Showing a home for sale in Portland, OR is usually a fun and interesting experience for the Realtor and the client. The client can start comparing features that are important such as finishes and layout of the rooms. The Realtor looks really hard to find the best fit, makes an itinerary and makes appointments for occupied homes.
The other day I went to show a house, had made an appointment. Couldn't find the lock box. I looked at the listing sheet again, oh yeah, it was on the GAS METER. Humnnn where is the gas meter? I walked through the wet grass, in the rain, to the side of the house AGAIN, and found the gas meter, which was behind a chimney, and the lock box. The lock box is the same color as the meter and it had slid behind it.
Put my card in and entered my code and click! the lock box separated from the handle and then came off in my hand. That was a first for me. Put my card in the lock box which was now in my hand. Did not get the key drawer to open. Texted the agent and he ACCUSED me of not being professional because I was using my card instead of the Smart phone App. Did my “card” cause the handle to separate from lock box?
My client had a 9 month old (23 lbs) that she was carrying back and forth. Baby was not all that happy about going in and out of the car. Client stepped in some doggie doo. So......between making the appointment, driving there, looking for the lock box and then dealing with the listing agent, this lovely experience took at least an hour and a half out of my day. Some listing agents don't make it easy. I told him in texting that he should change the listing and explain where the lockbox WAS explicitly. Walk to the west side of the house. The lockbox is behind the gas meter, behind the chimney, and is the same color so it will blend in.
It was a typical Portland day: on the chilly side, low cloud cover, and drizzle rain. My feet were wet and I was ready to move on.
I went back to the house a few days later to take a photo of the lock box. I was with another client showing homes and put this property on the list to swing by. It was a lovely sunny day in the afternoon and the lock box just sat there and grinned at me like it was posing so when you see this photo try to conjure up the cold and drizzle I had originally encountered.
See part 2. It got better.
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