Imagine being a buyer’s agent and having 5 buyers looking to buy new homes this week all across metro St Louis.  You know that you will be working every night, and you will be gone all weekend.  Now, one of your buyers has this one house that didn’t sell over the weekend and they want to go see it in person.  The wonderful buyer’s agent that you are, you look to set an appointment a full 24 hours in advance.  When you go to schedule, the entire week is blocked off for no showings except for 3 hours on a Tuesday afternoon, before 4 p.m.  Why?  It’s so stupid.  Do you really not want to sell the home?

I get that there are tenants in the house.  But what is the point of listing it for sale if no buyer can make an appointment to see it?  I just don’t understand.   Wait until the tenants move out, clean the house thoroughly, price it right, and get it sold.  No need to save time by listing it with a tenant occupant who isn’t thrilled with the prospect of finding a new place to live and really doesn’t want to clean up after themselves because you have a showing.

Buyers are very fickle.  If I tell them that the house isn’t available to the point where they would both have to get off work to go see the house, they just won’t go.  And, is that the point of this all?  Do you really not want to sell the house, sort of making a half ass effort only to tell the seller agent that they did an awful job with the listing?

And that is another thing.  Listing agents, when your seller says that you can’t show the home except for 4 hours on a Tuesday, shouldn’t that give you pause?  How are you going to sell a house that no one can get into?  I get that it’s a listing, so that’s great for you, but at the end of the day you’re going to end up wasting your time and money until the seller finally tells you to take a hike because you didn’t sell it.  Where is your spine?

It’s perfectly acceptable to limit showings provided that you are within reason.  Sometimes, sellers are getting new carpet or having work done on the property.  That’s definitely not a good time to show a house.  I do remember ruining a shirt once at a house in the Central West End where an agent didn’t know the house was being painted.  We were already there … might as well walk through.  I guess I can always buy a new shirt.

I can also understand a family with small children, or medical emergency.  It’s reasonable to limit showings to evenings before 8, or mornings after 10.  But every day except Tuesdays between 1 and 4 pm is just stupid.  You’re wasting people’s time.  Everybody is supposed to somehow plan their time around this silly window, from the buyer’s agent, to the seller’s agent to the tenants who might be inconvenienced, to the buyers who are looking for a new home.  It’s not realistic, and it’s dumb.

Attention home sellers:  Don’t limit reasonable showings!  To be completely honest, my buyers are not all that interested in you.  They want to buy your house, but they aren’t all that interested in jumping through hoops just to see it.  If your listing agent says they are totally cool with you limiting showings, you might just take a second look at your decision to list with that agent.  Other than pricing your home way too high to attract a buyer, I can’t think of a worse strategy than limiting home showings.

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