Safety – The Benefits of Having a Realtor

The Benefits of Having a Realtor

One of the benefits to having a realtor work for you is the safety of your family and your home.  Once a for-sale sign is in your yard, complete strangers will pull up and want to talk to you about your home.  This could happen at the most inopportune times, catching you off guard when you are in your pajamas  dashing to the mail box, or in a hurry to get the kids to school.  The sign is there for a purpose: they can and should call me, your real estate agent.

Talk to your children and let them know that just because a real estate agent is showing their home to complete strangers, they should never let in strangers to see the house themselves.

The Impatient Buyer

Example: Mr. Impatient Buyer drives up and down your road every time he’s in town. He sees the for-sale sign in your yard and wants to look at the house today, NOW, since he’s right there!  He is not working with a realtor. If he was, the licensed real estate agent would make an appointment for him to see your home, would prequalify him, and accompany him on the viewing. 

Mr. Impatient Buyer perhaps calls the busy realtor (me), gets the price and size information, and is told 24 hours’ notice are needed to show the house. I promise him to call back later in the day.  I then text and ask the tenant if the house can be shown today, rather than tomorrow, and continue on with my business.

Mr. Impatient Buyer has lunch, checks his phone several times, calls me and leaves a message.  He drives by the house once again and this time sees a car in the driveway. He pulls up and rings the doorbell. The teenaged daughter, home from school, answers. He asks to see the house. She figures that strangers are tromping through her home frequently now anyway, so she’ll help her parents sell the house!

Later in the afternoon, when I call Mr. Impatient back with an appointment to see the house, I am told he’s “already seen it” and he “doesn’t like the house”.

In light of this very real example, here are some crucial tips on safety and selling your home effectively

1)     Never let strangers into your home.  This goes for prospective buyers as well as for people claiming to be realtors. If they are pushy, refer them to the sign and give them a card. The realtor who has listed your house will keep you and your family safe by prescreening everyone who comes through your door.

2)     First impressions of a property are an important consideration for prospective buyers.  As a realtor, I arrive at the home first, turn on all the lights, and make sure the temperature is pleasant.  In the example above, the home had hurricane shutters on half the windows keeping it cooler for the tenants. Several buyers complained that the place was too dark. A good agent is able to anticipate and address that issue before it turns into a concern.

3)     Prequalify buyers: Are prospective buyers actually able to purchase your house or are they just curious? A good realtor will be able to find out how motivated prospective buyers are, if they are paying cash, or if they have been preapproved by a lender.

 4)     Safety concerns: Today, with safety concerns, any person entering your home should have at least shown identification and registered with the realtor’s office.

5 )  Take precautions: Lock away prescription medications and pack up your valuables.