Potential home buyers messing up your house.... (agent, sale, property)
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.
Why is it necessary for potential home buyers to come in and completely mess up you house at a showing? After put all of the effort into making things perfect, wouldn't you think they could be a little more respectful? Amazing.......
I'd be calling that realtor's broker in a heartbeat.
I did that once, years ago, when it looked like I was going to have to sell my old house due to layoffs. I'd had a home showing on a cold, wet, rainy day, so I was understanding when I came back and there were some 'mud smudges' on the floor (I've wiped my feet on the rugs many a time, but not necessarily everything comes off before you go walking around in your shoes).....but the things I blew a gasket on:
1.) Garage door opener was put on 'lock', (which I hadn't done), so I had to fiddle with it to get it to unlock so I could open the door.
2.) Door between garage and house was left unlocked and slightly ajar.
3.) Sliding glass door on the second level was left somewhat cracked open. Luckily, rain hadn't gotten in (wrong angle), but still!!!
4.) They'd apparently decided to turn on my TV set and watch TV....and had left it on.
I called my realtor and told him to get the realtor who'd shown the property over to my house ASAP to explain herself. She called me instead, doing this whole, "But, but, but" song and dance. I told her I hadn't wanted a phone call, I wanted her butt in my house, with her looking me in the eye, and explaining why any of the above was acceptable. She refused. I told her she was forbidden from setting foot in my house again, and I didn't care if Bill Gates himself was offering me 1 million dollars for the house--if she ever set foot on the property again, I'd have her butt arrested. She called my realtor in tears. I think he more or less told her she deserved that, and assured me she would not be showing the house again, he'd called her superiors and told them what happened.
Our last home had puffy down comforters on each bed. We would often come home after showings to see that someone had flopped down on our beds. Twice it looked like someone had been jumping on the beds. Lights would be on. Snow and mud tracked through in. Things moved. Once we came home to find that our computers had been turned on and used.
We would call our realtor each time and she would call the showing agent and the answer was always that a family had toured the house and the kids had been allowed to roam the house unsupervised.
Finally, we said no children were allowed, period. It was a hundred year-old house and only had one bathroom upstairs with the bedrooms and the likely buyer would be a couple without kids. Which is what happened.
I hung out with a neighbor during showings. If I saw children enter the house, I phone our agent right away who would contact the buyers' agent.
Fortunately, it wasn't long until the we had an offer and all was well.
But I was astounded that children were allowed to roam through our home unsupervised.
I once was showing homes to a couple with a little boy, probably 2 or 3. The vast majority of parents are very respectful of other people's houses, reminding their children not to touch, taking their shoes off, and keeping an eagle eye on the child. In many cases, one parent will go through and look at the house, and then switch with the other parent, who will zip through.
But this couple . . . sheesh. After the first day, I told them that it might be a good idea to find a babysitter for future showings, because I didn't feel that they were able to concentrate on evaluating the homes with little Timmy was so active. In one basement, the kid was throwing ping pong balls all over the room. In another, he ran into a kid's room and started pulling stuffed toys off the bed. In another, he was opening the kitchen cabinets and complaining he was hungry. The parents were the type that everything their beloved offspring did was adorable -- I swear, they would have let him pick the house!
Then there was the couple who came with their Mom -- and their Mom's dog. I told Mom that dogs were not allowed at showings. She insisted that she would only be holding him. I was firm -- no dogs, because you never knew which homeowners had allergies. It was like it had never occurred to her that YOU DON'T BRING DOGS INTO HOMES. Hello?! The mother tried to bully me into it, saying, "Oh, they'll never know!" "I'LL KNOW. Would you like to reschedule your showings for a time when you don't have the dog?" She finally agreed to stay out of the homes -- but still walked her dog around people's yards (at least she was picking up after the dog).
Why is it necessary for potential home buyers to come in and completely mess up you house at a showing? After put all of the effort into making things perfect, wouldn't you think they could be a little more respectful? Amazing.......
Huh? I've never experienced this beyond the footprints in the just vacumned carpets. What did they do?
Do I have to pack up and leave with all valuables, such as laptops, jewelry and such before showings? I have a couple of cool vintage collectables on my shelves and wondering if a visitor would snatch those.
The agent can't have eyes everywhere, and wondering if some people may be entering the house to case it for a robbery. How fully are they vetted before taken around?
Do I have to pack up and leave with all valuables, such as laptops, jewelry and such before showings? I have a couple of cool vintage collectables on my shelves and wondering if a visitor would snatch those.
The agent can't have eyes everywhere, and wondering if some people may be entering the house to case it for a robbery. How fully are they vetted before taken around?
Actually, yes. Include any prescription painkillers.
Do I have to pack up and leave with all valuables, such as laptops, jewelry and such before showings? I have a couple of cool vintage collectables on my shelves and wondering if a visitor would snatch those.
The agent can't have eyes everywhere, and wondering if some people may be entering the house to case it for a robbery. How fully are they vetted before taken around?
Anything you don't want shown or touched you should pack and put away.
Vetting? The most vetting I had was pick up the phone call a agent and have them show me a house. Granted I walk through as if I was in a museum, I might open the kitchen cabinets look in the closets but other than that I wouldn't dream of touching someone's personal belongings or use a computer or watch TV.
I would be annoyed if I came home and that happened. But ultimately I want to sell my house and in life there are a lot people who are rude. Just gotta live with it.
It's best to remove or lock away any important files bills and computers.
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.
