Multi-Tasking Buyers’ Agents
I’m sure my colleagues could fill in their own, umm . . . favorite.
But, here’s mine:
“You know the showing instructions are too long when . . . the Buyer’s agent (in this case, me) has to print them out to keep everything straight. And then has to print out the listing agent’s subsequent email relaying even more showing instructions (which didn’t fit in the broker’s showing instructions form), then staple that to the first printout.”
Two Too Many
As a Buyer’s agent showing homes, all you usually need to jot down — typically on a printout of the MLS listing — is the access code for the lockbox and its location (assuming it’s not electronic, on the front door).
Occasionally, you also need to note quirks such as where a pet will be, tricky deadbolts, etc.
In the case above. the listing agent was advising Buyers’ agents about the location of not one but two home security systems, each with different codes on different floors.
My suggestion: if the homeowner is serious about selling . . . get the valuables out of the home, and disarm the security systems (plural), at least during the day.
Multiply by Five or Six
What’s the big deal about keeping track of a couple longer-than-usual instructions?
Buyers’ agents typically don’t just show clients one home at a time — they show them four or five.
Those homes may be clustered together — or they may be all over town, in four or five different (and possibly unfamiliar) neighborhoods.
The agent needs to expeditiously find all those homes while navigating traffic and not infrequently weather (it’s Minnesota) — all the while chatting with their client(s).
Can you say, “multi-task??”
See also, “Showing Instructions: the Good, the Bad, and the (Very) Ugly“; and “Perfect Cover for Home Burglar.”
