A Very Cheap Insurance Policy for Every Listing Agent
Yesterday I was reminded of why I insist on making duplicate key copies for my listings. Obviously, I always get a copy for the lockbox, but I also make a copy to keep at my desk. When sellers ask why, I tell them that the minute I don't make a copy to keep at my desk, the lockbox will fail, they will be out of town and I'll have no way to let a buyer's agent and their client into the home. If I have that extra key, the problem is solved.
For years I have been making extra front door keys for my listings. And whenver I don't, is when I wish I had. Yesterday proved another reason why I always need an extra.
Buyer's Agent is doing a final walk through the night before a late afternoon closing the following day. He calls to describe a problem to me about a non-functioning dishwasher. All he can tell me is it doesn't work. Then gives the proposed solution of a $350 credit. Hmmm. Seems odd because the dishwasher is relatively new and has been used only a dozen times, if that.
It was when I told him I would be by to sort it out that he informed me he had taken the lockbox key. As I tried to get him to take the key back to the lockbox, I got the various ways this was an inconvenience, or the worry about how the buyer would get the key at closing. This was beginning to feel like a shakedown. Felt an awful lot like, "Trust me, there's a problem. Buyer wants $350 and you can't get in the house because I have the key."
Since I had changed out to a combination box, I explained his buyer could have the combo at closing and he would not be inconvenienced. It was then he relented and returned the key. Thank goodness because this is one where I had neglected to make a key copy.
In the end, it was a simple problem. The dishwasher switch wasn't on. It is powered by a wall switch, normally used to for a disposal. Once I got there, I marked the switch with a sticker and made a video of the dishwasher functioning. My seller didn't have a failed dishwasher. Hooray!
Nonetheless, the lesson remains. Make a key copy for yourself for all your listings. You never know why you will need them, but in the event you do, you'll have it.
