Should Your Realtor® Use A Showing Service?

Should Your Realtor® Use A Showing Service?

The answer is definitely yes.  A showing service is a company that takes on the task of scheduling showings for properties that are listed for sale.  It benefits the seller, the listing Realtor®, and any Realtor® who shows a home to a buyer.  It also provides a level of security to the seller and the home.

This is how it works.  A Realtor® who lists a home for sale can register it with a showing service.  The Realtor® will include the phone number of that showing service on the MLS listing on the HAR website.  If a buyer decides he/she wants to see that home, they will call their Realtor® and ask to see it.  Their Realtor® will call the showing service, give their identification information, and schedule a time to show the home.  The showing service will give instructions that are specific for showing that particular home (i.e. the dog is in the garage).  The buyers’ Realtor® can call 7 days a week or they can go online and schedule it whenever they want.  The showing service will notify the sellers so that they can be prepared.   Here are the benefits:

1.       This is convenient to all the Realtors® who are involved, which means that the home will get shown more often. 

2.       There is a record of who is showing the home.

3.       The showing service will systematically request feedback from the Realtor® who shows the home and communicate it to the seller.

What happens when the seller’s Realtor® does not use a showing service?  That Realtor® lists their own phone number on the HAR website to schedule an appointment.  Here are the problems with that:

1.       If the seller’s Realtor® does not answer his/her phone when someone is trying to schedule an appointment, the home may not get shown.  Buyers may try to set up showings on weekends, at night, early or late.  It can be very hard for a Realtor® to answer all these calls and some may get missed.  The seller may never know how many showings are being missed.

2.       The seller will never know how well their Realtor® is screening the callers to see if they are legitimate Realtors®.  Anyone can see the phone number on the sign in the yard and call and say, “I am a Realtor® and I want to show this home.”  If they are not screened properly, access may be given to anyone who asks.

3.       The seller will never know if their Realtor® is requesting feedback from the showings.

If you are thinking about selling your home, make sure that the Realtor® who lists your home uses a showing service.  If they do not, you are not getting adequate service.