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Buyers Please Remove Your Shoes and Sellers Please Put on the Buyer's Shoes

By
Real Estate Agent with Lattimer Realty

Barefoot or booties when showing a homeOnce again, inspired by a question I answered on Trulia about wearing booties or going barefoot when showing a home where the seller requests agents and buyers to please remove their shoes

We've all walked in to show a home, a there's either a little note on the foyer table "Please Remove Shoes".  I sometimes would like to leave a note back, saying "Sellers Please Put on the Buyer's Shoes". 

Please remove shoes when showing home

Booties or Barefeet when showing a homeWhat do you do when the seller's request is to please remove shoes when showing the property?  If the seller or their agent made it convenient (HINT HINT to Sellers AND Their Agents), there will be a nice little pair of booties for you to easily slip on right over your shoes

 

Matched or unmatched socksIf there's no sign of booties, now is a good time to be thankful that you are wearing your matching socks or that your toe nails are nicely polished while you remove your shoes so you can preview the home. 

 

old flip flopsEvery once in a while you will get a seller who thinks that it might be a good idea for you to wear a pair of their used flip flops or pre-worn slippers.  When that's the  case, I tell my buyers, if we are removing our shoes, we are either going barefoot, chipped toenail polish, holes in our socks and all but I am not wearing someone else's shoes!  On occassion there are buyers who refuse to remove their shoes and opts to not view the home. 

 

Removing shoes to show a homeI understand, respect and comply with the sellers' request to remove shoes when showing the home.  However, I think that the listing agent (the seller's agent) should make a notation in the agent remarks of the Garden State Multiple Listing Service or even under the show instructions saying that shoes are to be removedso that at least I have an opportunity in advance to prepare my feet and so do my buyers.  It can be slightly uncomfortable and even embarrassing for both an agent and the buyer to have holes in their socks or non-pedicured toes. 

Buyers please remove your shoesOn a side note and again I comply and remove my shoes but keep in mind that a small  foyer or entrance area now appears even smaller when you have two, three or more people trying to awkwardly balance and slip on shoe covers and/or remove their shoes (especially if they are trying to hide some funky toe fungus or holes in their unmatched socks).   Perhaps a "construction runner" or something leading to a larger area to remove shoes will not make an entrance appear just that much smaller.   The last thing you want a potential buyer to remember about your house is the dreadful memory of when they removed their shoes.  Sellers, the next time a potential buyers comes to view your home, when they take off their shoes, put the buyers shoes on.....Sometimes you have to put on the buyer's shoes and see your home through a buyer's eyes...

 

 

Comments (4)

Ray Saenz
Exit Realty Laredo - Laredo, TX
Homes for Sale in Laredo, TX - Texas, Realtor

Gina,
that's a great advise and a way to do it, please keep the good work and this is a great blog to share, ! :)

Apr 02, 2010 03:46 PM
Ron T. Weems Jr.
Weems Property Group | KW North Sound - Bothell, WA
Managing the details one home at a time.

Gina,

I feel your pain. I understand totally. If your client request people to take their shoes off to view the home, the agent should provide booties.

Apr 02, 2010 03:48 PM
Andrew Haslett
Van Warren Home Inspections, NAHI CRI - Fort Knox, KY
Heartland of Kentuckynulls, Best Home Inspector

Gina, the booties are a great idea. For several reasons I do not remove my shoes, even if the sellers make such a request. I have a pair of inside shoes and a pair of outside shoes. I also have a towel or mat that I carry with me to wipe my shoes before entering a house.

Years ago, I was in my stocking feet in a carpeted home. I stepped on a straight pin that was caught in the carpet fibers. It pierced the joint capsule and broke off the tip when I naturally pulled / flexed my foot in reaction to the sharp pain. End result: $5,000 plus medical bill to surgically remove the microscopic piece of pin stuck in the joint capsule. The surgery took over 4 hours -- the doctor had to work carefully through tissue and tendons to avoid doing damage to the foot. Then, I was on crutches for three weeks, unable to drive to and from work. I did lose two or three full days of work, plus several partial days for doctor visits.

Keep the shoes on. Sellers take on huge liability asking for people to take off shoes.

 

Apr 02, 2010 04:07 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Gina,

I wear slip on shoes when I think I may be viewing or showing homes.  We have a LOT of listings here that make the request.

Recently I procured a pair of booties that I will carry with me.  They are heavy enough for repeated use. 

The homes that have the heat turned and are 50 degrees inside?  No chance I am telling a client, particularly one with small kids that the shoes come off.  We either walk through, or walk away.

Apr 03, 2010 02:07 PM