Most realtors work evenings and week-ends, it's just the nature of the job that they show houses when buyers are off work. If she's not worried about a 6:30pm appointment time, why are you?

If you aren't planning to sell, why are you having her come by at all?

Seriously, please give her some gas money or something.

lol, she was adamant about coming by to give me an assesment on my house value.

She knows that i dont want to sell.

I would like to know and she doesn't have a problem coming so....... why not!

And i dont have a problem with her coming at 6:30, i just thought it strange with the recent killing of that female realtor.

I used to be a realtor. It's hard work. And it is an abuse of a free service to have her come to your home if you're not interested in selling.

As for safety issues, I used to give my husband info on who I was meeting, where I was going, etc., if I was going out at night. Particularly if the people weren't known to me.

**And it is an abuse of a free service to have her come to your home if you're not interested in selling.**

The OP did give the realtor fair warning (quote: "i told her that i had no intentions of selling").

It's still only a free service in the hopes of getting business. Based on my observations of sales people who work on commissions, she is hoping that the OP will change his/her mind upon hearing what the home is worth, or is just not being honest about not wanting to sell because most people wouldn't want to waste the time with a realtor if they didn't have it in the back of their mind to sell. Or at least is hoping for referrals.

If the OP truly doesn't want to sell or give referrals, I do believe it's an abuse of the realtor's time.

Of course, one might argue that a good realtor is always out trying to drum up business. The other argument, and a better one from what I've seen, is that a good realtor won't waste time on busy work that doesn't look like it will translate into a sale. So this could be a very hungry agent who could use her time better elsewhere. Or a really good one who is constantly drumming up business.

Either way, if it were me and I truly didn't want to sell, I'd give the gal a night off.

"The realtor said that she works "all kinds of hours" and that it comes with the job.
does anyone have any opinions on this? "

Some people choose not to live in fear of what 'might' happen.
There have been murders since the beginning of time and mankind has survived. It's just that now with everyone connected 24/7 we hear about it much more often.

tlbean2004, you ask some very strange questions in the forums around here. Once again I will suggest you ask the person you are talking about. In this case the "Lady Realtor".

tlbean, you would represent almost zero risk. You're focusing on her coming to your house when it's dark. In this case, darkness is no problem.

Realtors are vulnerable when meeting strange people at empty houses. The realtor who doesn't get ID in advance is meeting someone who may be using a false name and would have hope of committing a crime that the police can't solve. In your case, you've been identified and there's a paper trail with your name and address. The risk is there, but significantly less.

She sounds aggressive. You may have more to fear from her, than for her to fear from you.

Don't be surprised if she doesn't come alone.

Well, this is definitly not an "abuse of free service" since she knows that i dont plan on actually selling my house.

sasafras-"there is no such thing as a bumb question"
but in this case i guess there is such a thing as a "wierd" question.
Although, i dont think it's wierd at all!

If she doesn't come alone, who will she come with?

The danger seems to be in taking a client to an empty house to show it. Which is not what is happening here. I would assume she has googled your name and the address, has confirmed that you live there and don't have a criminal record. That's what I would do.

Are you scared to walk outside at night at 6:30? If not, then she shouldn't have a problem. If so, then that's not good for you, the realtor, or your property value.

You're the property owner of record, right? And she has a trail right to your door for any issues. It's the "browsers" of property that are usually the biggest risk, not a homeowner in their own home. Besides, tasers have gotten really cheap!

"Lady realtor?"

What year is this, again?

I've told many a clerk in a department store I was "just looking" but I'm sure they realized I wouldn't even be looking if I wasn't interested in buying something. Why waste her time and yours?

"Just looking" can also mean exactly that. I look in lots of stores with no intention of buying anything (and I don't).

The OP did tell the realtor she had no intention of selling but the realtor wanted to come over anyway. That was her choice to make.

The realtor has many reasons for keeping the appointment. She might bbe new to the area and wants to see as many properties as possible. Or she could be an old hand in the neighborhood and wants to establish a positive contact with a homeowner,

A realtor friend does plenty of these type of appraisals, knowing that the homeowner may come back to her in 6 months or a year or more when ready to take action. Or she may get a referral by impressing the not-interested homeowner who passes her name on to someone else. I can drive with her thru her neighborhood and she'll remark about each house, having been into almost all 625 of them over the last 30 years.

Since your are so obviously troubled by this woman coming to your house at night, the solution is simple. Cancel the appointment.

I would like OP to come back and share how the appointment went! :-)

It's not weird to wonder why someone would want to come alone, at night, to meet with a stranger in the stranger's home...you can never tell these days. I had to meet someone at a private residence (at night) recently to sign up my recently-adopted shelter dog for dental work through a nonprofit org...I felt weird and uncomfortable, I invited my friend to go with me. Turns out my feeling we entirely unfounded and everything went smoothly , but you just never know.

I do hope that ANYONE who is in the business of making calls to private homes of people they do not know would be prepared for the worst and have some self-defense training, man OR woman.

I would imagine, if nothing else, the realtor viewed this as an opportunity to network and leave some cards along with a good impression -- maybe OP isn't selling but she knows someone who IS, and will make a recommendation.

So, how did it go?

With sales you never know when you are going to make a sale and you need to get your name out there. A good sales person probably gives free assessments all the time. You never know when someone will say, my neighbor just told me they are thinking of selling, why don't I call them now for you?

Perhaps she is fairly new, and needs the practice.

I guess I'm a "Lady Realtor" (*snicker*) and I've been having to show after dark far too often since the winter darkness usually begins before people get off work. It's something we have to deal with.
What I've been showing is a really nice vacant townhouse to people who find it off Zillow, usually. Not a great scenario.

So what do I do? I do not carry concealed and believe that most Realtor scenarios (narrow hallways, stairwells, in and out of rooms) do not lend themselves to be able to protect yourself if you are relying on digging your weapon out of your handbag.

I talk to the gate guard after I go in and get the key and turn on the lights. He has my card and knows which unit I'm showing, and usually wanders down there to chit-chat with me because he's bored and I'm friendly.
I meet the prospect in the parking lot outside the gate, and take pictures of their ID and license plate and text them to someone who can help me (my husband usually, but if he's at work, my teammate) and they know the address where I am. I am required to call them in 30 minutes after sending. This meeting in the parking lot also gives me a chance to feel the person out. Most have been women and many have brought their kids. Nobody has balked at letting me check their ID.
If I know I'm meeting a man, I bring my 17yo son. He hates it because it's boring, but too bad for him.
I make the prospect walk ahead of me into every room, up the stairs, and never get between me and the door. It's not that difficult in a small condo to wave people ahead and point stuff out from the doorway.
After they leave, I lock the door and then go around to turn off lights and text that I'm fine and how the showing went. And I take a few minutes to talk to the gate guard before I drive off. (Bringing snickers bars to the guard has helped our relationship as well, but if someone doesn't rent this place soon, someone is going to start wondering what's going on between us!)

And, I'm getting a FirstSign to hold in my hand. Wish I had one a month ago, when I was checking on a vacant home and found the back French doors wide open, but none of these products that I've wanted have been available yet. (I specifically wanted one that called 911, not just one such as the Cuff that merely texts your friends)

Here is a link that might be useful: First Sign product

I'm another who doesn't see how it's an abuse of someone's time if they made the offer to come over, heard that the OP isn't selling, and still insisted on coming over anyway. Honestly as the homeowner I'd consider it a waste of my time that someone called me out of the blue and was 'adamant' about coming over. And if a stranger insisted on coming over, I'd be more concerned for my safety than theirs.

On the darkness thing, how accurate can an assessment be if she can't see the exterior or the yard(s)?

I too am curious to know how it turned out.

I don't think the "Lady Realtor" made the contact out of the blue, it was because from the OP - "Trulia sent my info to a local realtor and she is coming to my house tomorrow night at 6:30PM and it will be dark outside. She is coming to give me a free assesment on what my house could be worth. But it is just a free service and i told her that i had no intentions of selling, but she was welcome to come."

We will never know how it turned out! bean likes to just drop silly ideas on the GW and probably gets jollies seeing us respond and wonder. The ideas and responses are then lifted and re-offered elsewhere. I also can't imagine a proper assessment in the dark, but hey - the realtor won't be able to notice the sagging gutters at least!

This post was edited by sasafras on Wed, Feb 4, 15 at 22:19

LOL ok people, im back.
The lady came over and looked at the house and told me what would be a reasonable price to list it at.
It was a price lower by $9000 than what i brought it for 5 years ago.

She was really peppy and upbeat and very keen on any flaws she saw such as ceiling stains and drywall cracks.

Since i am not selling she told me that i can contact her in the future if i decide.

Very nice lady.

But how did she get your name and info? I look at homes on trulia

Often and none of the realtors here have said anything.

To see what my house could be worth on trulia, i filled out a form with personal information. They sent that information to the realtor and then she contacted me.