Thanks, Technical Reinforcements!

Now, THAT's Service

One of the biggest emergencies a Realtor can have is to have scheduled showings and a waiting client -- and no way to get into homes because their SmartKey is malfunctioning.

That wasn't quite my predicament late this afternoon -- my showings are scheduled for tomorrow morning -- but close enough.

James Allard at Technical Reinforcements arranged to be available by phone at 7:30 p.m. tonight, and remotely walked me through a problem with my proxy server setting ("proxy server what??") in less than 10 minutes.

Problem solved, showings saved.

Total cost?

$0 -- Technical Reinforcements doesn't charge existing clients (I am) for phone support.

All the company asks for in return is some positive word of mouth.

Done!

P.S.: the service I got was no fluke: Technical Reinforcements is the top-rated company on Angie's List locally for "Computer Repair & Services."

Lockbox Combo's

Playing Favorites

Name a Realtor active around the City Lakes, and I'll tell you what their favorite lockbox combination is (I could . . . but I won't.)

Huh?

Although it may not be so smart from a security standpoint, it's actually common practice for veteran Realtors to pick a standard lockbox combo -- at least for their mechanical lockboxes -- and stick to it.

That's because an established Realtor can easily have 8-10 simultaneous, active listings.

Common Sense & Trade-Off's

Having 8-10 corresponding, unique codes complicates placing and collecting all those lockboxes (imagine having that many passwords).

It's also more logistically complicated to share unique codes with clients, who will often use the lockbox themselves to let contractors or others gain access while they're prepping for market, or even after they're for sale.

Which is another reason why mechanical lockboxes have (some) advantages over the electronic kind: for one, the latter require a "smart key," which only licensed Realtors typically have.

Personally, I think common sense and practical considerations are fine; I don't necessarily see a problem with a "standard" code, so long as it's not the Realtor's initials or something else obvious.

(And you can surmise from how prevalent the practice is, that no one's been "bitten" -- yet -- by doing it.)