The Condo Is Occupied and You Want to see it NOW?

As a real estate broker, and a blogger, I often say my topics come from real life experiences. And I try to use those experiences to make myself a better agent. And I share these experiences so Buyers and Sellers can understand what we go through when we represent either one of you! 

But this post was also inspired by a post from Bliz Biz and Bill Spear about a Seller being upset that Bill and his Buyers were in the house TOO LONG!!! Seriously?

I had a call from an agent to show one of my listings yesterday. First off, she said she had "lots of things to look at today, so I have no idea when we will be there." While the listing clearly states the home is occupied, I mentioned to the agent that anytime before 4pm was fine as I knew my tenant was at work. If it was going to be after 4pm, they would need to schedule an appointment so I could coordinate. 

At about 5:15pm, I get a call.

"Hi Thom...This is Rita Real Estate Agent and we are in the building and would like to look at your listing NOW."

Ah, what part of that first conversation did you miss Rita? 

So, I reached out to my tenant and told them it was completely acceptable for them to refuse a showing with 5 minutes notice. Lucky for ALL of us, he was out of town. 

Just as the case with Bill, we never know how long we may take showing a home. I sell mostly condominiums, so I know about how long we will spend in a condo. And add amenities to that as well. But I've got a pretty good system down to keep us on schedule. But, if we DO start to run behind, or ahead of schedule, I stop us along the way and simply tell my Buyers I need to make some schedule adjustments because some of our upcoming homes are occupied and we have a time frame to be there. 

Can't tell you how amazed the Seller's are if I talk to them directly! Some agents seem a bit mifted that they are going to have to call the Seller again...but hey, are you not happy I called to advise either way, rather than show up late, or early?

The ultimate goal of the agent/broker is to bring a Buyer and a Seller together. 

It's the landmines along the way that keep us on our toes and having a glass at the end of the day!