Real Estate Blog - Life without LockBoxes

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Life without LockBoxes

Can you imagine your life without a lock box on every one of your listings?

Well here in New York City this is my reality. Manhattan apartments that are on the market for sale do not have a lockbox on the door. When I have told this to agents who work in different states they look at me and are shocked.

So rather than plopping that lock box on the listing and walking away checking up with whoever shows the property this is what happens in Manhattan. It's very simple, but it can be very time consuming. We personally show every one of our exclusives (listings) to either agents or direct buyers that call us.

What happens if I have three listings in three different parts of the city? What happens if I have ten, twenty, or 50 listings all over the city? A lot of running around and "showing" is what happens. Typically we will try to schedule as many appointments in a series on one day. Agents will confirm for appointments relentlessly. When you spend 45 minutes on subways during rush hour to find out nobody is coming you develop a certain amount of impatience and insistence to confirming the appointment.

What can also happen is that you show the apartment to an agent and their customer and they walk in and out of the apartment in a flash with nothing be said. A complete waste of time because a lack of prequalification from the buyers agent.

But don't get me wrong I feel there are some definite advantages to an agent's life without lockboxes. Being at every showing of the apartment I can provide better feedback to my seller because I hear the pros and especially the negative comments from the buyers and agents coming through the apartment. It also helps because as the listing broker I know the apartment and the building better than a buyer's agents would and can sell the apartment better and answer questions better ultimately providing better service to my seller.

So let me ask you, what would you do if tomorrow morning your lockboxes were gone and you had to show all your listings?

Posted by Morgan Evans-New York City Real Estate Expert on 11/08/2008 09:07 PM

Comments (28)

new york apartments, first time homebuyer, relocating to manhattan

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28 Comments on Life without LockBoxes

NOV

2008

I remember back in the old days here. What a pain in the wazoo! A lot of us used combo boxes.

Lock boxes in some areas just seems to me like another thing to break into.

I can remember years ago when there wasn't such a thing as lock boxes. i am dating myself aren't I.

Ahh call in sick? lol...wow seriously...I can NOT imagine having no lockboxes....is that a state law or something? Our lockboxes have a recording in them that tells us who was there,what time and what day...showing the property to another agents clients? That doesn't seem quite right...but then we are in other ends of the Country...So does the other agent call you and say, Yo...Morgan...I gots some clients you need to show tomorrow...got it.....or is it up to you to schedule them?

Interesting post....Makes me So glad I am in Cali....Thanks for sharing!!

Rick

I actually like the idea of not havign lock boxes, I think the seller gets his money worth when we are actually there to answer their questions.

Rick-

The other agent will call and set the appointment, but they will show up to the appointment with their customers.

What a scary thought! My broker told me there was a time that every key for every home listed was kept at the local board. Being without keyboxes wouldn't be as bad as that.

I prefer to show a vacant home. The buyer tends to tell you what thay actually think of the property versus telling the homeowner what they want to hear.

There are areas in my county (mainly closer to NYC) that have the keys at the Realtor's office. That is huge pain, as we have to drive around and pick them up, then drop them off afterwards. I have to say that when there are a bunch of listings available, with all things being equal, I will choose the ones that have lockboxes unless one pops out as being worth the hassle.

It is truly a nightmare - a few weeks ago I went down-county, picked up a key and forgot to drop off!!! I had to go back the next day to bring it back because, of course, there'd been another showing scheduled for that day and they only had one key. No wonder everythhing takes forever to get sold. :-/

Welcome to the days of old. Will they allow combo lockboxes? If not, appointment with client or hire a non licensed or licensed agent to show the home that is paid a low salary/bonus. When they explain who they are and that they can not represent the client, the client is at ease. This is the way it use to be..........

NOV

2008

I remember driving around to all the different agencies and picking up keys, and then having to deliver them back at the end of the showings. A waste of time,, money and gas! I occasionally will have a client who would like me to be present at all showings, which I will do. I much prefer to put a lockbox on, though. For condos, I usually leave a key with the concierge and call to let him or her know when an appointment has been set up.

That would be rough. Though with the high end stuff -most don't use lockboxes anyway.

Although lockboxes are commonly used in Los Angeles, I NEVER use them on my Listings.

I believe it is the Listing Agent's job to show each listing, or at least have an assistant help with the showings.

As a Seller I wouldn't want any stranger showing my property without my authorized agent being present.

NOV

2008

I relocated from an area that used nothing BUT lockboxes (and provided a tour without the intrusion of the listing broker) and was stunned to walk into an area that wasn't using them. Now, were that the ONLY difference...

There are a lot of reasoning behind having or not having them. Great post everyone!

This reminds me of a conversation between two agents in the office the other day. The older agent was regaling the younger agent about the days when they had to take film to be deveoped and have extra copies made to go in the MLS. Some things are a lot easier these days. Sorry you have to schlep all over like that!

NOV

2008

I personally would not like it because a lot of house hunters are not really in the market, and it would waste a lot of your time. I know when working with a buyer, sometimes I have shown them 6 or 7 houses a day, for several days, only to find out they aren't really ready to purchase. Over time, I have learned to ask the right questions before hand, but in your case, you don't have that choice. You have to go on every listing without knowing the buying capacity of the client.

I like not having to be at every showing of listings because of this. The lockbox allows you to know who has previewed your listing, plus you can usually contact the agent at a later time to see how much interest the potential buyer has in the listing, and receive any feedback.

NOV

2008

Hi.. Thanks for your post. Its always good to see other people's perspective and tips. Keep the posts coming! I enjoy reading them and learning something new.

NOV

These days we all take the lockbox for granted. But the idea of not having them seems pretty strange.

DEC

NYC is a strange place! Is it true you still don't have MLS? Yikes! But, if it did not work for you guys, you'd change it. Someday you will ... for now look on the bright side: the ability to help sell your listings while you're there!

I'm in NJ (Summit, Short Hills, Chatham, Maplewood, etc) and welcome referrals!

Trish Giassa, Keller Williams Realty Premier Properties 201-960-2090 Trish@BestNJhomes.com

DEC

Great post Morgan. I always enjoy reading your postive and informative blogs. Keep up the good work and those blogs flowing about Manhattan Real Estate. Send me an angel.

JAN

I feel your pain Morgan! We're pretty much in the same boat in the Cambridge/Boston market. Lockboxes are becoming more common but plenty of listings are either accompanied or require picking up keys at the listing office.

I'm a big fan of lockboxes and use them as much as possible. When I take out buyers I far prefer unaccompanied showings. We typically have a better experience when we can relax, talk freely, focus on what's important to the buyers, etc. Of course there are exceptions - tenanted units where you as a listing agent want to run interference, confusing floorplans, etc - where accompanying the showings makes sense.

In a time of high inventory - which is not what we're experiencing at the moment - I find myself putting accompanied showings at the bottom of the pile, all other things being equal. It's just too much of a hassle to coordinate four parties' schedules. And no matter how many are on the team it's more common than not to run into problems with the listing agent's schedule.

There are lots of opinions on each side of this issue and it's a recurring debate in our office.

Liz

FEB

We are in the same market, I don't even know what life would be like WITH lockboxes! Best luck to you!

FEB

I can see both sides of this issues. But I am so Thankful that my city/state has lock boxes. I cant imagine life without them. I will walk to the halls of the state legislatures if they try to take them away.

I couldn't live without lockboxes. Where we are we can program our cellphones to open the electronic ones. How swwet is that? No separate key to deal with.

As for those who believe that lockboxes could be broken into then the house broken into I can only say that it's easier to break into a house than it is a sturdy lockbox.

FEB

In our market, most agents do not use lockboxes. I try to use lockboxes as much as possible. I'm not waiting for an agent and his/her client if they are running late. In our neighboring county (Cumberland) most agents use lockboxes. Go figure!

Rick

MAR

I remember when we had to go to 20 different offices to pick up the keys to show. (In the 80's)..

and if the key did not work, you had to go all the way back to the office to get another one...

Ginger

APR

I would just die with out lock boxes. Saved me so much. Showing or NOT!

JUL

We use lockboxes on almost all of our listings. Every so often there is a situation that requires us to be at the house. Those don't seem to get as many showings. I like being there during the showings to overcome false perceptions or objections, but generally speaking a good agent can show and sell the home. Our job is to get the word out on the home, not to show it to someone else's buyer. I can't imagine running all over opening homes all day - we have a big inventory and it would limit our ability to do anything else. The new boxes are secure - might be a consideration for a future change.

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