Home > Blogs > Bob Haywood > Bob's Greater Tulsa Real Estate Blog

No, You Can't Show My House at that time

By Bob Haywood

Real Estate Agent with McGraw Realtors

June 13, 2008 03:52 PM

NO NO NO! "That showing time is too early for us. If you'll come at 12:30, that will work fine. Thank you!"

This was the message I got from a seller in our area tonight on my cell phone. I had called him earlier and had a left a message about showing his home tomorrow morning around 9:30. I know that can be early on a Saturday, but we've got to start early as that's when my buyers are available.

I haven't called this seller back yet (too late tonight), but when I do, there are a few things I'd like to tell him. See if some of these resonate with you.

First, do you really want to sell your house? Because if you do, asking a real estate professional to wait 3 hours later to show your house isn't going to get it sold. Not in today's market. When showing, we are usually on tight schedules. Coming back around to a neighborhood twice is sometimes simply impossible.

The second thing I'd like to ask this guy is, "Do you ever watch the news?" Surely he knows about this little mortgage crisis our country is currently experiencing.

How about this one..."Do you have ANY idea what the interest rates are doing right now?" My mortgage officer friends tell me that they're quoting rates only for that immediate moment in time to people making loan application because things are so unstable right now. Today's rate was closing in on 6.6 and we're probably looking at 7 pretty quickly. Rising mortgage rates mean higher payments. And what exactly is it that we don't have a lot of due to the rising (and may I say ridiculous) gas prices? Yes, that would be extra money for higher payments!

I want to ask him also if he has any idea how many less houses are selling right now as measured against last year. Does he know the stats for our area? Apparently not.

Now, why is any of this important? Why does it matter? Because the answers to these questions are obvious. If you're a breathing human being who lives in America, you know that we're in the midst of a market slow down. If you're a seller, you've got to be super savvy to be successful in selling your home right now. And that means being flexible in the showing of your home. If a Realtor calls you to show your house, get the appointment scheduled and get out of the way! That Realtor might be bringing you the person or couple who falls in love with your home. If you make it hard for us to get into your home, you're really only hurting your odds of success! After all, my buyers have PLENTY of houses to pick from. Not getting into yours just isn't that big of a deal anymore.

For this poor guy, we probably won't be seeing his house tomorrow. Bummer for him!

Comments(15)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

William Johnson

Retired - La Jolla, CA

Retired

Part of this issue is the often poor counseling the seller gets. I have also observed over my 20 years that Seller's don't' always pick the sharpest knife in the drawer ( of agents) . Many agents are so hungry for the listing that they often allow the seller to control the listing. Not the best idea of the many choices,:-). It does make one wonder why they think this OK behavior in any market.

Jun 13, 2008 04:03 PM

Joyce Bradley

Century21 Select Group - Lake Harmony, PA

You are right that anyone who really wants to sell will do almost anything (as long as its legal) to get people into a property that they have expressed interest in seeing. Its hard enough to generate interest as it is in an inventory heavy market. Yet many Sellers put up obstacles to success, such as listing agent must be present at all showings (common here in an area of second homes as I suppose the owner thinks that adds to their security?), no lock boxes for keys (pick them up at the office that shouldn't turn off a Buyer Agent with the price of gas today), strighten up the house? (why I live in it! Yeah and you probably will for longer than you want to), etc etc

Have to educate the uninitiated and get the Seller on your side, if you are the Listing Agent, otherwise it may be time to find another client.

Jun 13, 2008 04:07 PM

Lisa Southern

Lisa Southern Real Estate - Raleigh, NC

Lisa Southern Real Estate

This is my number one pet peeve. Are these sellers living under a rock? Is their home on the market for the fun of it? I'm not sure about your market, but I have plenty of homes to show that have very eager and accomodating sellers.

Jun 13, 2008 04:09 PM

Linsey Ehle

M Realty - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

I recently addressed this very thing on my blog: Why Didn't My Home Sell.

I was showing property on Wednesday to my buyer ($250,000 down on a $600,000 purchase - ready to go buyer) and the seller asked me to come back later in the day. It's a logistical pain in the a** to come back to that neighborhood. No problem - I have to narrow the long list of options somehow. Tough to show - too many options to work that hard to see one home.

I agree with William too - educating our clients is the first step in helping our sellers.

Jun 13, 2008 04:15 PM

Jim Gilbert

Sky Realty - Austin, TX

I tried to show a home in May. Seller said that our coming would be inconvenient. I found out later that the agent I was standing in for with the buyer had been refused earlier. When sellers make their homes difficult to show, their homes are more difficult to sell!

Jun 13, 2008 04:37 PM

Paula Swayne

Dunnigan, Realtors, Sacramento (916) 425-9715 - Sacramento, CA

Realtor-Land Park, East Sac & Curtis Park -Dunniga

Nothing is more frustrating than a seller asking us to come back later...after we have toured the other homes in his area. Nope...not coming back....I have other homes to show!

Hey Bob, how are your parents doing?

Jun 13, 2008 05:03 PM

Leslie Stewart

Oregon Licensed Broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Real Estate Professionals - Stayton, OR

Realtor, ABR, CRS, Oregon Licensed Broker

I don't think sellers understand what they are asking when they ask you to come at a different time. I have my route figured out by the time I call for appointments to show home. Going back to a neighborhood is near impossible especially with out of town buyers.

Jun 13, 2008 05:34 PM

LaShawn Norden

Keller Williams Heritage Realty - Longwood, FL

REALTOR, (321) 377-0157, Your Real Estate Advocate in Central FL

Short of showing up unannounced at midnight, I too think Sellers should be as accomodating as possible...Yesterday, I actually had an agent call as she was sitting in front of one of my listings with a Buyer to see if they could get in to see it...the owner said "Absolutely" and today, we're supposed to get an offer from that same Buyer. Sellers who are willing to be flexible and accomodating also send the clear message that they are serious about selling!

Jun 14, 2008 03:24 AM

Heather Wood - REALTOR® Midwest City, Oklahoma

Metro First Realty - Midwest City, OK

I appreciate a seller who is ready to sell!! Your seller had plenty of notice and should work along with you not against.

Jun 14, 2008 02:53 PM

Anonymous

Kristina

O.k., just to give you the other side of the coin (though I agree with your blog) - We have had our house on the market for about 2 weeks and have been very lucky as have had traffic just about every day. We have made every effort to show, sometimes in as little as 30 minutes notice. However, we have a dog and work schedules so it can sometimes be hectic to accomodate, but we make it work as we know how important it is. However, my husband is out of town on a business trip for 2 days and we have both our home AND my cell phone listed to contact us. I came home at 4:30pm with a message on my home machine from an agent at 2:49pm saying she would like to show my home between 3-4pm and if she did not hear from me she would assume it was fine and leave a card. ??!! She attepted to arrive at 3:05pm and hearing my dog bark, did not enter. When I called back, I was plesant but said I did not think it was reasonable to leave such a message and enter my home with 10-15 minutes notice. She was rude & nasty and said this was perfectly appropriate and she did not need to reach me to show my home. I found this inappropriate as I have a large (but nice) dog as well as a laptop and other items out in my as I had NO ONE call to schedule with me. Out of curiosity, do you feel this is appropriate?

Aug 05, 2008 12:53 PM

#10

Bob Haywood

McGraw Realtors - Owasso, OK

BobHaywood.com

Kristina,

I appreciate your perspective on the issue! I'm glad to hear that you have had traffic also! One thing you didn't mention was whether or not you are selling your house by owner or with an agent. If you are listed with an agent, then he or she could and should call the other agent to deal with this situation. Regardless of how you are selling your house, the agent should not have treated you the way she did. That was uncalled for in my opinion. What I think you probably ran into with her leaving a message and then attempting to show the house, was a common practice among us agents - at least here in my area. With an owners permission, we will allow agents to call and show the house if they leave a message. Those instructions are usually CLEARLY printed in the MLS showing instructions. I think the realtor took it for granted and took it upon herself to do the showing. She was foolish to do so, but she did. I NEVER do this without clear instructions first because I don't want to set off an alarm, I don't want to get bit by a dog and it is rude. The situation I blogged about was more in regards to the fact that the owner was going to be inconvenienced. My point was that he had potential buyers on the line in a market slowdown. If it were me, I'd been out of there in a flash!

Sounds like you are on the right track! I hope you sell you house quickly!

Bob

Aug 05, 2008 01:21 PM

Shannon Myers-Coan

McGraw Realtors - Broken Arrow, OK

I had some clients that wanted to see several homes in one neighborhood (6). Well one of them had the glass door locked, and the keybox was on the main door, so I could not show the house I called the agent. She apoligized. That evening my buyers chose the house right after that one. The agent called me and I told her that, I think she gave her sellers an earfull she was not happy. So It is everyones interest to have access to the property.

Sep 13, 2008 03:21 PM

Greg Renfrow

Marx-Bensdorf, REALTORS - Memphis, TN

I have heard this so many times myself. One question? Why did you think it was too late to call the seller? If 9:30am was too early, then I am sure the sellers were still awake. I have had to ask myself the same questions. Do our sellers reallylisten to the news? Are they paying attention to the number of fore sale signs they pass every day in their neighborhood. Sellers need to be told during the listing presentation that their home needs to be 'show' ready at all times. I know this is an inconvenience, but in this market, sellers have to accommodate buyers.

Oct 07, 2008 05:09 PM

Anonymous

Catherine

Like Kristina, I have 2 dogs that are taken out of the house during showings. I don't mind, not a problem. I have also dealt with having someone want to see my house and they were literally sitting outside. Asked for and got 10 minutes to run around making house presentable before leaving.

My beef is with the realtors who show up after 7pm, saying had appt and expecting me to just let them in. Mind you the service our agent uses has 2 contact numbers to reach me to confirm showings. I know this is a buyers' market and I am accommodating to showing times. But is not fair to a seller for an agent to just show up with a client (appt was not made nor confirmed) and expect us to vacate.

Mar 29, 2009 11:39 PM

#14

Inna Ivchenko

Barcode Properties - Encino, CA

Realtor® • GRI • HAFA • PSC Calabasas CA

If I may suggest... all showings and open house rules should be discussed in advance. If there are no showings in early hours, there are no showings at early hours.

Sep 02, 2017 11:33 PM