WIth property times on market extending will past 30 days in most cases, showing a property under these conditions is almost like a full time job. In fact, I’d argue that the scarcity of buyers is a triple whammy. First, time on market is much longer, and being constantly show-ready gets old. Second, with all of the inventory, a seller REALLY needs to stay on top of staging and meticulous cleaning to stand out from the competition. No more assuming the buyer will “look past” the fact that there are pacifiers laying about or that the baby’s room smells like musty diapers. Third, a seller that is serious about selling really will do everything in their power to entertain a showing. Sellers no longer have the luxury of saying “come back at a better time….” because chances are, the buyers won’t come back at all.

All that said, I’m STILL willing to entertain agents for previewing only. In 90%+ of the cases, agents are courteous and will say “agent previewing only”. I’d guess that all those agents who are disagreeing with Ardell are also agents who are courteous and so the comments don’t apply to you. It’s the other 10% (maybe less?). The ones that call at 8:30 pm at night and say, “hey, I’ve got an interested client in seeing your property, can we see it at OUR convenience?”.(meanwhile, hurry up and wake the baby..who is now screaming, take the dirty diapers out to the car…scramble, clean, ect) ..only to find out that by “interested client”, they really meant “interested in selling their own property, not interested in buying yours.”

I don’t think anyone minds when agents are honest as you were. The angrier ones are when they find out the agent was there with a seller to price a competing property soon to come on market.

It is very hard to keep a property in perfect showing condition. We shouldn’t act like it is easy.

I am always honest and say it’s an agent preview – no need to leave or even clean for me. I did tell the agents when the real showings would occur. This way their seller has plenty of time to prepare for the buyer showing.

Honesty, why is it so hard for some people?

It’s not unreasonable for someone with kids to have the listing agent say in the listing that seller needs a 1-hour notice. Some situations require an appointment only method, perhaps the seller is handicapped or elderly. Agents just need to post the info, so other agents know what is necessary.

I realize that people with kids have a harder situation, but I can’t just stop looking at houses with kids . And, if an agent is simply previewing, I don’t know why anyone would ask a seller to leave. Perhaps if agents were better at coaching their sellers as to what to expect, things would work better.

I had a listing in Shoreline that we put on the market in March. There was a 3 year old, and a baby. We made that house shine before listing, priced it well from day 1, and sent the family up to their sisters home for the first 5 days. Inconvenient, but we all know the highest traffic is in the first week, and that was true here.

The house sold in less than a month, and life went back to normal for the family. I told them when we listed that if an agent wants to preview, let them come, no matter if baby is napping, no matter if lunch is happening.

A previewing agent is in a hurry, and just wants to run in and out, no need for family to stop doing what they need to do for a previewing agent.

The only time my seller asked an agent not to come, was when the entire family had the flu. I always am quite relieved when someone tells me not to come, they are sick , who wants to catch the flu ?!

But also don’t forget, it’s possible you might actually find a buyer for that property if you’re marketing similar property, and even more possible you might provide some valuable feedbad if the agent asks for it.

All I ask is that agents look at this from the perspective of the person who is trying to live in their home. Send their children to school each morning. Give them three meals a day and let them take a nap.

With Days On Market Doubling in King County, people needing to live their lives while their home is on market, is more important than ever.

There was a time when a family could go away for a weekend and come home to 3 contracts. But today families can’t as readily buy before selling, and they can’t as readily sell very quickly.

I’m just saying HEY! It’s not business as usual in this slowing market. More consideration must be given to families, and expecting them to always be perfectly ready with 30 minutes notice over weeks and months is just not realistic.

It really isn’t all about what the agent needs to do to “preview” for a purpose other than selling that owners’s house. Sure, a new agent should see lots of houses to get to know the market, all agents should. But at least tell the owner what you are up to, so they can decide how much to disrupt their life and their family on your behalf.

Owners often run home at lunchtime to clean when they get a “call to show”. Owners often pull their little babies out of bed at naptime and drive around the block many times, so you can “show”. Just be aware that it is someone’s home, and not just a product for sale.

I haven’t brought this up in the 2 1/2 years that I have been blogging. But time on market is lengthening, and we need to lower our expectations of people not being able to live without a glass in their own sink, day and and day out, for weeks at a time.

Listing Agents instruct their sellers NOT to be home during a showing. So when you call to see a house just so you can be a better agent for someone else, at least recognize the inconvenience of the homeowner. Their home is on the market to be sold, not to educate agents. It’s not an open classroom experience. Treat it as such. That’s all I ask.

The arrogance of agents who say “but I have to see this for my own purpose” is really what makes people not like us so much, at times. We really need to be more considerate of “them” and less worried about what “we” need, day in and day out.

Be honest. Say, “Can I come by so I can price the house down the street? Seeing your house will help me better price your neighbor’s house.” Let the owner decide if that is reasonable or not. Don’t just assume that it IS reasonable.

When I have a listing, I want to get as many agents through it as I can. Helps it get sold! In fact, nothing is more discouraging to a seller than to get few showings and previews.

Agents should always be as courteous as possible and respect showing comments.

And, no agent I know would be in a house they were previewing for more than 5 minutes tops … often when I am previewing, I want to zip in and out, and the seller is the one slowing me down.

For me, when previewing, I encourage sellers to stay home – I tell them ‘it’s just me, you don’t need to leave unless I bring a client with me, so don’t worry’.

And yes, having your home for sale means it is inconvenient and you do need to expect agents in to see it for all sorts of reasons.

Having your home for sale does not mean it is Open House any day for agents who just want to see it for a reason other than for a buyer client.