It must be insurance month. The other day I posted about a new insurance product specifically for open houses. Today I see one about lock boxes. Although I agree that placing a listing on a lock box has some risks, I haven't seen an insurance offering for listings on a lock box before. I don't use lock boxes, so I am not so worried about the insurance. But, having a few listings on lock boxes listed by other companies can make showing homes a little easier.
The electronic lock boxes were tried here, but never took off. We accompany all our real estate showings so we can hear comments, get feed back, and so we know who is actually going in. Many agents here and off-Cape will give a non-agent the lock box code so they don't have to actually show the house.
I hope it doesn't come down to requiring more insurance for things like this. Accompanied showings can slow down looking at homes a little, but it does make getting information not in the listing, less difficult. I guess if some of the foreclosures that are on lock boxes weren't, they'd still have their copper pipes.
Happy Selling and Listing!
Heath Coker, Owner of Cape Group Real Estate
www.CapeGroup.com / capegroup@capegroup.com
508-548-8888 Licensed in MA
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What will they think of next? I have already had insurance companies cancel homeowners insurance just because the house was vacant.
I have had one try and make a claim on a current policy, only to be rejected because the house was unoccupied. Now we need insurance for the insurance. LOL
I go to all of my showings too and think it makes a big difference. I've just started listing REO's and the banks require them whether I'll be there or not...
Yeah, boxes on bank reos make them easier to show. There is a company here that "works" with a lot of reo stuff. If there weren't lock boxes on them, they would keep the showings to themselves. The low prices get a lot of attention.