Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's the reality of the real estate business and the way that the majority of brokers operate in our market. Why would any broker want to have to schedule around some picky seller's schedule? There are far too many listings with easy access that allow a busy broker to more efficiently run their business.
If a buyer finds a specific property that they are interested in then the broker will work around that sort of schedule. But during initial searches, it's very common to weed out properties that are difficult to show. There's simply not enough time in the day to customize a showing schedule based upon picky sellers who can't decide how motivated they are to sell.
I've been in the business for over 30 years and have seen it progress from the early days where you had to drive around and pick up keys at the listing agents' offices- then return them later. We then went to combination boxes, and now electronic keyboxes and automated showing services that contact the seller automatically via a selection in the MLS software.
All of this progress has helped people sell their house more efficiently. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the amount of time that brokers have to do showings. There simply isn't enough time to customize schedules around the needs of multiple buyers, the broker's schedule, and then also deal with sellers who decide that they don't want to make their house readily available.
This isn't any sort of attitude against such sellers, but represents the reality that it's impossible to deal with too many of these types of sellers and also sell enough houses to stay in business.
But what's the definition of "readily available"? If someone is living in their home while it's being sold, which many people need to do, then it's not realistic to expect them to vacate the premises day in and day out on the chance that an agent will find it convenient to show it without having to give any notice. A little common courtesy goes both ways, and giving someone 30-60 minutes to get out of a house means you get to show your buyers a clean and tidy house, usually with some privacy instead of the awkwardness of the seller being there.
And buyers can claim they don't care about whether it's tidy but it's a reality that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Whether they want to admit it or not, buyers are influenced on whether a home looks neat and tidy and attractive, even if they objectively know they aren't buying the seller's belongings.
I do understand the importance of not being 100% available to whoever no matter when, but it is really maddening to go through not being able, as my daughter says, to actually live in your home and then find out the showing was to yet more "flakes" again.
Real estate is a numbers game. You have to get through the showings where the buyers realize the house isn't for them in order to have enough showings that someone serious comes through. Buyers, and their brokers, don't want to waste their time either. So it's not common for these parties to be intentionally going to houses that they know in advance aren't appropriate for them. So these showings with 'flakes' are typically nothing more than what happens in the real estate market.
You should be really happy that you are getting showing. If for some reason it appears that too many buyers with no interest are coming through, then you might want to look at how your house is being advertised. With MLS systems allowing for lots of photos, most buyers should have a general idea of what to expect before they choose to see a house.
On the other hand, if a house is overpriced then it becomes a target by buyer's brokers who will use that house as comparison against a lower priced house that their client is interested in.
Just due to driving time, it should be easily enough to give most anyone an hour's notice. What's pretty common around here is for evening showings during the week where the seller is contacted at work during the day with plenty of notice. Or, seller's should expect the weekends to be much busier, and that's when a shorter time period for notice should be anticipated.
Here's what one page of our MLS screen looks like. The broker can choose a showing time from a period of availability that the seller has chosen. This system also allows the broker to view an overview of all scheduled showings that he or she has already set up so that their entire schedule can be managed.
This is a great way to manage lots of showings and to keep track of them. You can imagine what happens when you run into a listing that tells you that showings can only be set up the manual old fashioned way.
Real estate is a numbers game. You have to get through the showings where the buyers realize the house isn't for them in order to have enough showings that someone serious comes through. Buyers, and their brokers, don't want to waste their time either. So it's not common for these parties to be intentionally going to houses that they know in advance aren't appropriate for them. So these showings with 'flakes' are typically nothing more than what happens in the real estate market.
You should be really happy that you are getting showing. If for some reason it appears that too many buyers with no interest are coming through, then you might want to look at how your house is being advertised. With MLS systems allowing for lots of photos, most buyers should have a general idea of what to expect before they choose to see a house.
On the other hand, if a house is overpriced then it becomes a target by buyer's brokers who will use that house as comparison against a lower priced house that their client is interested in.
I totally understand and agree with you. I realize my house is only going to appeal to the specific buyer who loves antique homes and who appreciates that it retains most of the original character while having been extensively improved in fall of 2004 with new HVAC, plumbing, cedar siding (including gutted to the inside walls, insulated and resheathed) etc etc. Kitchen complete remodel in keeping with home style last year.
MLS photos are pro shots and show room proportions exactly. Write-up is clear as to the antique nature. People are not reading the listing. It has been reduced 11% since listing mid-May. This after it was first listed at what all area brokers said was a price that should sell fast. Yes, I'm happy that showings have been happening but sad that in all of them there have been so few people who are actually in the market to buy from current inventory. I really don't appreciate the person who says to my agent after the showing that she drives by every day and just wanted to see the inside. Sigh.
Speaking as a seller - I was going to say recent, but it was actually a year ago already! - I loved the showing service my agent used. They had my schedule, which was after 8 am and before 7, because I have a kid. They would send me a text and all I needed to do was text back "yes." They tried to give a minimum of 2 hours notice, but that was their standard, not mine. I didn't need any notice from 8 to 5, and I just needed enough time to know not to go home from work if there was one scheduled for the evening. Weekends were tougher because I did have things I needed to do at home. Fortunately, my house was under contract quickly enough that it wasn't too stressful although we did have close to 40 showings in the couple of weeks before I was under contract. Glad I don't expect to be going through that again any time soon!
It's the reality of the real estate business and the way that the majority of brokers operate in our market. Why would any broker want to have to schedule around some picky seller's schedule? There are far too many listings with easy access that allow a busy broker to more efficiently run their business.
If a buyer finds a specific property that they are interested in then the broker will work around that sort of schedule. But during initial searches, it's very common to weed out properties that are difficult to show. There's simply not enough time in the day to customize a showing schedule based upon picky sellers who can't decide how motivated they are to sell.
I've been in the business for over 30 years and have seen it progress from the early days where you had to drive around and pick up keys at the listing agents' offices- then return them later. We then went to combination boxes, and now electronic keyboxes and automated showing services that contact the seller automatically via a selection in the MLS software.
All of this progress has helped people sell their house more efficiently. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is the amount of time that brokers have to do showings. There simply isn't enough time to customize schedules around the needs of multiple buyers, the broker's schedule, and then also deal with sellers who decide that they don't want to make their house readily available.
This isn't any sort of attitude against such sellers, but represents the reality that it's impossible to deal with too many of these types of sellers and also sell enough houses to stay in business.
Again, I don't have to deal with brokers like this so not a problem for me. And I have never seen a broker turn down the opportunity to make some money. It's really your loss at the end of the day.
Again, I don't have to deal with brokers like this so not a problem for me. And I have never seen a broker turn down the opportunity to make some money. It's really your loss at the end of the day.
It's actually not my loss- but my financial gain. The reason that large MLS systems spend millions of dollars on showing technologies is because it works well for sellers and brokers.
Virtually every high performing broker I know filters out the properties that aren't on the showing assist system. The only time they'll show a house without it when their client specifically asks for it. There simply isn't enough time to manually set up showings around sellers with difficult scheduling constraints. The same brokers also filter out the lower coop commissions.
Selling can be a hassle. I understand that. But by making your house readily available on short notice you're increasing your chances of having it sell faster and being able to get rid of the showing hassles.
1. I had ready to show at all times.
2. I didn't run out of the house and hide. I welcomed the potential buyers, told them to wander at will, open closets as they wished, and I sat at my computer. I told them if they had questions to please let me know. I left them on their own. The eventual buyers in both cases had asked me questions that only I could have answered. If I had been eating lunch, I would have continued to eating lunch.
Having said that, I am single, maybe with a family it would be different.
seller should NEVER be in the house.
When you are there a large percentage of buyers will feel that they can not openly discuss the house, they will feel uncomfortable rooting around and they may well feel that you are there to "keep an eye" on them.
It is better to dirty clothes on the floor than it is to stay in the house. In short staying in the house reduces your total buyer pool, and thus an average reduces the final sale price. (on average, there are always exceptions)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
