Just because someone is selling their home does not mean that they have to give up their right to privacy.  Home sellers are also entitled to simple common courtesy.  

Selling a home is disruptive.  Smart home sellers make their bed in the morning, tidy up their bathroom, clean the kitchen after breakfast and make certain that their home is spotless for showings.   If their home will be shown at 9 am, they won’t be frying bacon at 8:30 and stinking up the kitchen.

When a real estate agent lists a home in the multiple listing service (MLS) we include what is called “showing instructions”.  Showing instructions vary from home to home, but the most common are:

*CFLB (call first lockbox on) front door: In some instances the listing agent will hide the lockbox so that showing agents won’t drop by the home and access the lockbox without an appointment.  To circumvent that, I simply attach a note to the lockbox advising the agent that they cannot show the home without an appointment and by providing a minimum of two hours notice.  I find it to be an extra burden for the showing agent to have to “find” the lockbox. 

*Appointment Only: Some homes are shown only by appointment with either the owner or the listing agent.  In this instance the home is not as accessible for showings.  An appointment with a human being is more difficult to maneuver than an appointment with the lockbox.

At one of my recently listed homes, the MLS showing instructions read: “24 hour notice, appointment with listing agent”.  There is also a sign rider attached to the sign “Do not disturb occupant”. Even so, my client was dismayed to find on day two of the listing:

*Home buyers walking in her yard without an appointment and without their Realtor

*Real estate agents knocking on her door unannounced and expecting to be let in for a viewing

So for those home buyers and their real estate agents whose mothers did not teach them manners, I will help you out:

*Do not trespass. If you don’t have an appointment you are trespassing.  And why in the world would you just walk in someone’s back yard? What if they have a dog?

*If your real estate agent does not know how to read or is too stupid or lazy to follow simple instructions, call the phone number on the sign in front of the home. Don’t disturb the homeowner; they have hired a real estate agent to handle the home selling details.

Just because someone has their home for sale does not give home buyers or their real estate agents the right to be rude.
 
Related Posts: How Safe is a lockbox?
Open House Etiquette

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