Showing Offenses? Or Offensive Showings?!
In keeping with a recent post on showing instructions, and inspired by some notable comments, my thoughts turned to showing offenses we see in our business.
Some may be purely accidental.
Others are clearly carelessness, and lack of caring about the role agents should be playing when showing property.
Most agents bring their clients through homes and leave with no evidence of having visited, save for a business card perhaps. That’s the way it ought to be.
Others, however, leave noticeable proof they were there, or their clients do. Damage, security risks, and just plain rudeness contribute to offensive showings on occasion. Sometimes you have to wonder…
I set off an alarm once. It wasn’t entirely my fault. The agent said it was off. But the second I opened the door I heard the tell tale sign of an alarm system getting ready to go off. Oh my, did it, one of those loud sirens. I kept waiting for the police to show. I’m sure the neighbors were all watching out their windows. Thankfully I was just previewing a home.
I got a key stuck in a front door one time, too. No matter what I did I could not get it out. Fortunately I was able to reach the agent for this vacant home. At least it happened on the way out. LOL
As a listing agent, things like lights left on aren’t a major issue although they are an annoyance; my feeling is you should leave the home the way you found it. I suspect many sellers feel that way. Technically you are a guest, remember?
Big offenses include security risks with unlocked front or rear doors (on multiple occasions), open windows, toilets that have obviously been used (I’m leavin’ the rest to your imagination), and so on. I’ve found, or been told by my sellers of, broken items, mud and leaves on the carpets, spilled water, and trash left behind on the counters.
A colleague friend of mine had a seller client who lost his vial of viagra. Ooops. Someone sure was disappointed. Someone else wasn't.
Other showing offenses, or rudeness, includes those who show up very late without a call, agents who show up unannounced, and those who make appointments, causing the sellers to vacate, and then don’t show at all.
Letting pets out, or in, is kinda rude, although sometimes it can be pretty hard to avoid. My feeling is owners need to do a good job of securing their furry ones and not count on buyer agents and their clients to have to worry about Fido or Fluffy getting in or out. I ran into lsiting agent who HAD to be present for showings. The reason? A vendor who did some work at the house let the dog out who got hit by a car - he turned out OK, but the seller was pretty anxious. But that's a good example of NOT taking appropriate precautions as a seller.
While it ought to be common courtesy, respectful behavior at showings apparently is not always so common. Agents should be watchful and make sure things are left the way they were found, and if there is a problem it ought to be reported. I’ve called agents to let them know about broken windows and locks in vacant homes.
And parents need to keep track of their kids and prevent them from wreaking havoc. Just because kids do that at home does not mean they get to do that at a showing at someone else’s home.
So what are YOUR showing offenses…yours or from buyers and agents?
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