Can A Real Estate Agent Enter Your Home For Showings Without Your Permission?
You might be in the process of selling your home and with this comes the dreaded viewings and open houses. It's never a comfortable feeling to have strangers roaming through your house and even the real estate agent themselves can feel a bit intrusive. What if that agent enters your house without your permission to show your home to potential buyers? Is that ok? Are there other things they should or shouldn't be doing that you should know about?
Entry Without Your Permission
You want your agent to work hard to sell your home. After all, this is why you hired them and you would like for the sale to happen quickly. You know the agent needs to bring potential buyers to the home to see the house or even hold an open house so anyone off the street can take a look. They can't, however, simply enter your home any time they would like to.
Real estate agents must contact you before the showing to let you know there are interested parties who would like to take a look at it. You don't have to let them in at that point, you can arrange a time that's better suited to your needs. If you are at work and no one is home, you don't have to allow the agent inside if you are uncomfortable with it, and they are not supposed to enter if you have not given them that permission.
If you find out they did enter without asking or after you said you would like to re-schedule, you should call their broker and report the behavior. If you are fine with them entering at any time, you can put that in your contract or make a note of it in writing to protect both you and the agent in the future in the event that another person in the home is not aware of the agreement.
Other Areas You Should Know About
The majority of real estate agents are ethical and professional, and you should use one if you are selling your home. They have knowledge and skills that simply selling your home online won't grant you. There are other areas besides whether or not they can enter your home you should think about as well.
For example, real estate agents must maintain confidentiality about their clients and their clients' needs. While they must divulge the price of the house to potential buyers and other agents so the house can be sold, they are not supposed to tell buyers anything they know about you personally.