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What a great way to get off on the right foot with your potential new neighbor....
If I'm not home, and my neighbors see someone walking around my property, regardless of if it is for sale or not, I certainly appreciate them taking a moment to ask them why they're there.
If my neighbor acted like you, the next time I see a stranger skulking around their backyard when I know they're not home, I'll be sure to turn a blind eye.
That is when I hope they get some real SWELL new neighbors!
For an agent to check out a backyard. With an appointment.
The OP isn't concerned with licensed real estate agents, but instead with random people coming off the street. Try to stay on topic.
What the "for sale" sign means is that the house is for sale. Buyers unaccompanied by a licensed real estate agent are welcome to view the property from the sidewalk.
At least, that's what it means around here. If I see someone skulking around my property, or my neighbor's, without an agent, I call the cops. The cop won't do anything but issue a verbal warning, but the skulkers probably won't do it again. And that's worth the trouble of making the complaint.
This has been beaten to death. You are wrong in some places might be right in others. All depends on the local laws and RE procedures.
Ardell is a relatively well known RE Agent who writes prolifically and is often wrong. She has been a participant in a couple of famous internet arguments. She brings no exceptional skill except she likes to write and is opinionated.
She is utterly wrong in NV and NC and probably not fully correct in Washington. The problem in Washington is that believing you are invited by a sign is a vaild defense against trespass. So as long as your heart is pure you can pretty much trespass away.
The real argument Ardell was making actually had little to do with trespass. She is working the question of representation and who gets commissions.
She is not wrong on this. I just sold a house and it was one of our concerns. Our realtor stated absolutely no one was allowed to come to our door or visit without specifically contacting her service. If they did we were to tell them to contact her. We sold the house very quickly, like 10 hours, but all listings unless otherwise stated were to be by appointment only. A realtor who would ignore these rules would soon find themselves in trouble with the other realtors as well as their broker. A home buyer who sees a sign and decides that this is carte blanche for stepping onto the property is at the best told to leave at the worst find themselves at the short end of a long gun or running from an angry dog. While it maybe a valid defense not to be arrested, it is still not a desired thing to do and may be a valid defense if the homeowner shoots you for trespassing in some states.
Many properties have "realtor day" where they hold open house for other realtors. Ours would have had this but as I said we sold in 10 hours. The sign is up for a reason, to advertise to contact the selling agent who is working on commission not the homeowner. The homeowner listed so that they can be assured that appointments will be made and no one will show up when not expected. This issue may differ if home is listed by a bank in foreclosure and is empty or is a vacation home uninhabited at the time, but, this is stated on the MLS and usually only those who have valid access keys for the lockbox gain entry.
Whether legal or not, it is not courteous to walk onto someone's property that is for sale without an appointment or calling even if you call from the street.
Edited to add:
I will point out that we took out a equity loan just before we sold and even the bank adjuster would not come on to the property. He or she inspected the value from the street. All inspections requiring entry to the property were done after we sold and were done with notice. The buyers asked if they could have a fence guy measure the property (not go into the house) while we were away. We ok'd that but turned them down to measure the house a week before closing as we wanted to make sure it was totally clean before they got their last inspection. Politeness seems to be lost today if people think it's ok to do as they please just because someone is selling a house.
Last edited by NorthofHere; 09-02-2016 at 03:02 PM..
She is not wrong on this. I just sold a house and it was one of our concerns. Our realtor stated absolutely no one was allowed to come to our door or visit without specifically contacting her service. If they did we were to tell them to contact her. We sold the house very quickly, like 10 hours, but all listings unless otherwise stated were to be by appointment only. A realtor who would ignore these rules would soon find themselves in trouble with the other realtors as well as their broker. A home buyer who sees a sign and decides that this is carte blanche for stepping onto the property is at the best told to leave at the worst find themselves at the short end of a long gun or running from an angry dog. While it maybe a valid defense not to be arrested, it is still not a desired thing to do and may be a valid defense if the homeowner shoots you for trespassing in some states.
Many properties have "realtor day" where they hold open house for other realtors. Ours would have had this but as I said we sold in 10 hours. The sign is up for a reason, to advertise to contact the selling agent who is working on commission not the homeowner. The homeowner listed so that they can be assured that appointments will be made and no one will show up when not expected. This issue may differ if home is listed by a bank in foreclosure and is empty or is a vacation home uninhabited at the time, but, this is stated on the MLS and usually only those who have valid access keys for the lockbox gain entry.
Whether legal or not, it is not courteous to walk onto someone's property that is for sale without an appointment or calling even if you call from the street.
Actually in practice one of the more difficult problem is getting your seller to turn away buyers knocking on the door. You tell three or four times not to show the house like that and they do it again. And they often talk too much in the process. Realtors virtually never ignore such rules. If you drive by one you simply pull up the listing and see the entry requirement and call if required.
And yes if a buyer strays on to a for sale he may run into a hostile dog or owner. But he may still be within the law.
Realtor open house still happen but have become an expensive home thing mostly here. Above a million generally. And uncommon. We generally recommend at least one open house to get the neighbors in.
I would guess more than two thirds of the listing here are of the permissive sort not requiring an appointment. The others certainly exist. They will however lower the showings particularly if the seller is not highly cooperative.
If I were a seller, I'd be GLAD to have people interested enough to check it out, if it's vacant and they're house hunting and driving by. After all, I want to sell the house! They can't go inside, of course, but pull up in the driveway, look over the fence, drive around to the alley in back, look in an open window...that's fine. Hopefully they'll make an appt to view it inside and a proper viewing of the yard.
She is not wrong on this. I just sold a house and it was one of our concerns. Our realtor stated absolutely no one was allowed to come to our door or visit without specifically contacting her service. If they did we were to tell them to contact her. We sold the house very quickly, like 10 hours, but all listings unless otherwise stated were to be by appointment only. A realtor who would ignore these rules would soon find themselves in trouble with the other realtors as well as their broker. A home buyer who sees a sign and decides that this is carte blanche for stepping onto the property is at the best told to leave at the worst find themselves at the short end of a long gun or running from an angry dog. While it maybe a valid defense not to be arrested, it is still not a desired thing to do and may be a valid defense if the homeowner shoots you for trespassing in some states.
Many properties have "realtor day" where they hold open house for other realtors. Ours would have had this but as I said we sold in 10 hours. The sign is up for a reason, to advertise to contact the selling agent who is working on commission not the homeowner. The homeowner listed so that they can be assured that appointments will be made and no one will show up when not expected. This issue may differ if home is listed by a bank in foreclosure and is empty or is a vacation home uninhabited at the time, but, this is stated on the MLS and usually only those who have valid access keys for the lockbox gain entry.
Whether legal or not, it is not courteous to walk onto someone's property that is for sale without an appointment or calling even if you call from the street.
Edited to add:
I will point out that we took out a equity loan just before we sold and even the bank adjuster would not come on to the property. He or she inspected the value from the street. All inspections requiring entry to the property were done after we sold and were done with notice. The buyers asked if they could have a fence guy measure the property (not go into the house) while we were away. We ok'd that but turned them down to measure the house a week before closing as we wanted to make sure it was totally clean before they got their last inspection. Politeness seems to be lost today if people think it's ok to do as they please just because someone is selling a house.
It is hard to seriously consider a definition of courtesy or politeness from one who is so quick to invoke "a long gun" or an "angry dog" in answer to the possibly misguided efforts of a potential real estate buyer.
I always assume that the for sale sign means that the owners are interested in me evaluating whether or not I want to buy.
I almost always park at the curb and then walk to the door.
If I ring and nobody answers I will take a few minutes looking over the property.
If there is no fence, I may also check the sides and the back.
If a neighbor comes up and demands to know what "I think I am doing" I will simply tell them to mind their own business.
I also note that many of those "key boxes" are there so that someone can look at the property when someone is not home.
If you are selling and put a sign out - and you are concerned that people will "trespass," you can always note on the for sale sign that buyers are NOT welcome without sales agent." Good luck with the sale after that.
That's rude. The key boxes are there to be accessed by a realtor who has notified the seller that they are coming, not just anyone who drives by. We had issues on one of our sales with agents not calling, or calling last minute (sometimes from the front yard), then letting themselves in. Sometimes we were home but in the shower or out mowing the back lawn and didn't hear the phone. It was so bad, we took it off the market.
In the OP's case, I just don't know how she can be positive that these are trespassers, and why she cares so much. It isn't her house. She should just tell the homeowners and let them deal with it.
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