Atlanta Real Estate | Atlanta Housing News for Real Estate

Now that your home is on the market, your home should start to get some home showings.  Your agent will advise you of procedures. The normal rule is courtesy call the owner, leave a message, and then show with lockbox.  There are other protocalls if an agent shows up at your front door at dinner time, but your agent will go over all scenarios with you, and instruct you on what works and what doesn't. It's very important not to have any or if you have to very few restrictions on access to your home.  The biggest mistake and home owner can request is "Appointment only, and no lockbox!"  The hot buyer will pass on it, and so will their agent.  Limited access works against the seller, and so does trying to coordinate the showing time that I acceptable to everyone's schedules.  Inexperienced agents will take "Appointment Only" listings all the time.  The one problem is they won't sell. 

The issues are easy to define, control of someone else's time. Appointment only homes have a very large percentage of Expired and Withdrawn listings.  That means they are the homes that traditionally do not sell.  If you have vicious pets that have to be accommodated, alarm codes that have to be disabled, and special showing instructions such as no lock box, these will also restrict showings.  Why?  There is too much to so, too much to see, and too little time to accomplish it all.  When a buyer's agent shows homes they will generally have 3 lists.  A, B and C!  The "A" list is the homes that meet the client's needs and are easily accessible for showing.  The "B & C" are not as accessible, or have showing access restrictions.  No showing before noon, small babies sleeping, and pets must be removed prior to showing, alarm systems, etc.  Generally the "A" list will be shown, and if the buyers have not found what they were looking for on that list, they will go in the "B & C" lists!  But guess what?  They very seldom if ever get to the other lists!  Why?  No showing?  The reason is obvious, they've run out of time.

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/