Carlsbad Sellers, What You Need to Know About Showings
No matter how prepared we are, and how carefully we write the showing instructions for the MLS so buyer agents know the procedure to follow for showings, stuff can and does happen. Thankfully not often.
- Sometimes it’s a mistake on the part of the agent
- It may be a change of heart by the buyers at the last minute and they decide to cancel
- Agents might fail to carefully read the showing instructions or not follow them accurately
- Traffic delays cause problems, too – we all get that!!
Bottom line – despite the best of intentions and preparation by sellers and listing agents, not all showings go the way you expect and hope them to, although that’s usually the exception. It’s best to be prepared and be aware stuff can happen.
Sometimes agents do not call far enough in advance to make an appointment either with the seller or through the agent, despite MLS instructions to do so. While in some cases advance notice is excessive (and that in itself can impact showings), not following the directions tends to cause annoyance for sellers.
Bear in mind that buyers sometime make last minute requests to see a home and their agents want to accommodate that if at all possible.
Being early or late, or not showing at all without calling, are probably the most common goofs, and yes, it can be annoying, especially when you are caught off-guard.
Being aware of these potential problems may help you take it all in stride, especially when it’s hard to keep your home “show ready” all the time.
Here are some thoughts to make the best of your showings – you can’t control what others do but you can make showings as trouble-free as possible:
1. Be as flexible as you can when things go awry. We’re all human and mistakes happen. Yes, it can be annoying but why sweat the small stuff in the overall scheme of things related to selling your home. Be thankful the showings are happening. And hopefully before long you will have an accepted offer and no more showings!
2. Do not limit showing availability unless you really need to – you work at home, small kids napping, illness, the elderly. The more available your home is the better…buyers have schedules to live by, too! Do consider that substantial advance notice, say 24 hours or longer, can be a bit of a hindrance.
3. Work with your agent to be sure showing instructions are clearly defined and agreed on, and that these are clearly spelled out in the listing – what you intend and what is said are sometimes NOT the same.
Plenty of times I have followed what was stated in the MLS only to be told by the seller that was not correct. Somewhere there was a lack of understanding and poor communication between seller and agent.
4. If buyer agents need to call you for showing appointment, make sure you answer the phone and return all calls or text messages promptly. It’s important to cooperate with the people who want to see your home and make it available. You DO want to sell it don’t you?
And if the instructions say showings are between X and Y, then make sure your keep your commitment.
5. Please make sure the front key works easily. I can’t tell you how many times I have had issues with keys and on rare occasions could not get them to work at all. It may be the key sticks, or you have to play with it for some time to get the door open. Talk about a bad first impression. Why is it the buyer’s and agent’s problem that the door is not easy to open?! Ironically we often see elaborate instructions in the MLS about how to get the key to work.
My recommendation? Get that front door and key fixed and working well. You know what buyers are doing while waiting for the door to get opened? They are checking out the entry and front yard and perhaps noticing all the things that need attention!!
All of this really is in the spirit of cooperation and consideration among those selling and buying and their agents. Why make it difficult if you are truly serious about selling.
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