Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector

Kelly, one time the agent and I walked into a house and there were several people camped out in the living room all sleeping.  We quietly crept back out and went and had coffee while the agent contacted the listing agent.  Turns out some friends of the listing agent needed a place to stay and she had forgotten about the inspection

Nov 22, 2013 11:10 PM
Anonymous
Kelly Bogan
Lol, thanks for sharing, Charles. I have a similar story. I was holding an open house, turning on all the lights, and after a few minutes of being inside, I started to hear voices in the spare bedroom. I thought someone had left the tv on. I opened the door on a couple in bed (guests)! I was horrified. Apparently they "forgot" they had to be out by noon. They were lovely people, though.
Nov 23, 2013 12:50 AM
#2
Kasey & John Boles
Jon Gosche Real Estate, LLC - BoiseMeridianRealEstate.com - Boise, ID
Boise & Meridian, ID Ada/Canyon/Gem/Boise Counties

Yeah, this became more prevalent in my area with a lot of vacant homes too.  I was selling a house once that had a pretty crawl space under a deck that led to the basement - there was a basement door in there and when we looked at the house and my clients put an offer in on it there was nothing there.  We went back to visit after acceptance and there was a sleeping bag and some bottles.  Yikes! - Kasey

Nov 23, 2013 01:59 PM
Shanna Hall
Real Estate Solutions - Kirkwood, MO
I love selling houses!!!St. Louis, MO 314-703-1311

I think evryone should take safety precautions- If I am nervious about something I take someone with me- sometimes that someone has a permit to conceal and carry;)

Nov 23, 2013 11:40 PM
Jon Kolsky
Kolsky Realty & Management - Long Beach, CA
Licensed California Real Estate Broker

Kelly~ we have to be safe and sometimes times our job is not...This post is MEGA important and not only to we have to protect our clients best interest, we ALWAYS have to be thinking "safety first"...Oh BTW: SUGGESTED BIG TIME

Nov 23, 2013 11:47 PM
Kelly Bogan
Equinox Real Estate - Eugene, OR
Your Gateway to the Emerald Valley in Lane County
Kasey~At least they stayed outside! Very considerate. Your story reminded me of the inspector that told me there was thousands of dollar's worth of easily accessible copper pipe under the house. That would be a gold mine for someone who happened to stop by looking for a place to rest for the night. **************** Shanna~I don't think I even know someone with a concealed weapons permit! The trouble is, and I'm sure we all feel the same way, that it's not just us, but our clients that could be put in danger doing something so seemingly mundane. My kids would think my job was so much cooler if I was armed.********************************************************* Jon, thank you very, very much. You're right, safety is super important and should be taken seriously. Every office should do an annual safety review, and new agents should be made aware of what they might run into. I live in a very mellow town, but you just never know. And I think most of the people doing something they shouldn't be doing aren't a threat, but why take chances?
Nov 24, 2013 12:53 AM