Reasons to Review Sacramento MLS Before Showing

Always review MLS for status before showing

The good news is this morning the elk head that was sitting in my family room has gone to its new home at the Elk’s Lodge in Sacramento. Sometimes I feel like my life is a TV sitcom. As though I am but a mere viewer, sitting on a stool at a bar, glass of bourbon in hand, neat, and watching the goofy antics of some other Sacramento Realtor and not myself.

The bad news is I had 2 cancellations to deal with before the sun rose, but like my blog of yesterday, good news is often on the tail end of bad, and one of those cancellations is back in escrow with a new buyer. That home never saw the light of day back in MLS because I keep meticulous records of interested parties. When one collapses, another can slide right in.

My client who shot the elk will get a nice donation letter from the Elk’s Lodge, which she can most likely use as a tax deduction on her income taxes because she technically made a contribution to a charitable organization. Even if the elk did park itself temporarily to live on my family room floor. And thousands of US Service women and men can now appreciate Elkie daily. It is a fitting home for him.

I wish I could solve all of the problems we face in Sacramento real estate like this. The most pressing issue lately has been real estate agents and Sacramento REALTORS who do not read the MLS property information sheets they print. It seems like such a simple thing to do, just read the property data and the confidential remarks. If there are attachments to MLS, download them by clicking on the paperclip. Yet, I’d venture to guess that at least 1 out of every 3 agents do not.

The worst violation is showing instructions. They don’t seem to know that Call First Lockbox means call the seller (and not the agent) when the seller’s name and number are listed. If we meant Call Listing Agent, then that box would be checked instead, and the instructions would be Call Listing Agent. But that can be ambiguous if the listing agent doesn’t complete the listing correctly as well. The worst showing instruction violation, though, is when the buyer’s agent just sails into the house without calling, and it’s occupied. Hello?

I want to get down on my hands and knees and plead, please please read MLS showing instructions. Don’t use the Supra lockbox and unlock the door if you haven’t read the instructions for showing. Because you know who the seller blames when this happens? I lost a listing last week because a seller completely freaked out when an agent did not call and tried to enter his home unannounced. It almost makes me want to go back to the days of no lockboxes, when you had to pick up a key at the listing office.

If in doubt, review the MLS before entering a home. It’s that simple. Just double check yourself. While you’re standing near the lockbox, read the instructions one more time. I realize the MLS app for the iPhone 6 Plus seems messed up but it can work in a browser window like Safari. Believe it, many buyer’s agents are using worthless apps to access information from their mobile devices (like Trulia and Zillow), but only MLS shows the correct information. Please use it.