House for Sale...

Well, we had a showing yesterday...spent ALL day just clearing up the 'little' stuff that was around (see Hurricane Christmas post!). When it came time for the showing, I packed up Maya, Porter and Molly (during nap time, no less) and headed into town to drive thru for some food (since I didn't eat breakfast or lunch yet)! I drive back to the house, now about 10 minutes after the 'showing time' and see that they haven't arrived yet...so I park in the driveway of a nearby house that's also for sale (new construction that's been on the market for a year and a half) and watch for them to arrive while I eat and the kids are watching a movie. I see the SUV pull in...okay, great. I wait about 15 minutes and head back to the house to catch a glimpse of the car, and I notice it was already gone. Well, I think to myself, that wasn't long enough to see the house, so maybe it wasn't them and I obviously missed the car leaving while I was eating.

I pull into my driveway and decide to run in and see if the other realtor has left the tell-tale business card on the kitchen counter to indicate that they were here. I don't even get that far...I'm locked out. Guess they were here. They toured the house in about 10 minutes. I spent FIVE hours picking up and cleaning and trying to follow kids around to keep it clean. TEN MINUTES.

I realize that everyone that looks is a potential buyer. BUT - it should take longer than 10 minutes to walk through my house. I didn't eat. The kids didn't get naps (which has LOADS of ramifications!). But I never turn down a showing. I felt like those buyers and that agent didn't respect my time or that of my family. We have pictures of just about every room online, as well as room dimensions. You can drive by and pick up an info sheet. TEN MINUTES??!?!?!? Why bother.

So, thanks to my friends Joy and Amy for going out with me last night, and my dear babysitter Erica for giving up another few hours on a Friday to help keep me sane. There has got to be a better way to sell houses.