Posted by MIRELA MONTE on February 23, 2009 at 11:01am
Agents Using Cheap Lockboxes: A Legal Liability Waiting to Happen?Our MLS lockboxes are very expensive - they cost just above $100. They are computerized lockboxes that take a reading of every agent showing the property. The listing agent can get on the Supra Website (the Lockbox Vendor) and ascertain exactly when the property was shown and the agent who showed it.The agent's name, telephone number and e-mail address is included, so the listing agent can quickly follow up on the showing and see how it went. Staying on top of the showings has been very beneficial to me as a listing agent. Possible problems are ascertained early on and corrected. Objections are addressed promptly and offers are encouraged more efficiently.Our MLS lockboxes are extremely safe: they are programmed to allow access into the property only between 9am and 9pm. Unless the person trying to gain access to the lockbox is a registered, active board member in good standing, he will not be allowed to penetrate the lockbox, which is indeed impossible to break into. Each agent is assigned a special Supra Key that has several layers of pass codes and protections, so that a lost key is virtually useless to anyone else other than the agent the key was issued to.In spite of all the advantages a computerized lockbox confers, many agents in our area do not use them due to their high cost, opting instead for the very unsafe lockboxes priced under $20 and easily available at most hardware stores. These cheap lockboxes have a code you can program for access, a series of three or four letters or numbers. If you give someone the code, they can come back again and again and gain access to the property at any time. If the numbers are not rolled back after the showing, any intruder can also gain access to the property.In my opinion these lockboxes are extremely unsafe, and I will not use them on any of my listings. They are a legal liability waiting to happen and I am perturbed by their frequent usage in our market area. I am amazed that some very expensive homes with high end furnishings have these flimsy lockboxes on. I wonder why the Sellers are not asking their Agents some hard questions...What are your thoughts on this subject?Mirela Monte, Your Myrtle Beach Real Estate Connection Join the Optimist Group!
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