The Opposite of “Home Alone”

It’s every home seller’s worst nightmare:  they return home long after a scheduled showing, only to find strangers in their Living Room(!).

With no Realtor in sight.

While it’s an extremely rare occurrence — and an automatic $1,000 fine for the Buyer’s agent — that makes it no less upsetting for the owner.

Buyer’s Agent:  “Go Ahead Without Me”

The likely explanation?

The Buyer’s agent was running (very) late, and gave their client the access code for the manual lockbox, with the added instruction to “go ahead without me.”

Fortunately, such behavior is 100% preventable.

The remedy:  for the listing agent (representing the Seller) to use an electronic rather than manual lockbox.

See also, “Vacant Home as Realtor Love Nest?  Not on Your Life License“; “Lazy Lockbox Codes“; “Especially Bad Choices for Lockbox Combo’s“; and “Did Real Estate Agent Play While Owner Was Away?”

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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