Fresh off the heels of last week's crazy condo neighbor fiasco it's time for this week's reflections about what I learned in real estate. I was referred to a new buyer this week who had previously been working with a different agent months ago but did not feel they "clicked" with them so they had completely halted their home search. The reasons they felt they weren't being properly represented are for another blog post on another day, however, I was happy to assist them in any way that I could.
We had multiple phone, text, and email conversations this week going over the basics of what they need in a home and the locations that would best suit their family. They have already been previously pre-qualified so the only thing that was left to do was meet them in person and start showing them homes.
I found six houses that I felt best fit their criteria and upon making the necessary phone calls to set up showing appointments all but one agent and/or owner was pleasant and happy to accommodate. The one homeowner who was not so readily available in the time slot I needed was a bit snippy and condescending. They did not seem at all eager to have their home shown or willing to be a touch inconvenienced by my buyers time constraints.
My buyers have young children and set up a babysitter during the time we would be looking at houses so that they could be free to take their time and not be distracted during their home search. They only had the babysitter for a short time and this apparently did not make any difference to the one homeowner who was making it slightly difficult for their home to be shown.
As agents, when we have multiple homes we want to show buyers, we carefully plan out a route that is most efficient and makes the most sense in the order we are scheduled to view each property. The only time slot this seller gave us meant we would have to visit every other house before backtracking a good 20 minutes to a part of town we had already been in previously. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been at this long enough to know when a seller is being genuine in their inability to show a home at a specific time. I also know when a seller is just being troublesome, fussy, and finicky. This situation was the latter.
I went ahead and set the final showing appointment, met the clients and began our home showing tour. As luck would have it, two out of the first three homes we saw were perfect for them. Since the buyers had a babysitter and we were already out and about they were willing to view the remaining homes "just in case". However, by the fifth home the wife just couldn't stop thinking about the two homes that they both loved. The only home left to see on the tour was the one that the seller insisted on making it tough to see which now was going to be a long distance drive back to where we had already been just a few short hours earlier.
Well, the husband and wife both agreed that their home search was over. They weren't even interested in seeing the last remaining home on the list. So what did I learn in real estate this week? When we are the real agent agent representing a seller, we have to do our best to explain to them what listing their home for sale is going to involve. When you put your home on the market it is not going to be convenient. You will need to keep your home clean and show ready each and every day including any outside landscaping and pool maintenance. You will have buyers needing to view your property at inopportune times. There are many cumbersome aspects of selling a home.
The home that my buyers never viewed may have very well worked for them but they'll never know because other sellers were more willing to show their properties first. I'm not willing to assume the listing agent did not properly educate their seller on being available to show their home. There have been many homes I've listed for sale in which the homeowners did not heed my instructions, however, sellers do need to understand they aren't the only home for sale and buyers don't always have an open ended amount of time to view properties. You just might miss out on selling your home if it's not ready and available to see.
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