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There is nothing wrong with having a note in a clear plastic easel (Staples) on the kitchen counter that says:
We work from home
and
we have left for 15 minutes
for the scheduled showing.
Please limit your stay to 15 minutes.
Also please be aware every room in our home
is monitored by video camera.
Thank you.
Bought in 2010 in Plano texas, sold in Houston home in Houston.
I screened listings online. I looked at 200 or so listings online and narrowed my list down to 10 homes to see with my wife. I spent 10 seconds on some homes on line and ruled them out, those I considered I spent around 15-30 minutes online reviewing room sizes and trying to figure out the house flow, room sizes etc if I could see with the pictures.
We almost ruled out the home we ended up buying because the kitchen looked small in the poor quality photos of the house. Once we saw it in person, we spent around 45 minutes going through the home flow then asessing if some large furniture pieces we are attached too would fit and where. We visited again before making an offer, the second visit was about 45 minutes as well to eye condition and specific items we could not recall from the first visit. We bought it and love the house and how it fits our living situation.... spouse with chronic illness conditions and 85 year old mother in law living with us...as well as my 90 year old mom visiting often.
Selling in Houston was easy, we had multiple offers with typical 15-30 minute tours by several buyers.
As an aside the pictures of our home in Houston were exception. Super well lit and showed each room from several vantage points... one could see the flow from the pictures and see the house details as well. Shopping online worked great but the quality of pictures and angles shown made it harder than it had to be.
There is nothing wrong with having a note in a clear plastic easel (Staples) on the kitchen counter that says:
We work from home
and
we have left for 15 minutes
for the scheduled showing.
Please limit your stay to 15 minutes.
Also please be aware every room in our home
is monitored by video camera.
Thank you.
-
If I were being shown your house that note would have really annoyed me.
Yeah do monitor video if you wish, better to not tell them that. There was a thread here at the forum some years ago where the seller taped the audio of buyer and agent discussing house. I forgot how that ended except the original poster decided he/she shouldn't have done it. Note there may be legal issues depending on your jurisdiction.
I think it would just be better to decide when enough is enough, and return home. Go sit down and turn the TV and say, "Oh, don't mind us." That gets the point without the "we think you are thieves" implied message.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drro
Wow, that place looks European. It could have been located in my neighborhood. Good to see you are progressing in building and interior style, even in Colorado. Has it been build according to European quality standards as well?
Tell me, how are Europeans progressing on their snobism?
I spent that much time in a second showing, or more. I did it during open-house days. I spent that time checking structure, electrical panel, plumbing, roof and gutters, furnace, water heater, built-in appliances, land and for evidence of termites or ants. Noise was a concern, so I also wanted to hear traffic noise during rush hours.
I also walked through with the house inspector. A few of the previous owner's remodels were cover-ups to more serious issues to try to make a quick sale. Fortunately, the repair costs were minor, and I knew that before making an offer. That the previous owner tried to cut out my Realtor to save his closing costs didn't sit well with me.
It was a for-sale-by-owner property. The more that he talked about his church work and Christian values, the more wary that I became. People that have huge money and emotional investments in a sale can get wrapped up and do regrettable things. I'm not a fan of FSBO. The house was on the market for close to a year without any offers, and the guy was getting desperate. Yes, ethics DID go out the window.
The asking price was overboard. Again, FSBO not able to be realistic about his property. The guy across the street got that much, and he thought he should too. The neighbor's house looked to be kept up to a more modern standard. The house that I bought was dated.
My part of Iowa has a different market than California.
It takes me 2 minutes to know whether I like a house. If I do like it, I come back for a second look and go looking for reasons not to buy the house. I'll then check out the neighborhood, again, looking for reasons not to buy, If I can't find any, we write an offer.
I'll be honest. I've looked at so many listings that usually know if I'm going to like it even before I go.
But two hours for a first showing is absurd.
Are you sure they were actually at the house that long? Or was it a person looking at multiple properties so they just gave you a two hour window?
I know it happens. I was once selling my house that was in a city where we had to park on the street. When Realtors showed my house I would go down the street and sit in my car and read a book. I could see them go in and come out. I could watch the Realtor fool with the lockbox. There are plenty of people who stay an inordinately long time and you never hear from them again.
The person who bought that house came the first day it was on the market, looked a normal amount of time, and gave me a ridiculously lowball offer. I said no. I eventually took the house off the market and, at a Realtor's insistence put on beige vinyl siding on it. I put it back on the market a couple of months later at a higher price. This same guy came back around and then offered me $5,000 short of that higher full-asking price. So still paying me my full-asking price the FIRST time the house was for sale PLUS three times what I had paid for the siding.
The person who bought that house came the first day it was on the market, looked a normal amount of time, and gave me a ridiculously lowball offer. I said no. I eventually took the house off the market and, at a Realtor's insistence put on beige vinyl siding on it. I put it back on the market a couple of months later at a higher price. This same guy came back around and then offered me $5,000 short of that higher full-asking price. So still paying me my full-asking price the FIRST time the house was for sale PLUS three times what I had paid for the siding.
Buyers are nuts.
It's the cost of being or not being a visionary. He wasn't, you were. For your being a visionary you received 2x the cost of the siding.
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