I read Teresa Evans-Johnson's “Professionals Need to…Use Their Tools” and one thing in it inspired me to get to this post. It is Showing appointment set up feature on MLS.
I never got the hype about it. I do not like it. In our MLS we have the way to set Showings on MLS if you have an account with Centralized Showing. I do have the account, but never set my listings this way.
When I need to show a condo, and I do not intimately know it, I prefer to call the agent and get the feel of the property, get nuances, get some bits of information which is not on the MLS, like previous assessments, update on the elevators, sprinklers, pets, and other details that would help me to better present this property to my client.
I guess I am old school. I come to open the door and show our listings. I have a lockbox on the property, but it is only for situations when I can’t make it there. Normally, I would come and show.
Probably, homes are different animal, but I deal with condos, and there is specifics about them, which too many agents do not understand.
We have a 2-bedroom condo in South Daytona, and last 4-5 showings I had to ask agents to move their car to a parking spot which is unmarked (in some condos they are marked “visitor”). Agent park in numbered spots and they do not understand that the car can be towed. That numbered spots are reserved for a particular unit, and if they come and you are in their spot, it is a conflict.
So, no guys, I would rather come. Because if they do not understand the situation with parking, they understand other condo issues even less. So, if they let me to show the condo, I would gladly do it. If they don’t, I can’t insist. Some of BS I hear is simply hilarious.
Sometimes I feel like agents can’t be quiet. When you know the property well, and understand the condo living, it is one thing. But if this is not the case, why keep talking?
In Daytona now we often see agents coming from other areas. They come from Orlando, Jacksonville and other places. They bring customers, and they are showing them condos. After coming and opening the doors for many times, I now cringe when I need to show the condos to out of the area agents, unless I speak to them and see that they are knowledgeable.
If not, it is just a waste of time. The agent comes with a stack of listings, organized by the price, they have no idea about the buildings, and they simply walk from one to another. It is a lost cause. They are not ready, and subsequently their buyers are not ready.
They are simply looking at so many walls. What these walls tell them? Nothing. And each of these building is a poem, you just need to know it.
So, no, thank you I do not want setting showing on MLS, I prefer to come, and I prefer when agents call me and ask questions, and not just try to go and show.
Interestingly, I get calls from experienced agents who would ask about a particular condo, check some detail… they are good, but they strive to be better. So, yes, it is great that there are tools.
Sometime simple phone is a powerful tool
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