6 Ways Roombas Could Be Repurposed to Help Home Sellers and Their Agents (Besides Just Keeping the Floors Clean…)

Technology keeps changing the real estate game, but what if the next big thing for sellers and their agents wasn’t AI… but a Roomba? That’s right—the humble robot vacuum.

Researchers recently compiled a list of 104 ways robotic vacuums could be repurposed to do more than just chase dust bunnies. Sure, some of the ideas are far-fetched and may never make it past the brainstorming stage. But if researchers are really looking for creative ways to upgrade these rolling robots, home sellers and their listing agents could certainly add a few things to the list!

Here are six clever ways a robotic vacuum could come in handy while someone’s home is on the market:

1) Pet Wrangler

For listings with pets, it’s common for showing instructions to include a polite plea, such as: “Please don’t let the cat out.” But even the most alert agent can struggle with a determined escape artist. While they’re trying to let their clients in though a barely-cracked door, that cat is already plotting its exit.

So, since many pets are naturally terrified of robot vacuums, why not program one to cut them off at the pass and scare them away from the door long enough for the agent and buyers to come in through the door, without having to shimmy their way in.

2) Shoe Patrol

Even when it’s in the listing instructions, spelled out in the showing notes, and backed up by a little basket of booties near the door, some buyers ignore the simple request to take off their shoes while walking around the house.

It would be great to be able to program it to follow them around as a not-so-subtle reminder, and if they continue to ignore the hints, it should get progressively more aggressive and start bumping into their feet until they get the hint.

3) Feature Tour Guide

Even the best buyer’s agent isn’t going to know the house like the owner or the listing agent and can overlook a cool hidden feature. A well-trained Roomba could cruise over and politely interject itself into the conversation when it senses that the agent is overlooking a selling point.

4) Feedback Enforcer

Getting a buyer’s agent to give you feedback on how the showing went can be like pulling teeth sometimes. So rather than having to hound them with countless calls and text messages, just make it mandatory for them to give you feedback before they even leave the house.

Having the ability to program one of these to roll up and block the exit until the agent and their buyers provide some constructive feedback would be a gamechanger. And, if need be, perhaps it can follow them out the door and to the next showing until they do.

5) Key Keeper

Every agent has a story (or two!) about how they got home only to find a random house key in their pocket from one of the houses they showed that day. It’s embarrassing and a nuisance for the buyer’s agent, and it can get in the way of the seller’s house being shown in the meantime.

So having a little robotic assistant give agents a quick reminder to check their pocket before leaving could save everyone a lot of time and aggravation.

6) Timely Texts

Ideally, sellers leave the house to give buyers enough time and space to look around. What isn’t ideal is that sellers often drive aimlessly around town for 45 minutes just to make sure they gave them enough time.

Problem is, they never know exactly when to come back. So it’d be a huge plus if their robotic vacuum could scan the house to make sure the buyers are gone, and send a text letting them know it’s safe to return as soon as the showing wraps up!