By Warren McNeil

This recent cold weather has really made showing houses difficult. I am sure that other realtors can relate to experiences similar to mine. Just this past weekend I ran into a couple of interesting situations. First, on Saturday, I was showing a townhouse and the button on the screendoor was frozen solid. There was no way that I was getting in to show that house. Then I went to another condo and the lockbox was frozen. What a pain in the butt! . My client was very understanding but I was really disappointed that we had to go through these troubles. This is bound to happen though with the kind of weather we’ve been having lately (-20C). I am sure that in colder regions of Canada, they have it a lot worse then we have it here. If only we could carry around a portable hair dryer or heat gun. Or better yet, a lockbox that is impervious to cold temperatures. I think the dial lockboxes might be better then the push button or combo lock variety.

Another thing that can be very annoying is not knowing where the parking spots are. This is usually only a problem if the the parking spot markers are on the snow covered ground and visitor parking is full. We ran into that problem this weekend as well. All first impressions are lost when you have to park a block away and walk to the house in -20C frigid cold weather. That house better show like a new penny to win back some of the interest that was lost. Don’t forget, you still have to walk back to the car so any interest that was there, is lost again. It’s just a lose/lose situation. 

Then comes the discussion about safety. We all must be careful when showing houses in the winter. The roads can be treacherous so extra precautions needs to be made.

Some things to consider when showing houses on a bad wintery day 

* stay home and wait for a better day. This is a very safe option
* allow for extra time between showings
* be courteous to the seller and call the listing agent ahead if we are going to be late
* if the seller decides that we can’t show their house because we ran out of time, we should honour their decision

I always make sure that I allow for ample time between showings so that I can factor in road conditions. I have been fairly lucky with the time schedule because I don’t like to be earlier then the scheduled time. If I am going to be a bit late, I always call the listing agent to let them know that I am running late. I think a little courtesy goes a long way in this world. I find that fellow realtors and their clients are usually accomodating.

Well that’s enough of my rant.

Thanks for reading!