No Lockboxes Allowed

I'm a big fan of lockboxes since I firmly believe that accompanied showings make properties much more difficult to show.

And you gotta show the property to sell it!

In my market, agents often accompany showings and it can be a big hassle to set up a tour. No agent - or group of agents - is available at all hours during the week. Instead, this is what we hear...

"Sorry, no, I just couldn't do that time."

"Oh no. I'm booked on Saturday.  I can't show the house."

"I'm sorry - we're not available Tuesday afternoon." "You mean, none of you - not you or your two partners - can squeeze us in?". "No, that just won't work."

So that home doesn't make it on our tour.  My buyers may very well end up buying something else.

Lockboxes have been slwo to catch on in my market.  Not that long ago it was common to have keys left for pickup at the listing office if the showing wasn't accompanied.  Some offices in town persist with this practice.

That makes for a challenging tour. 

You're showing half a dozen houses and for two of them you've got to detour or backtrack and pick up the keys at the real estate office.  And of course there's only one set available and somebody else still has it.  Or you manage to get the keys and show the property and half an hour later the office is calling you to say that you've got to bring them right back - despite the fact that you're late for the next showing on your tour.

Lockboxes are the answer!

Except when they're not.  Some condo associations don't allow them.  These associations aren't doing their residents any favors by making the condo difficult to show.  If it were me I'd be pushing for a rules change.

Sometimes a property merits the presence of a listing agent - a complicated floor plan or other idiosyncrasies, a tricky alarm system, etc. And if the buyer's agent is unfamiliar with the area or unfamiliar to me, if it's a second showing and the buyer or agent has questions, or if the buyer's agent prefers that I'm there (few do!), I'm more than happy to accompany the showing.

But in general, the lockbox is an important tool to get a home sold. When a buyer wants to see your home we want to make that happen - this just may be "the one"!