Congratulations. you have decided to sell your home in Northern VA!  You interviewed and found the perfect experience listing agent to get your home SOLD.  If you have hired the right real estate professional they are going to advise you the level of buyer access key to getting your house sold.

In my many years of experience selling real estate I have identified four pillars to achieving a successful sale. At the top of the list is price, strategic marketing, staging, and buyer access to view the property. There are many levels of access  you can offer potential home buyers and their agents, here are the basic choices.

Access Options:

Lockbox Access: (Shown by the Listing agent or Buyer agent)

Show Anytime – this allows buyers the ability to see the home as soon as they are aware of the listing, or at their convenience but usually only for homes that are vacant.

One Hour Notice Request by Text -  this allows buyers to see the home with minimal lead time and requested by the showing agent via Northern VA showing request system.  The text can be sent to the home owner and or the listing agent to approve.

By Appointment Only (Normally 24-Hour Notice) – this option requires buyers to schedule a time to see the home a day or more ahead of time.  This can be restrictive particularly to buyers who may have a time crunch or are tour many homes.

Limited Access  – This is the more difficult way to be able to show your house to potential buyers. (example: the home is only available on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at 2pm or for only a couple of hours a day)

No Lockbox Access:

By Appointment Only, Owner Providing Access –this option requires buyers to schedule a time to see the home a day or more ahead of time.  This can be restrictive since many individual schedules need to work including buyer, seller, and buyers agent.

By Appointment Only Listing Agent Providing Access –this option requires buyers to schedule a time to see the home a day or more ahead of time.  This can be the most restrictive since many individual schedules need to work including buyer, seller, listing agent and buyers agent.

The Lockbox:

The electronic lockboxes used in Northern VA by listing agents are usually more secure than the house itself, so rest assure you are safe.  Any agent wanting to gain access to the key inside the lockbox is required to have a key card or cell phone app and a PIN number.  The PIN number is required as additional security in case a non authorized person finds or steals an agents phone or key card.   These electronic lock box keeps track of everyone who access the box to retrieve the key and enter the home.  This allows for keeping track of who has toured the home as well as request feedback about the property.   The lock box can be set to only allow access during specific hours. (Example: My electronic lock box's will only allow me to open them between the hours of 9pm to 8am)

Lockbox on Luxury Listings?

Luxury listings in Northern VA can require their own rules depending on the price point.  A luxury home priced at $5,000,000 will have a much smaller pool of buyers making it more feasible for the listing agent to schedule and accompany every buyer tour by appointment only.   Luxury homes and condos also present a bigger target for lookey doos wanting to "dream build"  or people with more sinister motivations.  In order to minimize these concerns and at the same time not miss out on potential luxury home buyers, allowing access by appointment only with no lock box may be the way to go.

Bottom Line:

I remind each of my home sellers when they prepare their home for the market, "It's not about you, it's about the buyer".   This holds true when it comes to decided which level of access to allow home buyers and whether or not to offer lockbox access.  Serious home buyers will want to tour a listing as soon as possible as to not loose out on their dream home.  Making access to your home quick and easy, while remaining secure, is paramount to selling for the highest price and best terms.