In this type of housing economy you would think listing agents and home sellers would be making absolutely certain that their home was available and at the ready for all showings. But this blog isn't about me being upset over a rejected showing.
A lot of consumers I meet are aware of what a showing service is. For example, I use CSS, Centralized Showing Service. They basically facilitate the showings on behalf of my sellers. If an agent want's to show one of my listings they can call this company 7 days a week and speak to a representative who will then coordinate the showing and verify an active showing code by the showing agent. It should be that simple.
The showing service cost me a whopping $39 a month. BID DEAL.
For whatever reason there are listing agents who do not find the value in paying for this service. They rely on providing their cell phone number as the point of contact to schedule a showing. Today I called on two properties. One of them was routed to an office (As of 9:28 this morning still isn't open) and the other routes to the agents cell phone.
You guessed it. I'm sitting here writing this post killing time and WAITING for them to call me back. If they don't call me in the next 5 minutes I won't be able to show either one of them! My buyer can't reschedule his window of showing and there are MANY other houses available.
A seller should be diligent when hiring their listing agent. It is THEIR responsibility to ensure they are hiring the best person for the job.
Is your house on the market? Are you missing showings?
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You are preaching to the choir with this one, Greg, lol! I, too, use CSS. Just the very idea that you could have a life outside of your listings is worth the $ you pay for this service. I hope you get that call back....
Greg - but what it has to do with the value of this paid service? It is just a matter of business practice. I do not have this service and I do not intend to have this service, but what it has to do with how we operate?
Good morning Greg. I hear you and I feel your pain, however, I use a scheduling service through my office that leaves much to be desired. If it were up to me, I would change providers: but it isn't up to me. Be careful what you wish for....
Jon,
If I call on one of your listings is it possible your seller will miss out on a showing? Do you answer the phone LITERALLY every single time it rings? That's impossible. You might be in the shower, or negotiating a deal or in a closing, or on a listing appointment. You can't stop any of those and realistically answer the phone IN MY OPINION. What works for you, works for you. And that's understandable. I'm sure you're quick on the draw, but the vast majority call me back 1/2 day later or worse, days later.
I can guarantee 100% if you call on one of my listings you'll speak to someone who will definitely be ready to provide showing instructions. It's impossible for me to guarantee that any other way.
My sellers deserve instant information provided to potential buyers.
Just my opinion. Thanks for the insight.
The value of CSS is when buyers can see the property and submit an offer. What a novel concept.
Greg - I started using CSS about a year ago and it made a HUGE difference for me. Not only did I save a serious amount of time no longer personally coordinating showings on my listings and obtaining feedback, but also to be having great records of the showings on all of my listings.
I consider it a professional tool that is well worth the monthly cost. It is also much easier to schedule showings for your buyers when you are showing listings through CSS.
That ticks me off to Greg... It's like apparantely someone didn't get the memo that the purpose of taking a listing is the FREAKIN SELL IT!!!! How some survive in this business I will never know..
Greg - I use CSS. I want my listing to always be available plus I don't answer my phone when I am out showing - so I might miss an agent's call and that would be bad. Suggest
Unfortunatly, there is no perfect solution. I like CSS but used them yeterday and they told me they would have to check with the seller for my 4:30-5:30 showing time (I was calling at 3 PM) Well, 5:30 rolls around and we are leaving a showing and I get an auto email from CSS stating my shwoing request has been rejected by the seller. Btoom line, make you damn listing available. I think CSS gives the best chance of this if you're a heavy listing agent.
I personally don't like "Gate Keepers" so I don't use CSS or any of the like... HOWEVER, I answer my phone & ALWAYS have a lockbox on my listings...
I would KILL to have this option. Tomorrow I have seven showings spread over my massive rural market. Without lumping nearby homes together the back in forth would costs much gas and time. And you guessed it, a couple of "star listing agents" are sleeping in this morning.
Scheduling appointments is one of the most frustrating parts of the job. Sadly, it should be the easiest.
Greg, We run into similar. A real PITA when you're trying to schedule 9 showings and 1 or 2 can't get confirmed. Trips up the whole chain. Our office uses one of the centralized groups, and that works so much better than having to answer and track down the sellers ourselves for every appointment, especially if you get that marketing goldmine that is just getting slammed with showings. Do you want to be an appointment setter, or out doing business productive things? Easy call for us. $40/month is piddly compared to the time saved.
It amazes me what people do to save a few bucks. It agitates me. If you pick up the phone when I call every time, then I couldnt care less.
This reallly pisses me off. It's such a disservice to the sellers & is a quick remedy.
IF you don't like CSS there are other options like Showing Suite that Sentrilock has. The Realtor can set up to schedule appointments. Most of our listings have showing contact as home owners. If they have an issue they will call back otherwise we are good to go. For Showing services I haven't had any issue with them.
It's brutal to try to schedule 6 or more homes at once, especially if you're not doing it 2 days out. Waiting for a seller to get back to the listing agent, leaving voicemails, having secretaries tell you that the home is vacant but they still have to confirm it never to hear from them again. There's got to be a better way.
When I was an agent we didn't have any such service available, but I would have welcomed it. All those phone calls back and forth take a LOT of time.
That is when those homes just don't make the cut when showing.
Greg, I can't tell you how many times I have surprised indisposed sellers after calling CSS to make an appointment and having it confirmed. I am not impressed with the job they do, at least in these parts.
I hear you! In this market, though, the rule of thumb is generally an electronic lockbox and a call to the owners to confirm when it is convenient to show. Rarely is there a listing agent in the mix. Owners prefer it over the back and forth with listing & selling agents, If an owner does not want to take the calls, then the agent either has to be diligent about the calls or hire a service! It is part of what we have to do.
Those agents are probably not even doing it full time. Real estate is not a game, it is a career and should be treated like one. If you didn't return your bosses call for 2 days would you still have a job in corporate America?
Everyone here uses CSS, thank goodness. Makes things so much easier.