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Foreign buyers often assume we have lockboxes in Costa Rican real estate. Well, we don’t! Potential buyers assume real estate agents can make a showing appointment on the spur of the moment. Unfortunately, it takes more than just finding space on the realtor’s agenda.
We don’t have lockboxes in Costa Rica. Therefore, an agent needs more time to set up a showing that you would believe possible. Setting up showing appointments to look at homes and condos for sale for one day can take as long as 3 days!
Wikipedia defines a lockbox as
A real-estate lockbox is a padlock-shaped box that hangs around the doorknob of a house that is on the market. The device holds the keys to a house to allow communal access for all real estate agents while continuing to keep them secure.
Real estate agents in the United States use a lockbox for each of their listings. The “Scarsdale Keybox” was the very first lockbox invented in 1934. Since then, they have not been the same. Lockboxes can now supply data, performance stats, and even chats. Now, lockboxes are “intelligent” and managed through an app.
No Lockboxes
There are several reasons why there are no lockboxes in Costa Rica
- An MLS in Costa Rica, where EVERY real estate agent is a member, does not exist.
- Sellers are reluctant to hang a lockbox on their doors (or elsewhere) for security reasons.
- There are too many listing agents involved in open listings. Sellers rarely sign an exclusive listing agreement with a realtor.
- Lockboxes are usually controlled by Realtor Associations or Multiple Listing Services (MLS).
- The box must be imported if a seller or landlord wants to use a lockbox. They are not available on the Costa Rican market. Sellers must invest in a lockbox to make the house accessible to all agents. Lockboxes cost between $20 and $150 + $25 for a key reader. Cards are usually leased at an additional cost, and sellers need one for every listing agent.
- Sellers and landlords want to control showing hours. For example, you can set a showing time on a lockbox from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Showing appointment
Since there are no lockboxes in Costa Rica, every time an agent requests a showing, there are several matters to be taken care of
- The buyer’s agent must call the seller’s agent to ask for an appointment
- The seller’s agent calls the seller to see if someone can open the house.
- Therefore, we have to work with four agendas: the buyer’s, the buyer’s agent’s, the seller’s, and the seller’s agent’s.
- Agents usually give a set time of arrival. However, the buyer or tenant sometimes runs late because locals are often not very punctual.
- Knowing how long a buyer needs to look at a house is challenging.
- Calculating the time needed to drive from one house to another due to traffic is even more difficult.
- Now the seller gets uncomfortable and doesn’t want to wait for the buyer to show.
- A new showing appointment needs to be set up, and the story starts all over again. This drives the real estate agent crazy, so lockboxes would be a great solution.
Internet-enabled lockboxes
Real estate agents in Costa Rica do not know what they’re missing because we do not have a well-organized MLS. There are so many advantages to having an MLS that uses a tool such as InfoSparks. This tool can be used through internet-enabled lockboxes. It enables agents and offices to review performance stats in reports and charts generated using MLS data.
These internet-enabled lockboxes even use heat maps of showings to determine a neighborhood’s popularity. This can give agents an edge in designing marketing plans and determining property pricing.
Buyer’s agents can factor the number of showings a listing had into their negotiations on behalf of their clients. Unfortunately, we are light years away from this type of technology.
Perfect world
In a perfect world, even with lockboxes, there are still problems. I have found a few complaints that show that the lockbox, while a handy tool, is not perfect either:
- Buyers’ agents say that listing agents are lazy (what else is new). The reason is that they don’t label the lockboxes and put the keys in them.
- Another common complaint is that agents keep using the factory-set code, which is easy for anyone to open. Most lockboxes can be hacked; check out this YouTube video.
My opinion
Real estate in Costa Rica is 20 – 30 years behind other countries. The Costa Rican real estate boards do not seem interested in learning how other countries solve simple problems like an MLS and lockboxes.
Real estate boards have been self-serving, and changes will not happen until real estate licensing becomes mandatory. That’s why the American-European MLS is a great solution for real estate news and property searches, although we don’t use lockboxes either.
