Adam's Sunday Policy Details
Updated: Mar 20
Listing % dates of entry into REIN MLS 5 week sample
The Basics of Adam's availability
As shared on my hours page: "I value availability and saving my clients as much time and money as possible, whether buying or selling. I work around my clients' time frames & am typically available 9-5 & 6-7:30 EST Monday through Saturday unless I have an appointment already although in some cases I'll make exceptions for earlier or later. I've started showings with buyers as early as 6 AM & finished after 9 PM on some occasions. While not typical, for the sake of an offer, where speed is critical, I have worked until after midnight at times."
I still respond to limited urgent matters on Sunday & urgent matters after 7:30 PM Mon-Sat. For instance, I encourage buyers to reach out regarding showings that day if one of the rare cases where a property is listed on a Sunday. With urgent matters on Sundays, keep in mind that my availability will be most limited from 8-11:30 or 10:15-1:30 typically due to church, depending on which service I go to.
Why Sundays may be the best day for me to take off for buyers
In a 5 week sample I pulled, Sundays had 1/47th of the new listings input, & Saturdays only had 1/20th.
In addition to Sunday being the day of the week when the least properties are put on the market, it's also the day of the week with the least accurate properties on the market, when many properties that appear available aren't really. The reasons for both the inaccuracy of Sundays & the low volume of properties input on Sundays go hand in hand. Many agents, myself included, do not have MLS input rights. People like me and most agents at my firm rely on those with MLS input rights to input, revise, & take down listings. Our MLS coordination team of 2 people are dedicated to MLS entry, and since that's their area of specialization, know far more about doing so than a typical agent, reducing the number of fines from breaking MLS rules and otherwise. The MLS entry team's normal business hours are 9-5, Monday through Friday. Because of that, if a property goes under contract Friday at 5:01 PM, it's unlikely to be processed until Monday morning after 9 AM. While Sundays are the least accurate full day, Monday mornings before 9 AM, especially before 8 AM since MLS input entry teams hours vary, are also one of the most inaccurate times to look at whether or not listings are under contract.
Sunday is the worst day for sellers to list
According to multiple sources including Her Money, Sunday is the worst day to list a house. Reasoning why, depending on the source, include longer market time and lower price.
Taking a day off each week is backed by the data to make people better than if they worked 7 days a week
While the origin of my reasoning is faith, taking at least a day off each week is backed by statistics to be more effective in the remaining 6 days 1,2,3.
How one spends that day of rest can be done effectively or ineffectively. Here is how I spend mine typically. Here is more of me sharing about time management from a faith-based perspective, with a day of rest being a critical component of my time management strategy.
Origin of my Sunday policy
I believe that it's critical to take my Christian faith and my own family seriously. I have significant reason to have faith, and my faith is such that I believe that I should be taking off one day a week to observe Sabbath, though the exact day of the week doesn't have to be Sunday. It so happens that church services are also on Sunday, and Sunday is the ideal day for real estate in my opinion, so that's the day I take off.
In the event that my faith preferences are a concern due to negative experiences with Christianity, please note this recommendation by an atheist on my Linkedin profile that should alleviate some concerns.
Examples of Urgent Matters on Sundays in my dealings with:
Buyers
1. Showing requests when a property has come on the market for the first time late Saturday night or on Sunday. Expeditious showings are very important for buyers. Keep in mind that I'll be unavailable for showing on Sunday, but can either arrange for another agent to show it to you on Sunday & I can do Sunday offers in these cases remotely.
As long as not too distant from the bulk of our agents, these are typically agents with even more experience than myself, though I wouldn't consider it a superior showing vs what I can do despite that so it's important if doing a video showing especially for me to do a second before an offer or after contract ratification during a home inspection window. I frankly have a very high opinion of my showings vs. what other Hampton Roads agents can offer, and the role of the agent is even greater than typical in video showings. In 2022 there was an occasion where a buyer saw a home with a better-rated (by volume of ratings with similar top scores) agent who was also more experienced than me that I arranged for them on a Sunday with offers in on the property and the buyer not noticing the property until Sunday, but because the agent filling in for me didn't point out nearly as many positives and negatives vs what I do (I point out far more negatives than the vast majority of agents & take a much more vocal and educational approach to showings than most) they missed a number of negative elements of the property. I did a video walk-through for them, but because they missed the live video that we had previously arranged and didn't watch all of the recorded videos I did for them prior to signing off on the home inspection, they were very surprised when they got to the home and saw for the first time a number of negative elements that I had previously pointed out via video.
Alternatively, I can arrange for a showing on a later day, as early as 6 AM Monday morning in some cases if the property is available then. Keep in mind as well that if the property has been on the market since at least Friday or earlier, MLS accuracy will be the worst on Sundays through Monday morning at 9 AM, so some properties that appear available on MLS won't be. One of the reasons why is that not all agents have input rights into MLS, so many agents, myself included and most agents at Garrett Realty Partners, are unable to input new listings or make changes on Saturday or Sunday. That's also why Saturdays and especially Sundays have the least new listings by far vs any other day of the week. Those with input rights are often M-F 9-5ers.
2. Initial offer responses
3. Buyer client of mine requesting my extensive offer spreadsheet for information on offers & where they can share their offer preferences if desired and if they have a property in mind to make an offer on. An example of when this spreadsheet would be beneficial on a Sunday would be after seeing a property with another agent that I arranged for them after the listing came on the market on a Sunday when no other offers are present yet & verbal discussion can occur Monday morning (i.e. 8 AM Monday often if desired & I have no other appointments at that time).
4. Acknowledging an initial buyer text or voicemail inquiry (in some cases, but not all, engaging in brief discussion over the phone) & alerting them that I will be able to get back to them about a non-urgent matter on Monday, including requesting a time Monday to discuss.
5. Questions that come in from Buyers on Sundays regarding a property with a Monday deadline on an offer or Property Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum
Buyer's Agents
Showing requests where a buyer agent reaches out to me on a Sunday on one of my listings as well as questions related to the showing request that could impact whether or not a showing occurs (i.e. asking about use of photo/video, offer activity, flood zone info, etc.). I'll typically want to respond to any questions posed prior to a showing request on a Sunday since the answer to each question could impact the desire for the property to be shown.
Initial offer responses
Acknowledging an initial buyer agent text or voicemail inquiry & alerting them that I will be able to get back to them about a non-urgent matter on Monday
Questions that come in from buyer's agents on Sundays regarding a property with a Monday deadline on an offer or Property Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum
Responding to a request for a referral via text or voicemail including letting them know that I'll be unable to speak to the buyer at length until Monday (morning typically)
Listing Agents
Showing requests when a buyer has reached out to me about a property on a Sunday or late Saturday night as well as questions related to the showing request that could impact whether or not a showing occurs (i.e. asking about use of photo/video, offer activity, flood zone info, etc.).
Initial offer responses
Acknowledging an initial listing agent text or voicemail inquiry & a request to discuss matters further on Monday
Questions that come in from listing agents on Sundays regarding a property with a Monday deadline on an offer or Property Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum
Responding to a request for a referral via text or voicemail including letting them know that I'll be unable to speak to the buyer at length until Monday (morning typically)
Sellers
If a buyer or buyer's agent reaches out about showing one of my listings, I will respond within minutes or hours, not waiting until the next day unless the inquiry is very late or obscure (i.e. an 11:59 PM email). One heavily related concept, while rare, are cases when an unrepresented buyer shows up unannounced to one of my listings and the seller reaches out to me alerting me of that. In those cases, I can either show the property myself on a Sunday or arrange for another agent to show it to them.
Property Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum deadlines on a Sunday when not all items from estimates are in until Sunday
Offers that come in on a Sunday & Initial offer responses
Questions that come in from Sellers on Sundays regarding a property with a Monday deadline on an offer or Property Inspection Contingency Removal Addendum
Acknowledging an initial seller text or voicemail inquiry (in some cases, but not all, engaging in brief discussion over the phone) & alerting them that I will be able to get back to them about a non-urgent matter on Monday, including requesting a time Monday to discuss.
Securing a property whose security has been compromised on a vacant property (i.e. if a contractor or buyer's agent left a door open, which is rare, but has happened before).
Restoring the accessibility of a home (i.e. a newer agent in November 2022 was too unfamiliar with accessing REIN lockboxes and attempted to improperly secure it, so I was informed Sunday morning & I went out to the home Sunday morning to use a tool to open it, got it working fine, and performed a showing to a prospective buyer who happened to be passing by who asked if he could see it while I was still at the property.
Responding to an emergency at the listing
Clients that Regularly Need an Agent on Sundays
As shared above, I can typically have an agent fill in for me when needed on Sunday for anything in person needed then such as a showing to an unrepresented buyer who wants to see a property on Sunday. While not as big of an issue for my seller clients, in limited cases, some buyer clients may work best with an agent that works on Sundays. For instance, if you work 12-hour shifts from 9-9 Monday-Saturday, and Sunday is your only day off, you may want to work with a different agent than me who works on Sundays.
If you are a buyer or seller & need to regularly communicate on Sundays, let me know since there are other agents, including some at Garrett Realty Partners, with different policies, whether they work 7 days a week despite the negative impact (1,2,3.) or whether they take a different day or 2 off each week.