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Lockbox, Lockbox, Wherefor Art Thou Lockbox?

You Can Put Me On A Hose Bib Or Even On A Bench

Not The Ideal Locations, But They'll Do In A Pinch

You Can Hide Me In The Bushes, You Can Hang Me On A Fence

Or How About The Front Door, Now - Wouldn't That Make Sense?

I Hate To Be A Nagger, But This Lockbox Hiding Is Silly

I Just Want To Show Your Home, Not Wander Willy Nilly!

Posted by Sue Nelson, Broker/Associate Las Vegas Real Estate ~Team Rhino~ on 05/28/2007 11:15 AM

Comments (71)

crazy, real estate, las vegas, attitude, silly, clients, sellers, agents, realtors, selling, homes, houses

Post is included in group: Las Vegas Real Estate

71 Comments on Lockbox, Lockbox, Wherefor Art Thou Lockbox?

MAY

2007

Haha cute. I love to see original stuff on here. It makes it worth reading all the other stuff to come to a funny post. Thanks

Sue...you stole my idea! I was going to do one on the lockbox today :) The more I climb the ladder of blog-dom the stiffer the competition gets! I was dreaming last night of blog ideas.....sheesh!

AMEN SISTER - PREACH IT! This drives me NUTZZZ! It's just not easy to look professional sqatting in front of a hose bib, pointing our TREO's at a little box. Then, having to remove our muddy shoes-we were sqatting in mud-because the carpet was just cleaned. This is just plain silly. Thanks so much for your post.

Very funny. Don't give up, Mary.

Sue,

I hate when they hide it and don't tell you where it is even in the Realtor remarks! You then get to look like an idoiot to your clients while searching for it!

Rita

Thank you ALL for the great comments. Rita makes an excellent point... If you can let us know where you hid it, we'll look LESS stupid! Of course that doesn't keep me from tearing up the heels of my nice sandals in your rocks, but at least I won't look like a TOTAL moron!

That was cute! I hate when people hide the lockbox on a bush... it's especially annoying when it's a prickly bush and when it's raining as your entire arm and your key card get so wet, it's gross.

This is great! Yes... the lockbox challenge. I've had to deal with it quite a few times as well.

Very creative. I find the mechanical lock boxes a challenge. I can't see the numbers they are white on white or black on black or gold on gold. sometimes I have the little children of the home buyers do it for me. it makes them feel important.

I can't tell you how many times the sprinklers have come on while I was in a flower bed or the sprinklers are on when we get there & we have to wait for a 10 minute cycle to get the lockbox. Talk about taking the fun right out of seeing THAT house!!

Hey at least there IS a lockbox. I HATE the listing agents that request you stop by their office, invariably across town, to pick up the key, then of course you have to return it. Or the ones that use combo boxes & don't give you the code.....

Cute. I feel your pain. On Saturday I showed a home (in the rain) and the lockbox was on the side in the MUD!

Susan: Excellent point. My thoughts - If the listing agent wants me to show their listing - they can deliver a key to MY office and they can PICK IT UP when I'm done with it.

i have seen doors get dinged up by lock boxes.

i will not allow a realtor to hang one on my door. they are VERY outdated in design AND functionality

I totally feel your pain. I showed a house the other day and it took me almost 25 minutes just to get the key out of the box that was behond a big bush filled with bees!!

Liz: At least we don't get "muddy" here, I sympathize. But wet is wet! Ugh!

I've found them in some very interesting places--you truly have to be an inquiring mind sometimes. Enjoyed the post.

Tom: Good point. However, if they are attached correctly - they should not dent. Not to mention, you're moving - it's not going to be your door anymore. :)

Christy: Bees? Yeah, not so much. NEXT HOUSE!

Diane: We should have a contest. The GREAT LOCKBOX CHALLENGE. How difficult can we make it for a buyer to see our home?

How about those who have the hours so tight that you can not show. For example the agent who has the viewing time from 11 AM to 6 Pm. These are the people who usually hide the lockbox. I try to work from 8 Am on.... Great Post.

That is HILARIOUS!!! Really...what is the BIG DEAL on hiding the lockbox? Do they want you to "hide the sign" too??? How about in the backyard incognito behind the pool screen??? VERY CUTE!

Makes me think of a showing I had this winter - the lockbox was right where it should be - on the front door. HOWEVER - there was no rain diverter and every bit if ice cold melting snow went right down the back of my neck under my shirt - and I could not GET IT OPEN!! Number was right, but it was sticking, so needless to say the house's first fault was highlighted big-time - all roof liquid was dumping right on the front deck - can you say rot? Lockboxes are a bain to our existence, aren't they?

Frank: No lie, I saw a listing the other day... Home can be shown by APPOINTMENT on Wed-Thurs ONLY Between 1-6 pm! GOOD LUCK!!

What happened to the days when the key was under the mat? And why can't they just put the CBS code on the back of the box for us. You can't get access anyway without the keypad.

Susie: Hiding the sign - that's FUNNY!

Liz: Haven't we always heard to accentuate the positive & camouflage the negative?

I love the hidden lockbox, especially muddy lots with high heals and ivory carpets.

Rebecca: Nothing like a trek in the mud eh?

No kidding! Let's do every possible thing to make it difficult to show the home!

Anyone ever played 3 card monte lockbox? Guess which lockbox has the key. One listing had one on the door, hose bib and garage door. All electronic. Perhaps a picky seller going thru agents??

Some of the unusualy places I've found lockboxes are; porch railings behind flower pots, hanging on outdoor furniture, gas meters, of course water spickets, and one enterprising soul even drove a huge nail into the outside wall beside the door to swing a lockbox from.

Always an adventure.

How about the lockbox that is located just out of your reach around a corner above a sea of mud? Heh heh.. in rainy weather I carry an extra pair of shoes because one time I stepped in that mud to get to the box, sank up to my knee (I'm 5'10"_, and when I pulled my foot out, the shoe was left in the bottom of the hole. Needless to say, I did NOT reach in there to get it! We had to stop at the Payless so I could grab something in a sandal in order to continue showing. I bet those buyers never forget that!

How about on the fence right by the big old dog who barks as you are trying to save your life and get the key at the same time.

Thanks for your great creativity with the lock box we all have experienced it one way or the other.

I've had sellers say, "Oh, don't put it on the door because then everybody will know my house is for sale." Um, like that big honkin' FOR SALE sign in the front yard doesn't give it away!!! I've watched other agents on tour days pass up previewing homes when the lockbox was too hard to get to. But if I'm showing property, I've been known to crawl over fences to get the lockbox. Now when I call to find out if a property is still available, I ask the agent where the lockbox is located and make a note of it on the MLS print-out. That way I can tell buyers, "Wait by the front door. I have to trek through the mud and claw through the bushes to get to the lockbox because it's in the back yard on the gas pipe." Buyers are very impressed and think I know a lot more about the house than I probably do. At least I'm not standing there wondering where the lockbox is. Only problem is once you get it open, which key opens which door? I try to remember to ask which door the key fits as well because agents don't label the keys or put notes in the box. Oh, except for the alarm code. Which is generally scrawled on a slip of paper that long ago had fallen into the mud and gotten lost. Aaaiiiieee. I love alarms.

Oh what a FUN post this is! Thank you all for your contributions. They make me laugh & make me want to cry all at the same time!

I had an agent (he sold Real Estate "on the side") who required me to go to another building three blocks away to get the key from the doorman there. Not only did I have to hunt down the key, but he required me to put down a deposit of $20 because so many agents had not returned the key in the past. I really wondered how motivated he was to get this listing sold.

Great point. I hate looking for lockboxes. Esp when it is raining!

Patrick: We should charge them a deposit for us showing their pain in the arse listings!

Bob: We don't have much problems with rain here... but it's still ridiculous to go hiking for a lockbox isn't it?

Hi Sue,

You're a real poet! There are times when we or the Seller need to keep the lockbox out of sight but we always put in the showing instructions to call listing agent for easy showing instructions.

Fun post though.

This one had me laughing out loud. Remembering myself in a dress and heels stepping through the garden getting to the lockbox on the faucet and bending down to manuver the key with the lock box and without mooning my clients. LOL!!!

Haha! Sometimes you wonder if people really want to sell their home when they don't want to accommodate any possible buyers. Why not under showing instructions just put "see virtual tour"

Lisa & Robert: That's true... Sometimes it won't work on the door because of the handle type etc. But I swear some agents actually HIDE them for fun!

Chrystina: Oh yes... We must be careful what we wear on showing days!! HA!

Abraham: FABULOUS IDEA... How about, make an offer subject to interior inspection!!

How did real estate work B.L. (Before Lockbox)? What a great invention this is. It gives us so much more control over our time.

I like the house with 3, yes three, boxes on it. Which do you choose? Doesn't matter none (nadda) were current. Tells you something doesn't?

Very Funny Sue!

You chose a creative way to express the thought as well definitely worth the featured position.

Great Blog Sue. Just love trekking through the mud in heels. I think they plan that just so you will remove your shoes upon entry :))))))))

Cute poem Sue !

I found after a couple of lockbox searches that the lockbox location is one of those 'if you don't ask the right question, you won't get the right answer' thingies. The worst place is when they put it way down at the bottom of something (like a wrought iron fence rail) facing in an awkward position so the numbers are hard to click ...taking the face plate off is another story entirely and NEVER mind trying to get the key back in and the faceplate back on.... still, beats the days of racing around to offices all over town picking up keys and then doing it all over again to return them !

Dena: I'm thinking if the seller can't make up their mind on an agent, how are they going to decide on an offer?

Alan: Thank you... Obviously I was totally playing, but it seems as if it's a bigger "hot button" than I realized.

Lori: Almost makes you want to trek through the home with dirty feet to return the favor doesn't it?

Jo-Anne: B.L.? Ugh!! However, I'd rather chase down a key in the comfort of my car than hopping fences I guess.

Thanks for sharing!

I love it when the key box is on a hose bib down behind the flower bed that can only be reached by someone with 5 feet arms who can get to it over 3 feet of mulch behind a HOLLY BUSH.

If they wanted to insure a double deal, why not just have a 24 hour notice with "lister must accompany".

Every wonder why some homes just sit, and sit, and sit?

Judging from the response to this post, it appears that a lot of agents feel the same way.

Sue, Very cute poem and post. I always put the lock box on the house next door. I do it just to mess with BAs.:)

This was great, Sue. The worst is trying to show a condo in a building where so many units are for sale, there's a collection of lockboxes on the stair rail outside. Unless the agent tells you which one is theirs, you're stuck trying ALL of them. Fun........

Lenn: The response to this post was much greater than I had anticipated. It's been FUN!

Bryant: Now that's a clever idea. I like it!!

Anne-Marie: Have you ever shown a gated community where you had to have a gate card to get in? Here they sometimes put it on the railing of the exterior gates... Then you have to get out of your car, try not to get ran over, grab the card - get back in the car - get through the gate - show the home only to have to do it all over again when you leave!! Good times!!

Nice poem. One time I couldn't find the lockbox anywhere at all. After searching all over, we realized that the home we wanted to see was actually next door. The sign was between the two driveways and the homes looked very similar. I'm just glad that the owner wasn't home.

Tim: Ooops! I hate it when that happens. :)

Great poem! After this weekend, I might write one about the agent who didn't have a supra keypad yet and was angry when she couldn't get the key out of the box when no one was home. Sherry

Congratulations on the Featured Post. I love the creativity in making a very vaild point.

I have seen them in some pretty weird places. I hate when the listing says there's a lockbox, I call set up an appointment and ask about the lockbox. I get to the house and there's no lockbox to be found!

Great post! I too have had trouble finding lockboxes in odd places.

Sherry: So, her lack of professionalism was somehow your fault? Nice.

Terry: Thank you!!

Christy: Ouch. No lockbox is worse than a hidden one!

Sheri: I play a game with my clients now to see who can find it first! Neighbors must think we're crazy when one of us yells, FOUND IT!!

HA! Great stuff! I hate playing Hide & Seek with the lockbox and absolutely love your rhyme! Thanks for sharing :)

Hi Ryan: Hide & Seek... Perfect description! Thanks!

MAY

2007

It's tough when the lock box is behind a bush that is swarming with bees! Or so close to a cactus that you can't get to the box without the thorns grabbing your hand. Argh.

Carolin Benjamin
Bob and Carolin Benjamin
The Benjamin Team
Keller Williams Integrity First Realty
Gold Canyon Arizona

Carolin: Someone else mentioned bees! That's where I draw the line. I'm way to sweet for bees to resist. :)

Carolin, hummmmmmmmm can I send to my ENTIRE board ? I hate looking for lockboxes.

Classic. I always attach my lock boxes to the neighbor's house. That keeps them guessing.

How about the bumper of the old broken-down truck in the driveway?

Today as I was showing homes, I kept wondering where I was going to find the lockboxes and if I'd have anything new to report... Nope... Same ol' Same ol'. Water spigots, gates & lo and behold - even a few on the front doors! :)

MAY

2007

How funny, but true

I have found that some agents will forget the lockbox after the sale. For instance, the sellers agent on my home, left the lockbox on my porch for 12 months!

I took one off for an agent almost 4 years ago, she agreed to pick it up at my office. She still hasn't! 4 YEARS! And, she's still in the business. You'd think she would've passed by my office at least ONCE in the last 4 years wouldn't you?

Christy: How about lockbox on front door---no box no key...previous LREA left box and key in the house.

Almost lost a client on this one as she started bad mouthing agents.

Wonders never cease do they?

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