Life as I see it in Northeastern PA
Did Your Realtor Put Your House On Vacation Too?
Posted 07-19-2009 at 04:43 PM by KarenRice
Late yesterday afternoon, some buyers contacted me and asked if they could see a certain house today. I knew the house, knew it was vacant, and knew it would be all right to show it on short notice. "Sure," I said. "Let me know if there are any others you are interested in, and I'll see if they'll be available."
Now, this part of Pike and Wayne County is a popular destination for vacation homes. The weekends are often the busiest time for real estate agents...buyers come in from the city on weekends...they're working during the week. If you have a home for sale you need to understand that weekends are a must. Some sellers may not realize that, but all real estate agents SHOULD.
The buyer wanted to see a few homes, and all of them were all right to show - except one. This one required a lockbox combination obtained from the listing office.
I called the listing office first thing this morning. Granted, it is Sunday. But it is a weekend, during the busiest time of the year. The listing agent did not have a cell number on the listing for me to contact directly...so I called the office.
Imagine my surprise. The office was not only closed, but would be closed for the rest of the week for "vacation." I could leave a message, and it was promised that the agents check their messages "frequently." Unfortunately, I was meeting my clients in a little while, in an area with no cell service; making it impossible for them to call me "later" with the combination...
The entire office is "on vacation?" You're kidding, right? How can this be doing right by their seller? If your office is not going to be open during normal business hours, and someone MUST make contact with you to show your listings, you should at the very least have your cell phone number on the listing.
Your seller lost out. My buyers made up their minds last night to come up today, we were meeting first thing this morning....and we had no time to play phone tag. They may very well put an offer in on one of the properties they actually got to see today.
A buyer's market is in progress - are you ready for them? Or are you "on vacation?"
Now, this part of Pike and Wayne County is a popular destination for vacation homes. The weekends are often the busiest time for real estate agents...buyers come in from the city on weekends...they're working during the week. If you have a home for sale you need to understand that weekends are a must. Some sellers may not realize that, but all real estate agents SHOULD.
The buyer wanted to see a few homes, and all of them were all right to show - except one. This one required a lockbox combination obtained from the listing office.
I called the listing office first thing this morning. Granted, it is Sunday. But it is a weekend, during the busiest time of the year. The listing agent did not have a cell number on the listing for me to contact directly...so I called the office.
Imagine my surprise. The office was not only closed, but would be closed for the rest of the week for "vacation." I could leave a message, and it was promised that the agents check their messages "frequently." Unfortunately, I was meeting my clients in a little while, in an area with no cell service; making it impossible for them to call me "later" with the combination...
The entire office is "on vacation?" You're kidding, right? How can this be doing right by their seller? If your office is not going to be open during normal business hours, and someone MUST make contact with you to show your listings, you should at the very least have your cell phone number on the listing.
Your seller lost out. My buyers made up their minds last night to come up today, we were meeting first thing this morning....and we had no time to play phone tag. They may very well put an offer in on one of the properties they actually got to see today.
A buyer's market is in progress - are you ready for them? Or are you "on vacation?"
