Real Estate Evacuation Drill

Our realtor uses an automated appointment system to schedule appointments to view the house. It works very well, mostly.

Text of Appointment Message from Yesterday
Elkridge, MD
June 22, 2022

The quirk in the system is that it allows realtors to make appointments with very short notice. Yesterday, we received notice one minute before the appointment. The appointment notification came at 6:44 PM for a 6:45-7:15 PM preview, in the middle of dinner clean-up.

The ensuing activity became a Real Estate Evacuation Drill. Of course, we cannot be in the house when the realtor visits, furthermore, there cannot be any evidence that anyone is actively living in the home and especially no animals. We have three--two dogs and a cat that must be evacuated. 

The notification began race to clean up dinner and load the animals and their associated dishes and litter box into the truck and evacuate. We actually accomplished all of this in 8 minutes. 

After we were loaded in the truck we headed out to spend time away from the house. The really cool thing is that my home security system allows me to monitor the activity. That means I know when people arrive, the door is unlocked, and the motion sensors and door sensors allow me to follow their movement throughout the house. It is pretty cool. I also know when they leave and lock-up so that we can return. 

In the end, the realtor did not show! The activity became a Real Estate Evacuation Drill, and I believe we passed. The upside was that we deployed to the ice cream stand for a hot fudge sundae while the preview was supposed to be happening. 

I' m sure there is more fun to come!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD