Listing From Hell? Not Necessarily

Yesterday, I showed a house that was rather disturbing.

If it was being sold because of a divorce, he didn't leave her for someone younger, thinner or prettier.  He left her for a Zen minimalist.

The house, listed Friday night, is in one of Washington's most popular neighborhoods, and it has a price tag we haven't seen there since about the Millennium.  The MRIS information warns that the place is very messy and to not let the cats out.

When we got there, several agents and their buyers were inside.  One of the agents warned us to watch our steps.  The house itself was not terrible.  It was filthy dirty, and I should have handed out face masks for my buyers, and the basics and bones were not in awful shape.  It had what looked like updated systems, including new central air.  But every square foot of floor was covered with several feet of stuff, and every once in a while, we'd find a little cat asleep on top of a pile of something.  And there was grime all over everything.

In this day and age, where we rarely see homes that are not spiffed up and nicely staged, this was the opposite extreme - an opportunity to look past a mess.  It was a chance to pay less than top dollar in a great neighborhood in return for some serious elbow grease.

Once we got over the initial shock, I realized that my buyers like the place.  And while the agents were pulling our designer scarves over our noses and mouths and rolling our eyes (feeling so sorry for the poor listing agent having to deal with the place), our clients were getting pretty excited.

The listing agent here is no fool.  It might be the ugliest, dirtiest house she's ever listed.  But guess what?

It's priced perfectly! 

I think I smell a bidding war here!  Stay tuned for more!

Anyone know a good exorcist?