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Sounds like a great house for bidding low! I care about the "bones" of a house and the general layout. The surface mean little to me. Lucky the realtor is making it easy to bid low.
It's pretty interesting, but I have to wonder if people are just giving up; it has to be stressful to go month after month without an offer while you're keeping the place spic and span (I'm hoping that this was the case here, because it's hard for me to believe too that anyone would market their place in this condition).
I agree with wetdawgs - if you're interested, put in a low ball offer. You'll probably get it. I've been watching homes hit their one year mark this summer and people are taking all offers at this point.
make sure you put "remove all dog feces from property" in the agreement of sale! who wants to do that? (not the owner, apparently)
I second Neat Freak. Stressing about keeping a house sparkly clean with three cats living there is beginning to drive us nuts. Makes me wonder if it's worth it. Maybe some people have decided it's not.
I agree with Wetdawgs too. When I see a house like that I'm actually excited; what a great opportunity! Sears offers reasonably priced carpet cleaning and tile/laminate is both cheap and easy to lay yourself in the really bad rooms. As for dog feces I'm pretty sure they'll completely biodegrade into a natural compost over the next year, and you won't be out there much over the winter anyway. With fall and spring overseeding the problem should take care of itself.
So the big question: did you like the basic layout of the house and property?
dog feces can contain things like listeria, which isn't dangerous to dogs, but can be to humans. (don't get me wrong, i love my dog. just don't love the end result of feeding him) having a whole yard full of them is a safety hazard. besides, most cities have rules about that. if she buys the house and just leaves them there and someone calls the city, she could be fined and then have to move them anyway.
of course, a hopelessly out of date house is a joy to me, too! it's an opportunity to get a steal and make it exactly what i want.
my own what not to do story: house in a desireable section of the city we live in for the low end of normal prices for the size. (keep that in mind- low end of normal.) it was obviously owned by an old man who either died after a protracted illness or was deep in alzheimers and sent to a nursing home. i say this because it hadn't been cleaned in at least a decade. every surface- hardwoods, carpets, counters, sinks, walls, light fixtures, radiators, etc.- was black with dirt. it was caked on, rubbed in and everywhere. walking through the house made me feel dirty. the bottoms of my shoes left black marks on my car floors afterward. the big, much talked up den was filled with stuffed, as in taxidermied!, animals. including a bear! a big, black, freaking stuffed bear!
and there, in the grimy kitchen, was a beautiful, well-dressed, desperately upbeat agent trying to throw fact sheets at people as they left. i wonder if the family told her the house was in that condition, or assured her it was clean?
I thought the house was priced according to better quality comps in the neighborhood. No one was giving it away for sure (according to asking price). We weren't interested in buying it because after being inside, it was smaller we were looking for (not much bigger than the townhouse we are in now). I never did find out the exact square footage. Hopefully if it meets someone's needs they will get a good deal on this house. Being a seller, I know the effort that goes into preparing for our open houses/showings, and I was just shocked that a realtor, who is supposed to be an expert, would have an open house every weekend and not do any preparation for it. Maybe you guys are right - he just threw in the towel. I just wonder if the people who hire him as their listing agent or buyers agent know anything about his lack of effort with his own home.
Wow - what a mess to see! Wonder if he has sold it yet? NOT!
no, i check the mls every week just to see.
the other open house story i have involves the crazy russian. this house was in the primo section of the city i live in but priced to move. so, we got to the open house early, and salivated as we waited. (we did not go in early. that's rude.) it was so cute from the street. freshly painted cape cod, new windows, new roof, beautiful landscaping, quiet street. we go inside, and there's the real estate agent, and an older man sitting next to a table with a half empty bottle of vodka on it. he was the owner! he followed us from room to room, obviously drunk. he refused to let us open closets, wouldn't let us in the master because the rugs had just been cleaned.
the agent followed us out of the house begging us to reconsider, trying to explain away her behavior. finally, my husband turned around and said, "you're never going to sell that house with that crazy bleep at showings no matter how good the price is. forget it!"
LOL!!!! That was the best laugh I have had in months amaryllism! Thank you so much. With all of the houses we have seen, around 25, I have never come across anything as close as the crazy russian. Some pretty nasty homes for sure but never that .
yeah, he was something. i still haven't figured out if he didn't really want to sell the house, if he was normal sober, or if that is considered acceptable open house behavior in russia
I previewed a place for a client a few months ago during the noon hour on a Saturday...nice couple living there, nice place. The husband was as drunk as a skunk while I went through to take pics for my client and he talked, and talked, and talked...I didn't mind, just carried on the conversation like everything was ok....I looked at the kitchen counter, saw two empty wine bottles, corks next to them, and told the guy I was really angry he didn't offer me anything so we could talk on the same level. He looked down, apologized and said he drank it all. His wife had a good laugh. They both cleared out when I brought the client through a few days later. Ah, well......
The agent that had this own house being held open by his son should have been reprimanded by his local MLS (if they were advised about it) since non-agents in most states are not allowed to do this kind of thing. I'm an agent in WA State and that would NOT be acceptable here. It also seems that the agent was not a "professional" in the sense that most of us - the people who make real estate our primary and ONLY business.
Had this person had the proper training and oversight this never should have happened. It's unfortunate that it did.
Regarding the notes about the Crazy Russian house: For one, most people in Russia don't own their own homes. So, it would not be "normal" behavior there.
For those folks that wonder if keeping a house neat is worth it when going on market - IT IS!!! Granted, it can be a nerve-wracking experience if you're on "forever" or it feels like it, but if you are priced right, look good, and can feel confident that you are the best value for the money in your price range, it is worth it to keep it up. You'll get more for your house, for sure.
Oh, and that brings me to another point... If you have pets (and I have 4), a good way to help eliminate smells in the home is to make sure and wash all the pet bedding before going on market and to regularly do so while on market. I've got clients that just try to put masking odors in place like scented candles, plug-ins and such but DO NOT use these. The best smell your house can have is to be CLEAN, not covered up in scents. For people with sensitive noses or allergies the scented stuff can be a major turn off or make them ill.
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Open House - what not to do!
heatherandjohn
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My husband and I went to an open house last weekend. We are looking to buy a house after we sell our townhouse because we want more space. I saw a house with open house signs practically every weekend, so I decided to drive by. I thought it might be a good deal since it had long grass with weeds. I wondered if it was a short sale or if no one lived there since it didn't look cared for at all. When we went to the open house, there was a teenage kid running it. He told us that his father was the owner as well as the listing agent. I asked him a question about the square footage of the house, he said that he didn't know but it should be on the mls sheet (it wasn't). He pointed out some ugly crown moulding, some marble around a dated 70's fireplace, and a nice hardwood floor that was only in one room. He proceeded to follow us around and rush us through the whole house. I wouldn't say the house was dirty, but it was not neat. It looked lived in since there was stuff laying around everywhere. In the bathroom, there were toothbrushes and various bottles scattered on the counter. In the basement there was a large stinky dog in a cage who was not happy to have a stranger in the house. The backyard was covered with this dog's large dried feces. I was really surprised that a realtor selling his own home would not make more of an effort to make the house more appealing. We thanked the kid for showing us the house, signed the sign in sheet and left. The listing agent/owner has called us twice now, inviting us to come and see the house again or make an offer. It is almost unbelievable.
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