A Typical Showing Process

Let’s say that I have a buyer who wants to look at houses with 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, 1500 square feet, 2-car garage, and a one-quarter acre yard. The house addresses could have come from a list that I sent to the buyer from which the buyer has now chosen several properties. The list could come from a sample of different types that I put together to give the buyer an idea of what’s available, such as 1-story or 2-story, stucco or brick, older or newer. The list could be all the houses available in a specific price range and/or neighborhood or school area.

For the first appointment, I call the agency’s main number & I get transferred to someone who looks at the showing information that the seller put down. This turns out to be a house with small children & they need some time to tidy up. They are in luck because I am scheduling this showing appointment for tomorrow at 10:00 am. Also this house has a lockbox that I can use my keypad on. The seller has time to clean up & think of somewhere fun to go with the children tomorrow morning while I show the house to a potential buyer. Maybe the children will go the Mesa County Public Library.

This buyer is taking time from work or other activities to see these houses. I want the time to be well-spent for the buyer, so we actually schedule several showings from 10:00 to Noon. I will probably schedule 3 from 10-11:00 am, 3 from 10:30-11:30 am, & 2 from 11:00-Noon. I will also schedule them in a continuous path from House A to House B to House C, etc., based on how they are on the map. With the time overlap, the buyer doesn’t have to wait to see any houses & can move right along. With only 1 hour time slots, it is less inconvenient for the seller to be gone from their property.

I email the buyer the house order & the map. When I meet the buyer the next morning at 10:00 am at the first house on the list, I give him or her a clipboard with a photo & short description of the property from the Navica system & a pen to write down their impressions. This is for their use, not mine, because things can get forgotten. Then as we see each house, it goes on one of 3 lists: “yes,” “maybe,” or “no.” The buyer is only deciding whether or not to see the house again, not whether or not to buy. Sometimes as we go along, a “yes” becomes a “maybe,” a “maybe” becomes a “no.” After the buyer is done seeing the houses & has time to make decisions, the buyer sends me a shorter list for houses that deserve a second showing & a longer time spent at the property.

Sometimes there is no shorter list & the buyer chooses to have a new list in a different area. Sometimes new properties become available because they are new to the market or there has been a price drop. Sometimes previously viewed houses are combined with unseen houses on a list. Each time there is a house to be seen, a showing appointment is made. Then the buyer chooses houses for a very small list, maybe only 1 or 2, for a third showing. Eventually after enough showings, the buyer chooses the property he or she wants to buy.