Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way and it seems that somewhere along the way something has happened to dilute the respect afforded a seller's home. Maybe it can in part be attributed to the HGTVTM factor where we see buyers in their street clothes bouncing on the freshly made beds which is all fine and dandy if they're buying the bed and no one will be sleeping in it after they leave. Then again maybe the bar has been lowered by some in the industry who set the wrong example.
Or is it both? The old chicken or egg conundrum?
There was an episode of Million Dollar Listing New York where Fredrik Eklund as the listing broker included in his marketing materials a picture of himself in the master bathtub. After showing the property to a buyer for whom Eklund would also be acting as listing broker, his client warned Eklund that he had better not be taking pictures of himself in his bathtub. Eklund fluffed it off by crediting the sale of the property to the picture. The client's point is understandable for two reasons - the REALTOR® is a hired employee and, for most sellers, what a buyer does is out of sight and therefore out of mind.
I've seen a lot of visitors to a home who are knowingly respectful of the seller's home, the majority in fact, but there are some who need to be reminded and others who just don't have a clue.
For some reason it is only on a rare occasion that I must ask my buyer clients to refrain from doing something but as a listing broker the occasions are more prevalent. It's not unusual to have to request that visitors: remove their shoes and roller blades, yes roller blades count as shoes, despite the sign at the door; roll up their overly long pant legs which are dragging snow and salt marks across the wood floor and wool carpets; not throw their wet outerwear on the couch; not put their feet on the furniture; stay off the beds; keep their kids who are running all over the house with them and to please take their bicycle outside.
I'm willing to bet a dollar to a doughnut that what has most certainly been adopted from HGTVTM is the visitor with their dog or dogs in tow. It's not so bad when they're cute, quiet, little and stuffed into a carrying case, but leash or not, walking around the house is an invitation to a mishap and an even bigger one if there's a cat around. The irony here is that the real estate industry, HGTVTM included, is notorious for advising sellers to remove their own pets from the home.
Most visitors mean no disrespect to the property and graciously accept the request as though it was the trigger needed to remind them they're a stranger in someone else's home. A few let daggers fly from their eyes while some just put you in your place, "we'll I'm not buying this house now."
Then there are those who simply can't be seen in public without a venti in one hand and sometimes the dog in the other lest they be scorned as common rabble or mere lookyloos. For sure the requisite coffee, the bigger the better, is the new way to walk into a room and declare 'I'm here, make way.' Sorry to say, but it's true.
So, back to the question - is the example set by HGTVTM, REALTORS® or both? My answer is REALTORS® with HGTVTM as the medium by which the examples have been broadcast. Here's why:
As REALTORS®, respecting the seller and by extension their property whether it's our listing or one we're showing comes with the job and we must do our best to ensure we are not negligent in that regard. That means it's up to us when we take our buyers on viewings or hold open houses to set the example. You'll note only the term visitor was used in the examples, but they're actually a mix of unaccompanied visitors and visitors with REALTORS®.
The coffee example as innocuous as it seems is prime. A REALTOR® who carries a beverage when showing properties sends the message to the buyer that it's okay to do the same. REALTORS® when asked at an open house to set it aside by the listing representative are likely to respond that they allow beverages at their own open houses.
But rest assured when beverages come to view a property, discrimination walks right in behind - his name is Murphy and he wants to discriminate against the whitest fabric in the house or the most expensive rug or piece of furniture. Sellers with soiled stuff only want to know why Murphy was not stopped at the door, they're not interested in how he managed to finagle his way in.
When sellers place their homes in our care and by extension all REALTORS®, they expect to come home and find it as they left it. Some will outright say they do not want anyone on their furniture or using the facilities but the many other don'ts are actually implied through common sense and as REALTORS® if we itemize all the don'ts on a listing we simply wouldn't have space for talking up the property.
When sellers place their homes in our care and by extension all REALTORS®, they expect to come home and find it as they left it. Some will outright say they do not want anyone on their furniture or using the facilities but the many other don'ts are actually implied through common sense and as REALTORS® if we itemize all the don'ts on a listing we simply wouldn't have space for talking up the property.
It therefore behooves us as REALTORS® to always set the example for good open house and viewing etiquette.
Happy house hunting!
Happy house hunting!
By Penny Elizabeth Dutkowski, Broker with HomeLife/Bayview Realty Inc., Brokerage-Independently Owned and Operated. Thornhill, On. (905) -889-2200
All posts are the express opinion of Penny Elizabeth Dutkowski and should not be construed as that of the Brokerage.
No comments:
Post a Comment