How Late Are You Before You Call to Say You Are late?-Vent and Question

They should've called if they weren't going to be there by 1:30. They were very inconsiderate regardless of how the market is right now.

I am normally not late, but if I were to be late for anything, I would most likely know BEFORE the appointment time, and therefore I would let you know at that time, not after it.

Uggh, good luck, hope you get an offer soon. I remember all that hassle of leaving the house and having to keep it presentable and all. And then sometimes they wouldn't even show at all! There were times when we would just stay for the showing if it was too inconvenient to leave. We would just stay out of the way. It seems the realtor should have to leave a card when they show, that's how it is here.

Not clear --- was it the potential buyers themselves who called, or a real estate agent who was bringing them who did the calling? I'm figuring it was an agent, since you left the house for these folks to come in?

In the former case, if it were the buyers themselves, I would have just said, we're glad to show you the house but we did expect you between 12 and 1:30....But if it were a real estate agent, I would call that agent tomorrow and say, "We are glad you're showing our house, but since we have a small child, please ensure that next time you and clients turn up in the window of time you give us and not an hour late; if you had called and told us you were running late we would have been fine with that, but it was very difficult for us to vacate the house, come home and vacate again. Next time please call if you are running even a few minutes late." In other words, call out the agent on being on time or being courteous enough to call. You don't want to alienate an agent if you're selling, but you also should alert them that it's not acceptable to waltz in a full hour after the END of the time period they had mapped out with you.

When we had to show a property, we typically wanted a 24 hour notice of showings and at least an hour before arrival. If they are running late then they should notify you at least 30 minutes ahead of time. Not hours after your appointment. I know you want to sell your house but showings should also be condusive to what you have going on as well. They need to respect the fact that you are still living in the home. You can't blame the perspective buyers though, I fault the agents. They've been doing this long enough to know protocol and I would call them on it. Tell your agent if this happens again, the next person cannot not come. If they can't make their appointment then they need to reschedule, not show up whenever they want to. If they are truly interested in the house, they will come back another day. If it happens once, I give them a pass but if it happens more than once then they are not respecting the fact that you still live in the home and it needs to be addressed. Relay that message to your agent and then wait to see if it happens again.

If I am running late, I will call saying "Hey, I got out of the house late but I should be there just a few minutes late or by xxx". If I completely missed a window that 1.5 hours long, I would have called as soon as I knew I would not make it before the end of that window and ASK if I could still come or would need to reschedule. If your showing is through an agent, I would talk to the agent and let them know that showings during the lunch hour would need more notice due to the nap schedule so you could plan or at least be courteous with prompt timing/calling ahead.

This is entirely different from the "I'm running late on the way to meet family/friends/etc. for xyz."

You can't really expect people out looking at houses all day to fall into a 30 minute window--it would be nice, but it's just not realistic.

They were an hour late....and extra 10-15 minutes at the 4 houses before yours could easily add up to an hour.

But you're right--in this market you HAVE to make your home available.
Plan on being "out" for the whole morning or afternoon when this happens. Just less frustrating all the way around.

And don't you have a sign-in sheet so you can check if they had already been there & gone?

My mom's house had a 2 - 2:30pm showing today. Her realtor told her not to come back until at least 4 based on the schedule he knew the other realtor to have with the buyers.

In Chicago it's easier, because BOTH agents have to be present during a showing, so YOUR agent can communicate with you. It also keeps the other agent pretty on schedule because they know THEY don't want to be kept waiting on the reverse.

However, you can never account for traffic and like someone else said - an extra 10 minutes per house can add up to an hour.

I am an early bird or want to be right on time kind of person. I value other people's time as well as my own so it irks me when others are late or really late and don't call etc. If I am going to be late, I call right then and give them an estimate of how late I will be. If I am already on my way and its going to be 5-10 min late, I still call when in route. If its a habitual thing, I tell people an earlier time of when to be there and then they show up just when they are supposed to. :) Sorry those people didn't consider your time as well--some people are so selfish!

M

Rude and inconvenient - but what can you do? You want to sell your house and the only way you can is if people can look at it.

Its a buyers market, and they have dozens of houses they can look at - the only thing you can do is be gracious and smile and then, maybe call your realtor later to complain.

I call if over 5 minutes.

Good for you not waking your daughter and for speaking up. Realtors here never call when late. To me, that is ridiculous.

Grrr, this happened to us MANY times while showing both houses we've sold. Not sure how much you can do about it. Sure you can be mad and unwelcoming (who wouldn't be, I had three kids and a dog, no easy feat keeping the house in show order), but that'll leave them with a yucky feeling about your place.

Can't tell you how many times me and my kids and my dog sat on a neighbor's porch across the street waiting and spying.

Next time when their realtor calls you and gives you a time, be sure to point out if they are more then a half hour late you can't be responsible for what they find.

Thank God SOMEONE'S looking at it, right? In this market?

:(

I think in your case, the agent should have called as soon as they knew they were getting lunch instead of coming directly to your house...

That's terrible. How rude. I call if I'll be more than 10 min late -but that call would occur WELL before the actual time I would arrive, because I would know in advance I'd be late. In my area, traffic is always bad, so there's no real bitterness towards those that are a little late. A little early is kinda bad, too- maybe worse because you weren't ready for them yet. If it is an event where I think it will be fine to get there a little early, I do.

BTW, My area (DC Metro area) is officially the worst area for rush hour in the entire US. The results of the study came out a couple months ago. Our rush hour is literally from 230 to 730. And traffic is usually bad when it isn't rush hour. Yeah for me!

Ugh!! Very rude!

I call if going to be more than 5 minutes late.

Oh, girl, this brings back memories of just a few months ago for us. We just sold our house in Frisco and went through that with a Realtor, too..last-minute showing, we left to go out to lunch so as to keep the ktchen tidy, they were an HOUR AND A HALF late, naptime for my toddler was interrupted, and the Realtor was unapologetic, to say the least! I called my Realtor and complained, asking him what to do...he just said, you just have to deal with rude, inconsiderate people when your house is on the market, unfortunately. It sucks, but that's the breaks. Hang in there...good news is coming, I'm sure!

I'm rarely late but when I am, I usually know way before I'm due so I call right away. I don't like to be kept waiting so I don't do that to others.

I would have just eaten at home at the dining room table, I mean, if they are coming during lunch hour, I know ideally you shouldn't be there, but I would not pay to eat out when I don't know for sure when they are coming. Good luck.

Sorry this happened to you.

Market or no market, you just have to be firm and make it VERY clear on your listing that you require ADVANCE notice, such as 24 hours in advance. And stick to it!
Obviously, on the weekends when people looking at houses have free time, you might shorten that to a 2 hour advance notice, but you can express that due to having a young child, without notice, they may be walking in to toys everywhere or the middle of a kid melt down.

When I was going through my divorce, I had real estate agents just showing up on my porch with people wanting to see the house. With NO notice. Then THEY seemed put out if my son (who wasn't even 2 years old) was running around naked after getting out of the bath and we weren't prepared to vacate the house.
It's rude and it puts families who are trying to sell their house on the spot.

If you have your own real estate agent, this is something you should bring up with them. Like I said, it's not that difficult to make it clear that on the spot walk throughs aren't going to happen. Period.
It will reduce lookey loo's, it will reduce people who can't even afford your house being put on the Sunday afternoon loop of homes.
Your real estate agent can arrange for an "open house" on a weekend day from 10-4 or something like that. You and your family can make plans to be gone. You might have to do that a few times, all other showings by appointment only.
That could save you from the tricklers, who may not even be pre-qualified for a loan.

Selling a house can really suck.
I hope things work out for you.

Best wishes.

My thought is that the realtors are making enough money to show you some courtesy. I would have been very angry and depending on how desperate I was to sell the house, might have asked them to schedule another appointment and leave. If you are expecting someone to vacate their home, then I think if you are going to be even a little late, you should let them know. There is no excuse for the realtor not calling you and asking you to stay away a bit longer.

Did they know you were going to be at home? Or that you are at home during the day? When we were selling, before kids, we both worked during the day and they would call, and it was fine if they were late. Maybe they assumed you were not home during the day? One of my agents told me he had shown a house where the owner was sleeping in the bed!! And yes, as previous poster mentioned, you can tell your realtor that the house is not available for showing between 12:30 and 1:30 or something like that.

If I'm going to be more than 15 minutes late, I'll call ahead. But in your case you are dealing with Realtors and their Buyers, so the rules of courtesy and etiquette sometimes are just thrown out the window. Some Realtors were actually born in a barn, and the Seller just has to deal with it.

If I were a buyer and a realtor took me to a home where the family didn't expect us (and had a napping child and mom!), I would feel just terrible. Honestly, I think it would tarnish my opinion of the realtor and even become my foremost memory of the house! - especially after viewing several. I would also feel rushed in the viewing. That does not sell a house and results in a waste of everyone's time! One simple, courteous call makes all the difference.

I would jave your realator communicate that you have a child that naps between such ans such time and that your timeframes really need to be respected. You need to be clear with your realtor that you he/she needs to stay on top of showings.

That's unacceptable. You can tell your realtor to put in your listing that if they are so many minutes late they have to reschedule and that you need so much lead time before a showing. I know that in this climate its hard to say no when you need as many people as possible to see your house, but to harm your family dynamic is also not an option.
It took 2 years to sell our house and that was two years ago in a neighborhood that was going down fast. Remember, all it takes is one buyer and the market is much better than it was two years ago!

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If I know Im going to be late, I call BEFORE Im late.

Even 5 minutes. Thats 5 minutes of someone wondering if you are going to show up and to me thats too much.

When I was showing my house, I required a 1 hour notice before showings because I have little kids.

That situation is just plain ridiculous. I would have a little chat with that agent. :) And not a nice one.

It depends on how important the appointment is. if it were anything to do with real estate i would've called as soon as i realized I would probably be late.
If it's something informal with friends or whatever, I will call once I'm about 15 minutes late.
Those people were RUDE.