It turns out that I'm a little spoiled being in the Dallas market verse moving to a smaller market, Austin. In Dallas, we have a showing service called Centralized Showing Services (CSS). I would guess 99% of agents use this service. It's very inexpensive, and it's wonderful.
When I need to show 10 properties, I get to call one number and give them all the addresses and times. The showing service then turns around and calls the sellers to confirm the appts. The showing service is the keeper of the alarm codes, passwords in case the alarm goes off, and gate codes in case it's a gated community.
I can also go online and enter either the MLS number or the address, and then schedule the appointment right there on the site, which then gives me all information for the showing.
After the showings, CSS then sends out an automated email asking for feedback. Each listing agent can customize this section per listing entering in specific information, or just a default message to use with all listings. The agents can also specify how many times they want an email to be sent out, which I have mine set to 3.
An agent can go directly to the site to enter feedback for each showing, or they can send feedback to the individual agents, and the listing agent can then copy and paste into the website. The best part is that the sellers have their own password into the system to read their feedback whenever they want. VERY convenient.
So, I write about this awesome service to tell you that Austin does not have such a thing. I called CSS to see if I can still be a part, but they do not allow agents across the country to sign up without the MLS approval, and apparently Austin's MLS has been fighting this, which makes no sense.
Personally, I felt like an idiot calling the sellers to schedule appts when I was looking at houses the last few months. I felt there was a lot of confrontation, and I was having to bite my tongue to not say what I wanted to say to these sellers who were declining showings right and left. Out of 15 appts I tried to schedule, only 2 seller approved the showings, and that's not an exaggeration.
Having a showing service in the middle keeps confrontation to a minimum so I don't have to personally tell the seller what I think of them. Usually, when a showing is declined, I call the listing agent and ask them why their seller doesn't want to show the house. Usually, the listing agents don't even know their sellers are declining showings. With a showing service, each and every appt attempt is logged and it's easy to take to a seller and say, "15 appts were attempted. You accepted 3 showings. The house has been on the market for 30 days and you're wondering why it's not sold? You're allowing 1/5 th of the potential buyers into your house!!"
When buyers' agents have to call the seller directly, how do you know how much activity you're receiving on the house? I have found a service to use, but I would be curious on what other showing services people use across the country that are national companies that I can look into, as I don't like the price of the one I found.
;)
;)
;)
That sounds like a very valuable service. I can't understand why the authorities in Austin would fight something like that!