Real Estate Views from St Pete

Hi, Sharon.  Individual guest cards would be a good solution- that way, you get your seller the info without any indication to the prospect of the number of people that have visited.  Just put them in your briefcase as they are each filled out (not in a huge visible stack) :)

Sharon, I yet to get agents and/or buyers to sign in.  I appreciate it when they leave their business card, which I remind them to do.  Usually the feedback I get is used to reinforce to my sellers what I have already told them.  Great question.

Hi Sharon: As a stager, I can tell you that our sellers still want a sign in sheet so they can monitor who has been in the home. As a stager, I like knowing which agents have seen our work. When I am at the houses, agents often stop by and comment about wanting information on our services but then do not leave us any contact information. I do find that many agents in this "buyers market" don't sign in or leave cards. I know Illinois is getting tougher on regulating this and usually what Il does, Missouri follows.  Although the agent can tell who has visited the property, otheres would like the information too!

Great blog, like the comment below with the individual guest cards.  Thanks!!!  Oh and yes I am noticing that what seemed outdated a year or two ago is now vogue in today's market. 

We do not use sign in sheets in my area.  Typically, the Realtor just leaves a business card which lets the seller know that they've been there.  When scheduling the showing, my office records the time and date that the Realtor is going through and e-mails the info to me.  We do not use electronic lockboxes, either.

Sharon, I've never seen sign in sheets in our area.  Traditionally agents leave cards.  When a listing agent hasn't been by the property in a while to pick up the cards, boy does it show!  Buyers seeing all those cards laying around think "wow lots of showings and no offers, must not be such a great home"  Plus with the lockboxes, we always know what agents have shown our listings -- I get e-mails the next day with the showing info.

Sharon, I have stopped leaving the sellers disclosure and lead based paint in my seller houses. A tradition in Ann Arbor. We use Supra here, but when we started sharing IDX with several boards near us, they did not have the lock boxes. So many of us that list a lot got tired of meeting outside agents with a key pad. The board in Ann Arbor, of which I am apart of is meeting with Supra on the 7th of Sept to see their new lock box. Is this not a problem in your area ?

I love the technology but it was driving me crazy meeting the agents from other boards at my houses, so I went back to the combo's.

If you can track the technology it is great..........but this was my clitch. I just ask agents to leave a card, but it is basically the same thing you are talking about. 

 

Sharon - Here in my part of Connecticut, sign-in sheets are common.  It's the first thing I changed when I joined my new brokerage and partnered up with the owner - no more sign-in sheets in our listings.  If no one has shown a listing in two weeks, there's no reason for us to advertise that to the next buyer and agent that does see the home.

Our lockboxes, like yours, do email us the showing information.  That's enough for us.

Sharon, I think NO showing sheets for me. I've never used them and never will for exactly the reason you stated.

Laurie - that's a good idea. You could even have the sellers keep them for you in a designated drawer.

Laurie - that's a good idea. You could even have the sellers keep them for you in a designated drawer.

We don't use sign in sheets for showings in Colorado. Very rarely I have seen some. I think you are right, it doesn't help you to protect your clients best interests by giving this information away. It's time to embrace technology and track showings electronically!

Edson - frequently agents neither sign in nor leave their card. That's why I like being able to see who was in the house from the lockbox access records.

Cheri - why not establish a cooperative relationship with the agent? They should appreciate your staging and be willing to share with you who has looked at the property.

Nicole - yes, there are many advantages to using the guests cards that Laurie suggested. And you're right - trens seem to repeat themselves.

We will not have electronic boxes until next year.  We have agents leave a business card which gives the same information as the sign in sheet.  Our market is not like your's so it has not been a problem for us.  Hopefully we will be on electronic boxes before we see that type of market.

Deb - what kind of lockboxes do you use?

Brian - that's interesting. Does having a sign-in sheet or leaving cards depend on what type of market you're experiencing?

Sharon: we do have that relationship with most of our agents but some are not as forthcoming with involvement or information. Having an agent leave a card or sign in gives us easy access.

Missy - I guess it depends on how close other MLSes are to you. Tampa shares the same lockboxes and keypads as St Pete and Clearwater. Sarasota doesn't share, unless you've made prior arrangements through your board, but we don't have nearly as many Sarasota agents showing here as Tampa agents. We have more problems with "discount brokers" who never show listings and expect the listing agents to show the homes to their clients.

I agree with a lot of the comments already left.  I do not use sign-in sheets and try to get the cards left as soon as possible.  I find it really interesting to read how some of the others describe how things work in their area.

Don - we share the same thinking. Why share that the house hasn't been shown much, or shown recently?

Brian - d'accord!

Edite - exactly! Whether electronically or by accompanied showings, we don't need a sign-in sheet to keep track.

Sharon, we don't use sign in sheets for the sellers unless we are doing an open house.  We do use technology and iboxes with a Supra key (more secure than combo boxes).  We also use a showing service which agents call and request showings.  I'm all for using technology as much as possible.

Randy - I'm glad to hear you're going to electronic lockboxes. They're so easy to use, give you lots of choices, and have a great reporting function. They're also more secure.

Cheri - I'd imagine that the same agents who are not forthcoming with information or feedback are the same ones who don't sign in or leave a card.

Kimberly - there's a lot that's the same between areas, and a lot that's different. It's nice when you have an owner occupied home and they can collect the business cards for you vs a vacant home that you have to check frequently.

David - I, too, like the security and technology of the iboxes with the Supra. When I was with a national franchise they used a local showing service. Do you find a distant 800 showing service to have the same warm fuzzies as the local ones?

Sharon, I have never seen a sign-in sheet for showings and don't see a need for one with the electronic lock boxes.

Honestly, I think the sign in sheets are a waste of time.  Like you said, we have all the data we need via lock box. 

We don't use them in the California very often. I took a Buyer to make an offer yesterday and I saw the first sign up sheet that I had seen in years. I guess I should never say never.

I actually have a tent card I leave on the counter that says this home was recently cleaned - I pick up the cards often - so it always appears that the house was cleaned and the house keeper took the cards....

I agree...the electronic lockboxes are enough...but, leaving a card is important.  Many times agents have not updated their account and do not have current phone/email records for the showing report.

Thanks for commenting! 

Pam - obviously you just skipped over that part of history. Good for you.

Jonathan - agreed.

William - interesting!  

Thesa - I guess that's one way of making sure the house IS kept clean. 

IMHO the easier it is for someone to show our listings the better I like it.  Really do not like to call any service before I show a home.  Don't like to call for combinations either.  Can understand being anxious about vacant homes but come on, almost everyone in our area is using a lockbox that shows who accessed it and when they accessed it.  You can always tell who was there last in case something is awry.  Making an appointment to show with the listing agent has always indicated to me that there is a control issue at hand.  I consider it my job to get agents and buyers into the home.  Beyond that it is up to the owner to have it in showing condition at all times; then it is in the hands of the buyer/buyer's agent.  Here in Fredericksburg VA it is all a matter of price.  The maxim location, location, location has been replaced by price, price, price.

Ed - you're alsolutely right. Location is now one of the factors that's included in price, price, price.

We don't have sign in sheets either for the same reason. We always know every showing and report back accordingly.  Also, thanks again for commenting on something we did today. It's a great observation, one we didn't immediately deduct, but is keen insight. We're thinking marketing up to 300 miles out, but as we all know once we develop our web presence, it's all global after that.

Cheers... 

Gary - one of the great things about web marketing is that it gets the locals as well as the near and far distants. Happy Marketing!

Hi, Sharon- we don't use the individual sign up cards for showings, but they are always at open houses, as well.  There's nothing worse than a sign up sheet that's empty- no one wants to be the first (even if they are).  Because of your post, I'm going to use them for showings (when one happens.  Slowin' down)- THANK YOU.

On our Open House sign-in sheets I always fill in the first line. Not only does it encourage others to sign, but they're most likely to fill in all the columns in the person before them has done it.