary or hard to understand. Just leave the place as you find it, right?
The following is what happened on each of the three times this agent showed my house to her clients (same clients each time).
FIRST SHOWING: Back gate left unlocked. Key left in rear deadbolt. Front deadbolt not engaged. Lights all turned off. Blinds pulled half up in a bunch of windows. (Not a HUGE deal but did ask my agent to call her and let her know this was how I found the house. Said she did and that the buyer's agent apologized. Ok, fine. No harm done.)
SECOND SHOWING: Back gate left unlocked, again. Lights all turned off. Huge black scratches on newly painted wall where they had pulled out chairs to talk and slammed against the wall. Closet doorknob ripped off and left on a shelf. NO PHONE CALL TO MY AGENT TO LET HER KNOW THESE THINGS HAD HAPPENED. (Again, asked my agent to call her and she did and the buyer's agent did admit these things had happened. My agent pressed her why she didn't call to let her know and buyer's agent said she was embarrassed!)
THIRD SHOWING (home inspection): First, they had asked for a 7 day inspection contingency (why so short?), scheduled the inspection for the last possible day (of course) and couldn't get it done in time. (*insert eye roll here*) Asked for a two day extension. I said fine. They missed the extension deadline and submitted it the next day. Now, I *could* have been nasty because as per the contract they had till midnight to get things to me or they took the house AS IS. BUT I let them submit it late anyway.
So.....I go to check the house after the inspection happened and find:
Back gate left unlocked for the THIRD time. Front deadbolt unlatched. Lights all out. The attic access panel and surrounding area was covered in filthy black handprints (on a pristine white ceiling). Coke or juice had been spilled all over my kitchen counter and left to dry in a sticky mess. Napkins and straw wrappers left on the table. Also, she didn't stay for the inspection, just let the inspector and buyers in and then came back and locked up hours later.
Now, I know none of these things are the end of the world but it just makes me so angry at the lack of professionalism and rudeness demonstrated by this agent. Even if your clients are slobs isn't it your JOB as a realtor to go behind them and make sure that a property THAT IS NOT YOUR OWN is left in good condition?? I'm just so irritated.
Would it be out of line to write to the agent and her broker (after the sale goes through) explaining how disappointed I was in her professionalism?
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Would it be out of line to write to the agent and her broker (after the sale goes through) explaining how disappointed I was in her professionalism?
Thanks for your thoughts.....
Yes it would be out of line and unprofessional to do so.
Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't let emotion creep into your transaction. It's not your house anymore. You're just a seller camped out there waiting for the home to sell. Think of it that way.
If anything, write a thank you note to the buyer agent (after closing) for bringing the buyers who ultimately purchased your home. After all, that's the outcome you wanted and this is the agent who brought the people who made it possible. What did any of the "polite and courteous" showing agents accomplish toward your desired end? Nothing. But they locked the gate?
Steve
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