Hi, we have been trying to get our agent to put a lockbox on our house. After 10 days and several discussions, the agent finally agreed to put a lockbox on our house. We got the lockbox but the showing instructions still say that you have to make an appointment 24 hours in advance. Is this wise? We were thinking we should have a courtesy call with no appointment. What would make the house sell better? We are going to discuss this with our agent but the agent is very resistant to letting anyone show the house without appointments (the 24 hours was the agent's idea). We would like to get other agents' opinions on the best way to sell the house before we discuss it with our agent. Thank You.

Gosh, they just can't do anything right . . . . as far as you're concerned.

Normal people always expect some form of Appointment or advance notice.

Appointments help to track who was in the property (for security purposes) and obtain constructive feedback from the Prospects afterwards.

"No Appointment" is typically a sign of desperation; but maybe the shoe fits.

Has anyone ever identified you as a "Chronic Complainer" ?

So, you agree that the 24-hour appointment requirement will not hurt showings?

The reason I asked the question was to make sure we were not making unreasonable requests. I thought I read elsewhere that a 24-hour appointment requirement was not a good idea.

I don't understand why asking questions is considered complaining. I thought that is what this forum is for.

Most people do want a bit of advanced notice prior to showings. 24 hours can be a bit much and can turn away some potential showings but the agent was only trying to help you out by asking for notice. Often times I find the best showings are the ones on short notice. If you make your agent aware that you are willing to have your home shown on short notice (make sure that your agent has a way to contact you on short notice!!) then they can make the switch.

Thanks for the information, MHT.

What is your opinion on 30-minute advance notice? We're trying to make it as easy as possible for agents to show our home.

If you are alright with it then go for it. Just make sure that your home is always in showing condition.

Do you think agents prefer showing homes that do not require long advance notice times? Also, does having a lock box make easier on the agent?

Around here I always associate the requirement for a 24hr notice with the property being occupied by a renter, since that's the notice period the property owner must give a renter before entering the property.

So I agree that the 24hr period seems excessive, you want to be as flexible as possible for showings.

However I think your agent is correct about the need for appointments. Why not just state it as "appointments required" and not include a notice time at all?

Thanks, Kjmendy.

That sounds perfect. When I said I didn't want an appointment requirement, I was thinking of the type of appointment where it is scheduled for a particular time in the future. If they wanted to see it immediately, I was mistakenly calling that a courtesy call. I am going to do as you suggest and ask my agent to state it just as you advised.

If you are a good enough deal many buyers will jump through hoops to see your property. If you are wanting top dollar and competing with other properties priced in the top 50 percent bracket for your subdivision or area then you will need to show at a moments notice.

I think of it this way. Would you like a major inconvenience for 2 weeks being priced correctly and then get under contract or do you want to disrupt your lives for months and months through birthdays,holidays,vacations because you want the buyers to jump through your hoops?

I would take the small window and get it over with and move on with your lives.

Thanks, Super Realtor.
I agree with you. I would prefer a major inconvenience for a short period of time rather than drawing this out for months and months.

Glad to be useful.

I'm surprised at how many things are done differently in each market, it's not that they are incorrect, just different. ie In my local area the moment you list your property a lock box goes.

Of course the one thing that doesn't change between markets is be successful you need to be willing to show your property when buyers want to see it. (As super realtor pointed out).

It's very strange. The things that you are asking your agent for are things that we would usually like to do but many sellers resist. The easier it is to access your home, the more often it will get shown. I would definately question why your agent wants to make it more difficult to show then it needs to be.

[quote=TomMoser]It's very strange. The things that you are asking your agent for are things that we would usually like to do but many sellers resist. The easier it is to access your home, the more often it will get shown. I would definately question why your agent wants to make it more difficult to show then it needs to be. [/quote]

Easy- to make it as much of a pita as possible for other agents to show the property so that he can double end it!

Vermont,

That wasn't nice to accuse this person of being a complainer. I too, would ask the same question. In this time of economic conditions, you want to be sure about important things when listing a house. You should know that once a house is listed, there are many first impressions that can hurt your chances of selling a home (including having to give a 24 hr notice). Yes, a 24 hour notice is a bit too much. Sometimes a buyer might come across the house in MLS and might be excited with what they see and want to look at the house that evening, so an hour or so would be reasonable to give the homeowner a chance to straighten or leave the house for the potential buyer to have privacy.