Sorry, Mr. Buyer (or Realtor), you can't see the house in 5 minutes!

I have this nice listing in Bethesda, MD that, for some reason, has been getting a lot of activity even though it's not cheap and it's not a "short sale" or foreclosure.  It's a normal, plain vanilla home sale. The reson it is a little surprosing that it is getting so much activity is because the list on it is over a million bucks.

I realize that's everyday stuff for some people but it's also in a neighborhood where, how do I put this delicately, people respect other people's privacy. They don't go barging in or calling at all hours.  They observe the courtesies of civil society.

Yet, for some reason, when people see a yard sign or something on the Internet they immediately want to take a look...and I mean immediately.  Even though I use a showing service and have it plainly listed in the MLS description, Realtors call me all the time with the "Can we see it in the next half hour?" question.  Or "my cleint is in front of the house, can we see it?"

NOOOOOO!  Call the showing service and pretend like you're someone wanting to show your own house. Give some notice. Allow that someone may be eating dinner or bathing the kids or just coming home from soccer practice.

Ditto to Buyers who are driving around and "just want to see" the house.

Yes, I want to help sell the house.  Yes. If you can afford to buy it (and aren't just driving around "dreaming") I would love to be able to help you buy it.  Let's pretend you're someone who wants to see your own house. Can I call you up from your driveway and ask to come in?

Oh, by the way, if there are no Open House signs or balloons or other indications that it's OK for you to just knowck on the door --- DON'T KNOCK ON THE DOOR! A family actually is living their life inside this house while trying to keep it in a condition Martha Stewart would envy and making plans to leave so you can view the home at your leisure. (True story: a couple just up an knocked on the door in the evening asking to see the house.  No warning. No Realtor.  No nothing. Just saw the sign.)

Selling or Buying a house is a stressful event.  We Realtors know this. Showing one's personal home, opening it up to virtually anyone who may or may not want to buy it is nail biting, white knuckling, hand wringing stressful. Let's try to make it a bit easier by giving a little notice and being a little nice about it.

Preparation is a virtue.