Communicate with your real estate agent about house showings

If you are selling a house, you need it to be seen as many times as possible to get it sold.

The more buyers that see your house, the better your chances of getting an offer. Your real estate agent can't sell a secret, so being flexible during house showings and communicating with your real estate agent is key.

I spoke with two Connect2Agent members about house showings and unexpected events. 

Ben Abdallah, a Connect2Agent member who sells real estate in Bal Harbour, Florida, shared with me an experience he had when showing his buyers a house two months ago. Abdallah spoke with the seller's real estate agent and requested an appointment for his real estate buyers. The agent told Abdallah the property was vacant. 

When Abadallah went into the house, imagine his surprise to find the owner standing in the front room near the door, dripping wet with a towel around his waist. He stated to Abdallah that he had never received a call from his real estate agent about the showing. Needless to say, the buyers didn't view the house, nor did they make an offer on it.

Chris Long, a Connect2Agent member who sells real estate in Ocean City, Maryland, had a similar experience. It had been communicated to him that the sellers would not be at a property he was showing to his buyers. Long informed me that it is not uncommon to show vacant properties in his local real estate market, because there are many second homes in Ocean City.

When Long entered the property with his buyers, the house appeared to be empty. He previewed the house with his buyers from room to room, until they came to the bedroom and opened the door to find the husband and wife in the room. Long moved quickly to vacate the house, with his real estate buyers. They were no sooner at the door when the woman appeared in her bathrobe, trying to encourage the buyers to stay and view the house.

Needless to say, like the buyers in the previous story, they did not stay and they did not buy the house.

Long cautions sellers from leaving their pets loose without fair warning to their real estate agent. You don't want prospective buyers and their real estate agent spending more time trying to catch your pet who has escaped the house than actually spending time viewing your house.

So, what's the moral of the story? Real estate sellers, keep in good communication with your real estate agent to avoid embarrassing situations and missed opportunities from your house showings.

For more humorous house-viewing stories, see our post, "Home Buyers:  Three real estate agents share unexpected house findings."

For advice on how not to squash buyer opportunity, see our post:  "What you should and shouldn't do when you show your house to home buyers."

Did you enjoy this post? Please share any experiences you've had during a real estate showing by commenting below.

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Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson

Comments

[Ponte Vedra Real Estate]

I can't tell you the number of times I have walked into a house and as soon as we are near the master we hear the shower going! Needless to say we back up and leave.

I think the scariest time I had was when I was showing a property with the tenant in the house. As soon as we came in he took out his gun and started to clean it.