Or could it be a lack of understanding? My husband and I are newer to the business and we are out checking the inventory everyday. Our goal is to see 5 properties a day or more. We have been very shocked and saddened by what we have seen this past 4 months. Excluding short sale and pre-foreclosure homes, there are many homes in our area that show badly. It is our standard practice to preview a home before taking our client so we can be prepared for the viewing. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times we view a non-vacant home and it is dirty, smelly, cluttered and far from "market ready". We always contact the agent to let them know we are previewing and to let them know when we will be taking the client to view the property. 8 out of 10 times when we are showing the property the house is in the same condition as it was when we viewed the property. With vacant property we often see trash, dirt, and the smell is horrible. If we see a home that we know will meet our buyers needs but needs a little touch up work and a good airing out coupled with air freshener, we will call the agent and let them know that it needs some tlc and we will arrange to take our client to the property 24 to 48 hours after notifying the agent. Unfortunately we find that nothing gets done and the buyers don't make an offer because they can't get past the smell, dirt, or grime of the place.
Sellers expect the agents they are paying to help them sell their property at the highest price the market will bare. In order to accomplish this several things need to happen such as appropriate pricing, marketing, and educating the seller on how to take the property from "their" home to a "market ready" home. Some agents feel uncomfortable in this situation because they don't want to offend the seller and I can respect that, however, it can be overcome with practice and sincerity.
Sellers have the responsibility to the agent to follow through with the "market ready" recommendations made by their real estate professional. I realize that it is an inconvenience to pack up the things you enjoy having around your home and moving out extra furniture and having to get up early in the morning or stay up a little later in the evening to make sure the house is as clean as possible , but it is worth it. A clean market ready home is easy to show. Agents love to show uncluttered, groomed, clean, fresh smelling homes and buyers love to see them.
This is a buyers market, buyers tend to come up with nicknames for the different homes they see such as "the dog pee house", the "funky flooring house", the "museum house", the " foo foo house", the "ultra clean house", and my personal favorite so far the " uh no way house". When they discuss the house or refer to the house it will always be by the nickname unless they are thinking of placing an offer, then it has an address.
I don't know about you, but as an agent I want my listings to have an address and a positive nickname and as a seller I want my home to sell quickly for top dollar. So I ask again are we being lazy or misunderstood?
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