Of course, you must have seen the headlines earlier this month: Canadian realtor fined 15k for drinking milk from a carton in a seller’s fridge while showing the home.
This is clearly disgusting—especially because it happened during the pandemic to a seller who had already lost both her and her husband’s parents to COVID….
How did the seller know the realtor had drunk the milk? She had a Ring camera set up in the home to keep tabs on her unruly teens. She saw the whole thing unfold.
More and more homeowners have Ring and Nest cameras set up for personal security. While their homes are on the market they watch the footage to see what visitors to open houses and at private showings are doing.
The approach isn’t totally off center. There have been reports of belongings stolen during open houses. This is why realtors routinely warn sellers to remove or secure any valuables….
Hopefully, neither you nor your realtor are doing anything remotely as inappropriate and dangerous as eating or drinking food from a seller’s kitchen, but chances you are that you are having conversations you wouldn’t normally have if you knew you were being watched.
Pro tip: shelve any discussions about the pros or cons of a home and any debates about pricing and strategy for once you’ve left the home.