The Worst Nightmare for Buyer Agents in Sacramento

Buyer agents in Sacramento call for help when a lockbox won’t open.

This Sacramento Realtor deals with many buyer agents in Sacramento — and, even after we are in escrow, I might not recall the name of the individual buyer agent, especially if the transaction happens to be a long escrow, like, say, a short sale. We have about 6,000 agents who belong to our MLS. I do not know every agent in town. But sometimes, agents are so caught up in their own existence that they forget nobody but them lives in that tiny world. That world where everybody recognizes the sound of their voice. Except for me, por supuesto, because I have such a unique voice that most people, even if they can’t recall my name, recognize the sound and figure they must know me on some level. The only other person who sounds just like me is my sister, Margie. I once called in sick for her when she flew jets for a living and was off gallivanting elsewhere — the Flight Center crew who knew her thought I was her. Plus, imagine what fun my husband has when the two of us are together. He can’t tell who is speaking.

This particular caller, though? She didn’t really tell me her name.  I found it to be a little bit weird when my cellphone rang during breakfast on this weekend and the caller did not identify herself at first. Who was she? I have a lot of listings. Most buyer agents in Sacramento identify themselves by their full name and company name when they call. This buyer agent sounded very exasperated and upset, talked fast. “Well, we’re here and we can’t get in,” she cried. She became more agitated when I asked who she was and where she was. She pronounced the name of the street in such a way that I did not recognize it. She was a buyer agent, trying to do a home inspection. This was an inspection for a home that is not yet quite in escrow, long story, so it initially threw me for a loop, didn’t cross my mind. When I asked her to clarify, she spoke very slowly, explaining my role to me in an insulting manner, and I could hear her spit out words in disgust. Like the entire situation had irritated her so much she could barely force the words to depart from her lips.

I could feel her pain. This was a nightmare for her.

Once we laid the groundwork for who she was and where she was and what she was doing, I still could not understand why she could not enter the home. Hey, I’ve had lockboxes not work for me before. I’ve had keys break off in the seller’s lock. I’ve had keys not work because the lock was broken. I’ve opened the lockbox and found no keys in the box. All of these things are a nightmare for buyer agents in Sacramento. One of the worst things is trying to open a door and you can’t get inside.

It was her eKey. It did not work. This is why I do not carry an eKey. I do not ever want to find out my eKey will not work. My iPhone has its own quirks, and so do our cell towers. The one thing that has never not worked for me is a Supra Active Key. Sure, it’s another gadget to carry, it’s not as convenient as an eKey app on my iPhone, but it always works. The one time it might get stuck, it can be unstuck by poking a paper clip into the hole on the back of the Active Key. It is reliable. I like reliable. This buyer agent’s phone worked, though, because she called 3 times in a row to give me updates, in between my bites of scrambled eggs.

I assured her it was OK. Either a team member who lives nearby could open the door for her or the seller’s daughter could come back. No need to panic. Even on a weekend morning, I am available to help out buyer agents in Sacramento. It’s part of my full-service to my sellers.