Things That Can Happen During a Scheduled Home Tour

Things That Can Happen During a Scheduled Home Tour

Representing both buyers and sellers in my job as a Bristow, VA Real Estate Agent, I have many experiences on both sides of transactions.  Let me clarify, that doesn't mean I have, or will ever, represent both sides in one single transaction.  Not going to happen.  Dual Agency is what that is called and the only person that wins is the agent.  The agent gets paid twice and the clients get less advocacy.  That's a separate discussion, and one I always have with my buyers and sellers as we begin our working relationship.  The point of this post is to share things I have encountered with buyers, while showing property, to sellers.  

Every time I have a listing, sellers will undoubtedly get annoyed when buyers and their agents are late, early, don't follow show instructions or don't show up for scheduled appointments.  Professionally I see no excuse for not making appointments and following instructions, or letting sellers or their listing agents know that you can't make  it.  Giving notice is something that any buyer's agent can easily do, even when running early or late.  This really is to give some insight into the reasons buyers may be running early or late.  Understanding the why allows a seller to have more empathy and therefore, be more cooperative for the early and late scenarios.

Let's start with reasons buyers run early.  First of all, you may have an inexperienced agent who has no idea how long to make each appointment.  These agents may not know how long their buyers typically look at a house. 

Sometimes buyers decide right away they don't want a particular house.  You may have scheduled four listings to see, and if the buyer doesn't even make it past the living room in the middle two, well, you are going ot run early for the last house.  Heck, I've had buyers let me know as we pull up to keep driving.  The curb appeal was so lacking, or the spacing of the homes so tight, they had no interest.

Finally, showings may be canceled prior to your arrival because the home has gone under contract.  This is a great problem to have.  If homes are going under contract that quickly, but your home is still available, do your best to make sure the showing happens.

Now, what are the reasons buyers will run early?  Inexperienced agents is reason one here too.  Maybe they don't schedule enough time in the earlier appointments, or budget time for a busier traffic time.

The exact opposite of buyers taking too little time with a home they don't want, is taking longer than we expect in a home they are very interested in.  This extra time in one home can have a delay that affects each house after on the tour.

Finally, the unexpected can happen.  Maybe a kid gets sick, or a baby needs a diaper change.  Someone in the party tried a black bean burrito for the first time before your appointment and needs to use the bathroom urgently.   The agent has car trouble or gets pulled over for speeding.  Think of any reason you could possibly be late for anything you have scheduled and odds are it has happened to an agent taking buyers on a home tour.

Ultimately, if you want to sell your home, you need to understand that any scheduled activity involving the human element is not likely to run like clockwork.  Best to roll with the inconveniences and be as flexible as you can.  Fighting scheduling issues with buyers can lead to not getting the showing, or the buyer finding another house before they can find a day and time to get back in to see yours.  Eat the inconviences up front and you will suffer through far fewer of them when you go under contract faster.