The Open House
 

Went to an open house today. Beautiful golf course view, wonderful neighborhood, pool, hot tub, firepit, etc, dead bugs in the food cabinets, absolutely filthy refrigerator, yard was a mess, firepit full of leaves, female undies, etc piled in the closet.

Why would anybody show a house in that deplorable condition. A neighbor said the owner has 2 or 3 other houses in TV. I am still shaking my head at what I saw. :shocked::boom::ohdear:

Because some people just don't get it. Even if they do live like that, and who am I to cast judgement, one would think, if you are trying to sell your home, you would clean it out first and put it on display as a beautiful showplace. As I always say ... Unbelievable!!!!!!

You've got me thinking.......hmmmmm:ho:

What's worse are nosey neighbors who have no intentions of buying a house, but have to go to an open house in their neighborhood. Happened to us on more than one occasion when we were selling ours.

You know I have heard other people say that very same thing. My take is that some neighbors come to look because they are curious, or nosy as you put it, but some will tell others if you have a marketable house, friends or relatives that they would like to live nearby.

AND if you stayed on premise while the house is being shown, than that itself is not helpful to the sale. Most people leave.

Never stayed during a showing. Had next door neighbors tell us two couples we knew checked it out.

I agree, it's absurd not to have your home looking like a model home if you're selling.

But, having said that, I wouldn't let small, temporary, surface conditions like that deter me from buying a house that I like. You could even ask for the sellers to pay for professional cleaners to come in once they move out and before you move in.

Whoa! Wait a minute. What if what was observed was in fact after the owners straightened the place up for showing??
:duck:

So true Bare. Several years ago there was a gorgeous home on the Hacienda golf course for sale, unfortunately the original owner had a penchant for purple and violet colors. The whole house, even the tiled floors, counter tops and bathroom fittings was done in purple. The price was incredible and we have been kicking ourselves ever since.

We saw another one on Glenview where everything (yes everything) was blue, even to a blue tiled fireplace. Someone got a great buy.

I’ve attended many open houses. I’ve seen many dirty homes. My observation, the “dirty” homeowners fall into three categories. They simply don’t care. Or, they’ve been dirty their whole lives and no longer see the filth. Or, they believe themselves to be normal, average people, consequently everyone lives like they do.

[///

You're so right. I'm selling my NY home and since 30,000 people either know me personally or by name, the realtor has strict instructions:

No open houses, by appointment only
Qualified buyers only

Otherwise there would tons of "tourists" and "sightseers" plodding through the house.

LOL! No bugs in this house; no filthy refrigerator; no messy yard. However, it IS in a wonderful neighborhood, on the golf course, with a pool BUT no hot tub, fire pit, or ladies undies piled in a corner - LOL!.
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Come to this OPEN HOUSE on Sunday from Noon to 4pm
1074 Isle of Palms Path
off Canal Street near Bonita Blvd. gate.
914-263-6434 - or - bmurphypal@yahoo.com for info.
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https://www.dropbox.com/home?preview...olf+Course.m4v
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$555,000

:agree:

As long as the house is structurally sound and with no serious issues, one would be really foolish to let a great home go by, when it can be fixed with a good cleaning and painting.

No matter how beautiful a home one buys, one still has to modify it, to their own taste.

OMG - I didn't think of that!

Years ago, when looking to buy, we were shown a house. The husband, dressed in a not too clean tee-shirt, was lying on the couch, trying to see the blaring television set over his mountainous belly. The wife stayed on our heels despite the fact that we had the realtor with us. We lost count of how many times she proudly announced "And if you buy the house, this will be fixed before the closing. And if you buy the house, that will be fixed before the closing." Etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum!

Needless to say we did not buy.

This is very true. I once had a listing that I went back to 3 times before I would list it. They really didn't understand the principle of clean and de-clutter.

I have visited open houses having tenants living in them who did not want the houses sold. The cleanliness of the houses and their availability for showing revealed the tenants' motives.

Too, when the homeowners are upside down on their loans and their lenders are attempting to sell the homes with the owners still in residence the same issues frequently arise because the owners want to keep their roofs over their heads as long as they possibly can. Same for foreclosures.

You’re all correct in that it’s not only about cleanliness, décor plays a major role in whether a house sells today or next year, or next decade. There is a house for sale, and I believe it’s within the boundaries of TV where black is the theme of the day. Black walls, black countertops, black furniture, and the rooms that are not black are a very very dark brown. Come on people use some common sense. If you have weird tastes, and you know who you are – spend a few bucks and have the place painted a color that appeals to the masses, not the 0.0000000001%. I’m sorry to call people weird but black rooms, with black carpet IS weird.

a professional real estate broker should have told them this. the villages has many unlicensed salespeople. for the commissions available you'd think the salesperson would bring in a cleaning crew.

This couldn't be any farther off base. Obviously you haven't worked for TV Real Estate Sales.

My take on the original post is that, since the sellers are said to have several homes in TV, this one is probably a rental. And if you think that the higher the rent, the better the cleanliness/condition of the home, think again. Sometimes, the more people will pay, the piggier they are because they don't care about other people's property/belongings.

My cleaning people say that they clean out seasonal rented premier and designer homes that have been lived in for 3-4-5-6 months and greasy burned-on pots/pans were never scrubbed and are piled everywhere; oven was never even brushed out and had weeks of burned on spills, grease, pizza cheese etc; filthy-stained bedding never changed in months, and moldy towels.

Money can't buy class.

:loco:

This was being shown by an agent from the Villages sales force, he's not an agent I would want to sell my house.

Good point....I forgot to add that the grill in the country kitchen was filthy, looks like it had never been cleaned, lots of rust on the cover.

With all respect to this very good idea, can you imagine what would happen if a cleaning crew showed up or was EVEN SUGGESTED to a home that the owner thought was presentable?


Boy Howdy.

The messy, dirty condition of the interior can certainly be corrected with a good cleaning crew, and a fresh coat of paint. I think most people can look forward and imagine how it will look after some serious TLC.

My biggest concern and question is, if the home's interior is in this type of deplorable condition, what about the structure, mechanical equipment, appliances, etc. etc. If the owner doesn't care about showing a nasty interior did he also not care about the rest.

I would strongly advise a thorough inspection take place and make sure all those high dollar items are in good working order.

Also, I don't believe anyone mentioned the condition of the exterior.

Did I hear purple? Check out this 4-bedroom house outside of London. LOL

Four Bedroom Home Has Surprising Interior | SF Globe

I'm speechless and my eyes hurt.

The Villages has many very professional salespeople. One of them sold our last house.
Having been a Real Estate Broker, I can tell you that some sellers are open to suggestions to improve their home (staging, getting rid of extra items, painting neutral colors, etc.) and some sellers are VERY easily offended.

Wow! You can't Un see that.

Whoa. I agree. I think my right eyelid may have fused to my eyeball.