This week I have been out showing properties to several different buyers.  They are looking at homes under $125,000. And, and they are hoping to get in under the November 30 deadline for the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

All are preapproved, FHA buyers, and two of them are getting bond money.

We have seen some beautiful properties on the MLS.  And, my buyers were excited to get out to these homes to go inside and take a look.

But, I had to keep checking the addresses on the houses we were pulling up to.

Surely, this couldn't be the house described in the MLS listing. And, surely this must be a picture of a different property.

Now, I know that in the MLS it's important to present a house in the best possible way, to make it appear as attractive as possible, so that buyers want to go out and look at it.

That's the key, isn't it? To get the buyer in the house? Right?

A buyer makes a decision to purchase a property once they are inside a home...  the minute they walk through the front door.  They 'know' if that's the house for them. They don't make a decision to buy while sitting in their living room, searching the internet.

So, my buyers and I pulled up to this nice home that had attractive pictures in the MLS and was described as, "needs a little cleaning."  When I opened the front door my buyer immediately grabbed her mouth.

"Oh my ...! We stood on the front step, frozen. 

Every window was broken out of the back of the house and shattered into a million tiny pieces.  The house was filled with piles and piles of leftover debris, from a previous occupant.  "This is the filthiest house I have ever seen in my life," my buyer gasped.  We hadn't even stepped inside yet. The house was disgusting. We were scared to walk on the carpets. The electricity was off and I did not care to go in. I didn't know "who" or "what" could be living in this property. Needless to say, we left, without entering the property.

I wondered, again,  if I read the property description correctly.

"This cannot be the house that I saw in the pictures," the buyer insisted.  That was the second time in 2 days that a buyer made a comment about the pictures online, looking completely different than the house.

"Who takes the pictures for these homes. They look so good online." my other buyer prodded. A couple of the homes we looked at had no interior photos online.

We later pulled up to a home described as "a real gem."   I had to double and triple check the house number to be sure we were at the right place. I couldn't help but wonder, 'how long ago had the exterior picture of this house been taken?' The exterior picture looked attractive. But on the house itself, the shutters were falling off. We could barely see the front of the house for the overgrown bushes, trees and shrubs.  The roof was missing oodles of shingles.  We trudged our way up the walk. We stepped inside the living room and the stench was sickening! We wondered what had died inside this house. The walls and carpets were covered with black grease and grime.

"This one is a real gem, alright," the buyer said.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have no problem with homes that are fixer up specials.  We work with investors that would welcome the opportunity to purchase a property that needs work for the right price. I have investment properties of my own.

But, tell me in the listing that it's a fixer up. Otherwise, it's a waste of time for these buyers to look at these places. These types of homes would never be approved under FHA guidelines.

With as busy as we are today, it would be impossible to preview each property, prior to viewing it with a buyer. I tell my buyers to do a drive by, if they have a chance, so they can see if they like the area, first. Often times this rules out many properties. Having seen so many of them with other clients, this helps to rule them out ahead of time for particular buyers.

I looked at 9 properties with two buyers in 2 days. All of the listings indicated that they would accept FHA/VA financing. With my guess, 4 of them would have qualified for FHA or VA.

In our area, right now, houses under $125,000 are selling quickly! Attractive homes, at good prices are selling within days, with multiple offers. Investors, first time homebuyers, out of area buyers and international buyers are scooping them up!

So, we know that the pickins' are slim right now. There are not a lot of clean houses to choose from.

I have to wonder, when I look at a listing and see, "Needs a little TLC, does that mean the house needs a bulldozer, instead!

Sandy Shores REALTOR®, Melbourne/Palm Bay FL Real Estate

Brevard County Real Estate & Investing

I also buy, sell, rent, own and manage Investment Property.