I listed my own house when we sold it 18 months ago. I, being a trained/experienced/licensed professional, knew the rules of action and the things to do to protect my home and myself during the listing time. My husband, however, is not a trained/experienced/licensed REALTOR and acted as such one afternoon!
An unrepresented couple (no agent) called from the sign and wanted to see our house at a time I could not be there. My husband volunteered to do the showing. The prospective buyer was evasive about contact information which made me uneasy. I told my honey NOT to say anything to the people and give away our reasons for moving, etc. He got the coaching I give to all sellers in the event they are accidentally home when a showing transpires. He's a trusting man and followed my rules explicity. He opened the door, let them in, went outside and sat waiting for them to finish looking ALONE! I had neglected to tell him not to let them wander unattended in the house! When I got home and found out he had sat outside I nearly had heart failure, and then started checking to make sure things of value were not missing.
Fortunately, nothing had been taken, but it was a good lesson for me. Letting a buyer in without an agent to act as security is not a wise idea. Small valuable items could have been stolen or the house could have been set up for later theft. Not to mention bodily harm issues. What if a rapist or murderer was the prospective buyer? Professional REALTORS have become more and more aware of these safety issues in the last few years and are taking precautions to allay the dangers. I had never thought of the risk a seller could encounter in an unrepresented position (FSBO) as they have to be home for showings and many times another agent is not present. It leaves the seller open to a whole range of dangers that they probably haven't even considered.
Your article reminded me that I need to update my instructions to sellers to STRESS that it is important to remove tempting items that could fit in pockets of prospective buyers/lookers. A friend of mine just did an open house, and while she was talking to some potential buyers downstairs, some other lookers went upstairs and took the teenager's iPOD that was on her desk. (It was the $250+ model with all her favorite songs that she had paid to load on to it!)
I have never had an incident where something disappeared from an open house, but I guess I have been lucky. My friend is going to cover the cost of the missing iPOD, but from now on, she will tell that story before holding an open!
Comment posted February 8,2006
Posted by: Vicki Lloyd | October 29, 2006 at 11:34 PM
Not to mention the risk a Realtor could be in if showing a house to one of these "not so nice lurkers".
Comment posted February 2, 2006
Posted by: Kathy Koecher | October 29, 2006 at 11:23 PM