Q: Am I required to respond to showing requests?
A: Yes. The home should be ready to show within 24 hours of being published on the MLS and the MLS requires a seller to respond to showing requests promptly. We suggest that you respond to inquiries within 24 hours if not sooner. Please also note that your home must be made reasonably available for showings. We suggest that you make it available within 48 hours of an inquiry unless there are special circumstances to consider.
Q: Do I have to be present at all showings?
A: No. When you create your listing, you provide us with showing and access instructions for the property. Whether you want to be present at showings is up to you. You can opt to show the home yourself, or if you prefer not to be on the property for a showing, you can instruct buyers and their agents to access the property using a lockbox.
Q: Can I list someone other than me as the Showing Contact?
A: Yes. The Primary Showing Contact will receive all emails and phones calls to inquire about showings. You can also list a Secondary Showing Contact; this will only be shown to agents in the MLS as a backup method of contacting you.
Q: Can I deny a buyer's request to view my property?
A: MLS guidelines require that when the property is listed on the MLS, it must be available for showings. However, you are not obligated to accept every request if it doesn't work for your schedule. Say you are out of town and a buyer wants to access your property without an agent via lockbox. You do not have to accept this request if you prefer that yourself or an agent are present on the property. However, you must propose a new date & time for the showing within 48 hours. If you must decline showing requests, please propose an alternate time/day to the requester.
Also, keep in mind that showings can only be denied & rescheduled based on your availability to show the home -- NOT any characteristics of the buyers, including classes protected by the Fair Housing Act, or whether or not a buyer has an agent.