Unless you're in real estate yourself or looking for a home in Sacramento, you would not believe what's going on in the marketplace. It's terrible for most home buyers, and it's a sizzling hot market for home sellers. The Sacramento real estate market is completely nuts. I try to engage sellers in long conversations to prepare them for the onslaught before we go on the market. I make sure my sellers understand what will happen so there are no surprises.
In one particular community, I've had problems in the past with agents accessing lockboxes without permission and simply walking into a seller's home without calling. In one instance last summer, the seller's wife was in the shower and looked up to find some guy standing in her bedroom. This agent had the gall to yell at her, too. Like, what was she doing in a home he was trying to show? As a result, I no longer put up For Sale signs in this particular community. So, when I put a home on the market there, in an attempt to further protect my seller, I did not advertise the lockbox nor put up a For Sale sign. Imagine that -- no lockbox to show, no for sale sign. I gave the bottom of the lockbox to the seller and told him he could put a key in it later, which appraisers could use at his direction. Our showing instructions would not mention a lockbox.
Because you know what happens? A buyer's agent is out showing property to a buyer. They drive down the street and spot this new For Sale sign. This home is not on the buyer's showing list, so of course the buyer wants to see it. The agent, without calling for more information or looking up the showing instructions, stops the car and looks for a lockbox. An agent should never in a million years open a lockbox without reading showing instructions. MLS and managing brokers need to do a better job of education.
Sure enough, though, yesterday an agent called to complain there was no key in the lockbox. I asked her why she was accessing the lockbox and why she was not following showing directions in MLS. She claimed MLS did not have any directions for showing. I pointed out that my MLS had showing instructions and wondered out loud why her MLS did not.
It's a crazy market in Sacramento. Read more on my personal blog today about Thinking About Selling a Home in Sacramento?
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