I just read my favorite ActiveRain comment of the day...probably of the week, and maybe the year.
I would like to present my Award for
"Agent Who Gets It"
to Bob "RealMan" Timm for his comment:
"I'd like to find the original Realtor who came up with the whole "allowance" thing and slap some sense into him/her. This may make some AR's cringe but I'm at the point where if I tell a client they need to replace flooring and they respond with "allowance" I'm walking away."
Bob, you made me smile and you give me hope!
Bob's comment (#29) is on a post written by Debbie Gartner who asks the question
"should she refinish her floors to sell her home?"
Debbie was looking for advice regarding a seller and whether or not refinishing floors is necessary to get a house sold.
Debbie's post was featured and she received lots of great comments, but Bob's really stood out for me.
Allowances for maintenance issues may have worked in the past, but it's a different story today.
In most cases, you will sell faster and make more money if you take care of maintenance issues prior to listing.
My professional opinion on the subject, as stated in my comment to Debbie:
"Sounds to me like the seller wants it both ways...she wants to sell yesterday, but doesn't want the inconvenience and expense of properly preparing it for sale.
Not doing the floors is equal to hanging a sign on the front door stating the house has not been properly maintained over the years.
Bad floors is a red flag, raising questions as to electrical maintenace, plumbing, and everything else. She should ask herself why a buyer would want to deal with the inconvenience when she doesn't want to deal with it.
Buyers want move in ready, they don't want the headache of waiting for the floors to be refinished before they can move in, and they don't want the possible headache associated with dealing with a contractor."
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