Are You Following these Nine Showing Etiquette Best Practices?

We’ve shared a lot of showing etiquette with you over the years, and here’s a good list of nine best practices that, when applied with a side of good common sense, can help ensure a pleasant house hunting experience for everyone involved.

1. Schedule appointments and be sure they are approved. Do not enter the home without approval and only be there during the specific time period for which you have been approved.

   This applies even when overlapping appointments are allowed. The default setting in ShowingTime is to not allow overlapping showings. Though not recommended, if you override this setting to allow overlap, please inform your showing agents.

   Should you have to cancel at the last minute or leave the showing significantly early, notify the seller’s agent and click “Done” in ShowingTime.

   Also, if you set up the showing but are sending another licensed agent to show on your behalf, let the seller’s agent know or indicate in in Showing Time.

2. Consider the optimal time for your showing appointments. As a Seller’s Agent, what should you set as the maximum appointment time?

   We hear that many appointments allow up to an hour, causing available appointments to fill very quickly and limiting the pool of buyers. And then some showing agents schedule for only 15 minutes and then overlap with the next appointment because they did not allow enough time. While it may vary, we typically hear of showings being scheduled for 30 minutes.

3. Remind clients that they are entering someone else’s home. Don’t allow your clients to eat, drink, smoke or dispose of trash at the property. Encourage bio break stops at public bathrooms prior to showings. Pets should also be left at home.

4. Be courteous to other agents who may be at the property. If you arrive early and you see an agent talking in the yard or the driveway with their client during their scheduled showing time, allow them to have their time. Then, introduce yourself and offer your card.

   If you are double booked for the same time, politely coordinate so both buyers have their space to view the property. Also be sure that whoever accessed the lockbox first returns the key. If you are the one who stays longer, access the lockbox with your code to lock up and then return the key before you leave.

5. Don’t let strangers walk the property unattended. You are responsible for everyone you let into a property.

   If a person shows up to see the home who isn’t your buyer, schedule an appointment with that customer for before or after your scheduled appointments where you can first meet with them in a safe environment. If you arrive and encounter someone unexpected, leave the property and let the seller’s agent know.

6. Do not allow your buyers in the home unaccompanied. Again, you are responsible for everyone you let into a property. Only you are authorized to access the lock box and you must ensure your buyers leave the property as you found it upon arrival

7. Leave the property as you found it. In most cases this means turning off lights and locking doors.

   However, it’s important to look for special showing instructions that may indicate the seller wants the service door to the garage left unlocked, a light left on for pets or other specific requests.

   Should you arrive and see something out of sorts—like standing water in the basement or the smell of gas—let the seller’s agent know as soon as possible!

8. Be sure to always put the keys back in the lockbox after all showings. Be sure to use your own eKey access code and return it at the end of the time you are at the property.

   As mentioned above, don’t hand it to the next agent who arrives and don’t keep the keys, even if you have approved showings for later that day.

9. Do not provide the agent copy of the MLS listing to your client. This report is for agents only and could contain information that should not be made public that could impact the privacy and safety of the sellers or their family. If you want to include an agent report with the purchase agreement, you can send the public version.

Wondering if it’s right?

The NorthstarMLS Rules + Regulations team is here to help! We have a printable summary of good showing etiquette tip you can download here. We’ve also compiled great information addressing important showing compliance topics including agent remarks, General Rule Policies, Rules Statistics and more! Check them out today at our Rules + Regulations Site or contact us.