It's a beautiful Saturday and the plan is to show homes to a client relocating here from Memphis that has sold their home. They need to close on a new home within a month. These are serious buyers ready to write an offer! So...what's the problem? The problem is that it can be frustrating, time-consuming, and impossible to simply get into SEE some of the homes that look like they would be strong possibilities for this client! Here is a small portion of what I experienced this morning while trying to map out our schedule and plan our day.
Step one, I attempted to make an appointment for the first listing. It meets all the "wish list" items of the buyer and even says the seller is highly motivated. Perfect match! I call the appointment number listed on the MLS and it goes to a female's voice mail. Nothing about business, nothing that indicates this is a real estate agent, and no instructions on what to do if I am calling about making an appointment. Well that's certainly not what I was expecting to hear when I dialed the "appointment number" on the MLS sheet! Step two, called the office number. After hitting several buttons to be transferred to the correct extension, I spoke with an individual who told me I would need to speak with the listing agent. He went on to say that the listing agent generally works long hours during the week and doesn't always turn his cell phone on early on Saturday. It was actually 9:30 a.m. which is not early to me! He told me to keep trying or leave a message and the listing agent would eventually call me back whenever he turned his phone on. He said all appointments with their company had to be made directly through the listing agent. Step three, called the listing agent, and as expected, he did not answer. Left a voice mail on his cell phone as instructed. He ultimately did call back and told me that he was NOT the listing agent and I needed to call the lady whose listing it was. Her number was...the original number I dialed that had been listed in the MLS as the appointment phone number! I informed him that she had listed HIM as the listing agent (he didn't know why) and that I had already tried to call that number and she was not available. Guess what, she works long hours and doesn't always have her phone turned on early on the weekends but should call me back within a few hours if I leave a message. WHAT! Step four, called the "listing agent" (aka appointment center) back and, as expected, she did not answer. Left a message telling her I was trying to make an appointment to show her listing. (The MLS sheet says very motivated sellers, MUST SELL!) What a disservice to these clients. They desperately NEED to sell their home and an agent with a motivated buyer can't get inside to show their home!
Moving on to the next listing, the MLS sheet says all appointments must be made through the listing agent. The appointment number is the same as the listing agent's cell number. (At least this time I knew I would need to get in touch with the agent and not make four different phone calls!) I dial the number and...get her voice mail! I simply leave a message that we will be in the area later in the day and would like to show her listing if possible.
Moving on to the third listing, WooHoo! This listing is with a firm that actually sets the appointments through their office, AND their office is OPEN! I tell the receptionist that I would like to show this listing and request a time slot. We are looking at four homes in this portion of the county, and then heading into the city to view a lot more homes throughout the day. I am told that this home is an "appointment required" and she will need to call me back.
Moved on to the next few listings and THANKFULLY, all of the listings were made through appointment centers that were open, and they were all approved and were set up as courtesy calls. Finally, we have a plan!
I then start grouping the homes to view in the city and began trying to make appointments for these homes. Again, I run into an office that wasn't open, and an agent that wasn't available. This time I just marked this home off the list. About that time I receive a call back from the appointment desk regarding the listing that was an "appointment required." She states that the seller says it just isn't convenient for them to show their home at the requested time slot. Their home was not show ready and they really wanted to sleep in! They had been out of town and just weren't ready. By this time it was after 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday! I told the receptionist that we had several other homes in the area to view. After that we would be leaving the area and would not have time to drive all the way back to their community just to view their home. If they didn't want to make it available then we would simply not view it. I'm not trying to be difficult, but when you've got 20 homes to show spread miles apart through two cities and a large county, you simply can't go back and forth all day long!
We ultimately viewed a lot of wonderful homes and actually found four that they will pick their final selection from. However, what a shame that there were other homes that did not get selected...possibly because we simply couldn't SEE them!
Some rules of real estate are just so simple. One of those rules is if you want to SELL your home you have to SHOW your home. Realtors, you absolutely must make your listings EASY to show. And sellers, as inconvenient as it is...you absolutely must make your home EASY to show. Break this rule and watch the number of days the home is on the market keep growing!
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