Mustachian Real Estate Agents - I Have A Question!

[purplepants]

I am beginning to think about selling my house in the next year or two.  I have a weird question though.

Can I refuse to let a certain agent show my house? 

I...   this is weird.  Several years ago, I dated a man whose father happens to be a local realtor.  Long story short, that relationship ended with a restraining order and a police car parked outside my home every night for the next several months.  I still get notifications from the domestic violence court about updates to his criminal activity:

He has 7 pending court dates in 3 different counties for 11 different charges.
One of those charges is Felony possession of cocaine.
He is currently considered an absconder by the state and has a warrant for probation violation. 

His family has a history of enabling his criminal activity.  He has a history of stealing money, keys, passwords from his family.  He has a history of borrowing keys and making copies for his later use.  He is a Junior, and often uses his identification to get access to things that belong to his father, Senior. 

I do not want his father to show my home.  I don't want anything to do with his family.  I am concerned that he will gain access to my home, (with or without the consent of his father).  I'm concerned that his father will report back to him about the contents of my home or details of my present life. 

Is this a thing I can stipulate?  Or is my only recourse to move to a rental and wait to put the home on the market once all my belongings have been removed?

[MayDay]

I would ask a realtor in your city. In some places everything is done through an online system. In other places, the seller's agent goes to all showings.

If nothing else you could refuse a lock box and personally approve all showings and then be at the house to let the showing realtor in. Depends on how confrontational you want to be, I imagine. But I would guess your agent could handle it.

(Not a realtor)

[MrFrugalChicago]

Your agent can refuse to allow another agent to see it. If your agent won't do it, get a different one.

[thedayisbrave]

Hmm.  I think it would depend on what showing service the agents in your area use.  With most of them, you can set it up so that you have to personally approve each showing.  It's not completely weird to have the seller decline a showing, it's happened to me before because of schedule conflicts or mistakes so it's not out of the question.  I am a new agent (no listings yet) but I believe the listing agent (the agent you hire to sell your home) can have access to the showing agent's info, again depending on the system used.  We use Centralized Showing Service (CSS) in my area and I've set up showings through it and the listing agents have called me personally so I know that info goes to them somehow. 

So that would be your main obstacle.  Otherwise, there's nothing stopping you from declining a showing if you don't feel comfortable with it.

Hope that helps.

[purplepants]

Thank you for your responses, that's exactly what I needed to know before bringing up an uncomfortable conversation with the listing agent. 

I wasn't sure how showings were arranged, or whether it was OK (or even allowed) to say "Yeah, I don't want that agent showing my house."  The agent I would most likely use is with another large agency, so it's not like I'd be asking him to shut out an officemate or anything.

[arebelspy]

Just make sure your agent doesn't put a lockbox on there that any agent can use with the right code.

[Field123]

Your agent can refuse to allow another agent to see it. If your agent won't do it, get a different one.

Correct. It is up to the agent (and the client) to decide how they want to provide access. For a furnished unit that is still being lived in, it is customary for the selling agent to be present at all showings. When a buyer's agent wants to show a unit, they must request a showing and provide their name and realtor credentials.

My advice is 1) require your agent to be present at all showings (you can write this into the listing contract) and 2) give him/her specific instructions not to provide access to this individual.

Although if he's a fugitive, maybe schedule him for a showing and have the cops there waiting for him ;)