When you list your home for sale security is one of the things you worry about. So how would you feel if you knew the agent has the key to your door under the welcome mat? Recently I called for showing instructions on a listing in the Woodbridge VA area and that's exactly what I was told.
Sure enough when my clients and I got to the front door there wasn't a lockbox but the key was there under the mat. My clients were shocked and I wish I could say I was too.
Perhaps the sellers agreed to this arrangement but you have to wonder WHY? My reaction is the same when I see a combo code listed in the agent remarks on the MLS. Since I've encountered unaccompanied buyers in a home it doesn't take long to figure out that an agent gave them the code so they could see it on their own.
Without an electronic lockbox on the property or using one of the local showing services there is no way for an owner or an agent to know who has been in the property. Though the home we checked out yesterday was empty there are still appliances, cooper pipes and light fixtures that could disappear in the middle of the night. Who is responsible for the damages to the home if it isn't secured? Is it the agent for taking a short cut or the sellers? If you call the police to report a robbery and tell them the key was under the mat how do you think they will react
If you list your Woodbridge home with Cindy Jones and CJ Realty Group we won't take short cuts on the security of your home. We use electronic lock boxes which capture the entry information for every agent who comes to our property. We also subscribe to the Centralized Showing Service and can offer you this option as additional tracking of agents visiting your home. If you are still living in your home we are going to go over with you the personal belongings and medicines you should secure before the home goes on the market. Though no one can 100% guarantee complete security, we do our best to make sure your home is protected from just anyone being able to walk in the front door.
The key is under the mat. Not on my listings.
Comments(10)