Big and Little Home Seller Questions
Examples of big questions that home sellers must grapple with include, “How much should I list for?” and “What prep should I do beforehand?”
At the other extreme are little — but still important — questions such as, “Do I need to be home to let the city inspector in?”
In that vein, here’s a quick, umm . . . key (sorry) to who does — and doesn’t — typically have access to the electronic lockboxes most commonly used by Realtors.
Buyers’ agents: yes (very occasionally, a Buyer’s agent will be experiencing “technical difficulties” and enlist the other agent’s help).
City inspectors: no.
Appraisers: yes.
Private contractors, stagers, etc.: no (unless they also happen to be licensed agents).
“Smart” vs. “Dumb” Lockboxes
Given the seemingly revolving door of home visitors — especially prior to a home debuting on the market — it can be smart to use BOTH an electronic lockbox and a mechanical one, with the combo to the latter discreetly given out to anyone who doesn’t have electronic access.
Once the home is officially listed, I’ll typically remove the mechanical lockbox in favor of the electronic one, because of its various security features.
Those include a time-out feature making the lockbox inaccessible between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.; a downloadable display that shows the Buyer agent’s ID and time of access; and an automatic email to the listing agent whenever the lockbox has been opened.
P.S.: One other “big” question facing home sellers: “Who should I hire to list my home?”
