Timing Is Everything When You Want to See A Twin Cities Duplex

Realtors do a big portion of their work behind the scenes. We don’t always think to stop and explain each piece of it, and sometimes assume our clients psychically know what we’re talking about.

Take showings for example. I had a client call me over the weekend wanting to see a house on Labor Day. I was a little abrupt with her; which she didn’t understand. So I had to stop and explain.

Realtors have to call the listing agent’s appointment line in order to show you a property.  Many real estate companies have office staff who field these calls. Others use appointment services. In either case, the staff keeps more regular business hours than Realtors do.

How does that effect you? Well, because those hard-working people keep relatively regular hours, your Realtor can’t just set up an appointment at any hour. What’s more, even if those people are available, if the property is occupied, tenants or home owners usually need to be contacted and asked whether the requested time is workable for them.

This process can be further complicated by the myth that tenants require 24 hour notice before a landlord or his/her representatives may enter a property for business purposes.

When my client called late in the afternoon on Sunday, I knew most call centers would only be open for another ten minutes, and would be closed for Labor Day. Therefore, I had to hurriedly collect the list of properties she wanted to see and set up appointments.

Most of the time, appointments aren’t a problem to get. But when it comes to evenings, weekends and holidays, be sure to plan in advance.