As I was reading another blog on showing instructions, I was reminded why I do some things the way I do them. Every agent I know seems to have a story about walking in on someone naked while showing homes. Let's face it, there are times when you're just not able to respond, no matter how loudly the agent yells upon entering your home.
There's also the fact that, though they are more desirable for tracking access to your home, electronic boxes are not always perfect. They are machines after all. More than once, I have had agents call on my listings to tell me they couldn't get the electronic box to open. And I've had the same experience when showing other homes -- no matter how hard I tried, that darn box wouldn't cooperate. It doesn't do us any good if the sellers have tidied the home, packed up the dogs and the kids and gone off for a long drive, only to return and find out that the agent couldn't get in because the box wouldn't open. Talk about a "hot" seller!
Because of experiences like this, I now utilize a two lockbox system -- one electronic and one combination. The sellers and I know the combination for use in emergencies when the electronic box doesn't work (or the sellers lock themselves out -- why does that always seem to happen when the house is on the market?). I place both boxes on a heavy duty bicycle chain (also with a combo that only the sellers and I know) and hang it on the rail. If, for whatever reason, the sellers need to be assured that nobody will walk in on them while they're indisposed, they can pull the whole system off the rail and bring it inside. My sellers appreciate having the ability to control access quickly and easily. And if an agent can't get the darn electronic box to open, s/he can call me and I'm able to get them into the house via the combination box.
It's my way of "thinking outside the box" and it has worked very well for me.
