What Do You Do When There Are No Instructions Left For the Lights and Doors? EP70

On this episode of Realtor Fight Club, hosts Jenn Murtland and Monica Weakley are fired up about today’s subject. What do you do when there are no instructions left for the lights or doors? Is there only one right answer?

Episode Highlights: 

• Let’s all agree that you should not take the key out of the lockbox without telling anyone.
• Listing agents should always call the buyer’s agent before a showing because they’ve never seen the house.
• Monica texts the agent about what she should do before ultimately making a judgment call.
• Unless there’s a line out the door for showings, Jenn turns the lights off.
• If the key goes missing, the last one that showed it will be the one who gets blamed.
• Jenn does not think the other agent is going to answer if you call while you are walking through the house.
• Mistakes are always going to happen in the process but it is possible to minimize those to a certain degree.
• Think about implementing a policy or form for the showing instructions, though if you don’t, it gives you a reason to communicate.
• Proper communication can help you avoid the tire kickers and wasting time.
• You can always ask sellers how they would like agents to leave the house after showing it.
• Monica believes you should leave the house as you found it while Jenn thinks you should turn the lights off.
• In the middle of winter, it’s important to contact the other agent before turning the heat on.
• If someone needs to go to the bathroom in a vacant house and the water is not on, send them up the street.
• Tell the agent what you did through a text after something has happened in the case that they don’t answer beforehand.
• This week’s tiebreaker, Andrea Howe, is with Re/Max in Frederick, Maryland, not too far from Washington D.C.
• It’s very obvious to Andrea that houses look better with the lights on, so leave them on.
• Depending on the market and the house, you may turn the lights off for electric bill purposes.
• If something feels off, like running water, Andrea makes sure to call the agent to check.

3 Key Points:

1. At the end of the day, efficient communication between the agents is key to the successful sale of a house.
2. There’s an argument for leaving the house as you found it when there are no instructions left.
3. When no instructions are left, agents are presented with the opportunity to open a line of communication with the other agent involved.

Resources Mentioned:

• Jenn Murtland (website, LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Call Jenn at (513) 400-1691 to discuss transitioning to eXp Realty
• Monica Weakley (website, LinkedIn, Facebook)
• Realtor Fight Club Podcast Facebook page 
• Andrea Howe (301) 642-0992, website, Facebook