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.
...if you contacted a buyer to set up a showing (leaving a message on the seller's voicemail with your cell phone number) and the seller called you back asking for your real estate office phone number to set up the showing?
It has been my practice (as a seller) to protect our security by only giving out combo lock information to realtors I can verify. I always Google them (and whatever phone number they give me) first and I also make sure they have an actual real estate office phone number that I can contact them on. I do not feel comfortable returning calls to cell phones and giving out our combo lock code for showings. Who's to say that the person claiming to be John Smith from ABC Realty isn't really somebody else posing as John Smith to get into our house?
In this instance, the realtor did call me back and give me a main office number, but when I called the office number, I couldn't get a live person - only a recording and when I entered his name using the spell-by-name feature, the system didn't recognize the name. Someone with his name was listed on their web site, but there was no direct phone extension listed.
So I emailed him via the website and asked him to please send me his direct dial extension. The response? He told me not to worry about it - he didn't want to go forward with the showing.
Am I off-base with my process for scheduling showings? Is asking for an office phone number insulting in some way?
are you on a flat fee MLS program that you need to set up your own showings?
I think you cannot be too careful letting people into your house. Make a form put date/time of showing, their name, the company, the cell phone and then verify the licensee on the state's website. Do not leave the form in the house. If something goes wrong you have what you need to file a report.
At least in Oregon licensee information is on the real estate agent website. We are also required to have principal broker information on ads. So on a website if an agent has their cell phone, the main office line has to be listed since that is how consumers could access the broker. That information is on our state website as well.
When you get a request for a showing, go to the state licensee lookup form. At least out here, the brokerage phone number is there. Call that number and try and get a hold of the agent that way. Your due diligence is fine, but don't be so in your face about it. That part I find a bit put off-ish. You are obviously doing some type of FSBO thing and I think asking for the office line makes you appear unreasonable, when in fact checking out the agent is a good idea. Try and do your checking behind the scenes...so to speak.
Absolutely not! I'd think you were being wise, though you might not need to go to such lengths (and you're more likely than not, given how many showings are on weekends, to find that the office is closed when you need the information).
Just check the office website, see if the agent is on there. In our state, you could simply look us up by name or license # and find out who we work for, online.
I had the same question as 2bindenver, sounds like you are flat fee/FSBO? If so, I agree that you should be careful and verify, especially if you are giving out combo box info. Here, the listing agent should be using a Supra style electronic lockbox for better security. Only agents should have the electronic key to open it. Maybe different in NJ.
This reminds me of a nortorious, perpetual and local REO listing by an off brand broker who specializes in REO listings. All appointments were made via email. The broker's automated response was an email with a list of the combo codea for all his listings in the entire state. Such response was sent to anyone and everyone who requested it, not limited to agents.
Everytime I showed this particular property I half expected to encounter a squatter living in it.
Now back to the issue at hand.....Brokerage offices, in my area, do not make appointments for their agents to show property. While I respect your desire to protect yourself and your property, the harder you make it for an agent to show your property, the less likely it will be shown.
Yes, we are on a Flat Fee MLS service so we schedule our own showings. Generally, the approach we have been using has worked fine because with most realtors, as soon as I Google their phone number, I can see that they are legit. Or if I ask them for their office number, they happily give it to me with a direct extension and that's all I need.
In this case, I did a lot of checking behind the scenes and still could not verify this realtor - even after calling his office. So that was when I asked for his direct extension which he apparently did not want to give me. Makes me wonder.
...So that was when I asked for his direct extension which he apparently did not want to give me. Makes me wonder.
May depend on the type of office they are associated with. I don't have a direct extension as I don't have my own office at the brokerage, I work out of my home office. However, the office receptionist has my contact info but you'd have call on a weekday.
...if you contacted a buyer to set up a showing (leaving a message on the seller's voicemail with your cell phone number) and the seller called you back asking for your real estate office phone number to set up the showing?
It has been my practice (as a seller) to protect our security by only giving out combo lock information to realtors I can verify. I always Google them (and whatever phone number they give me) first and I also make sure they have an actual real estate office phone number that I can contact them on. I do not feel comfortable returning calls to cell phones and giving out our combo lock code for showings. Who's to say that the person claiming to be John Smith from ABC Realty isn't really somebody else posing as John Smith to get into our house?
In this instance, the realtor did call me back and give me a main office number, but when I called the office number, I couldn't get a live person - only a recording and when I entered his name using the spell-by-name feature, the system didn't recognize the name. Someone with his name was listed on their web site, but there was no direct phone extension listed.
So I emailed him via the website and asked him to please send me his direct dial extension. The response? He told me not to worry about it - he didn't want to go forwaurd with the showing.
Am I off-base with my process for scheduling showings? Is asking for an office phone number insulting in some way?
I don't think you are wrong or off base about being careful. Calling the office seems a reasonable precaution too, though it may slow you down if you try to call when the office is closed. In my case, it would be easy enough for you to follow through on your precautions, as the office is open on weekends. So, no I would not be insulted, offended, or in any way put out.
In my office, I have a direct extension, but I couldn't tell you what it is without looking at the list, because I don't use it for incoming calls - they all go to my cell, because as our sales manager says, if we're in the office, chances are we're not out doing what we're supposed to be doing, selling homes and getting listings. So that wouldn't be a good way to determine if I was legitimate or not.
That being said, I wouldn't be offended, it just wouldn't work real well for you.
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.
