Home : Blogs : Gaylen Thornton : Sellingedge - Arizona Real Estate Tips By Gaylen

Dirty Homes For Sale

Is it me are do you find dirty homes hard to sell? I recognize that with so many homes "priced to sell" by the banks that not a lot of work goes into "sprucing" them up. However, if I work hard to get a listing I want that property to sell.

Do any of you do little clean up on a vacant house that you list or is it "buy as is?" I can understand if that is how someone wants it sold but if so, shouldn't that fact be listed in the MLS information?

I took a buyer into a bank owned home yesterday and the description on the listing did not reflect the true condition of the home. The buyers looked at it and were unhappy that they wasted time to view something that had misled them.

I'm curious as to why an agent would not list the true facts? Does anyone think that leaving out pertinent information or making the property something it is not will get a sale? Back to my second question, does anyone do a little clean up on a listing if it is a vacant property owned by the bank or an out-of-state owner?

Is it just me or does anyone else have a hard time selling a dirty home?

Posted by Gaylen Thornton on 10/07/2007 10:03 AM

Comments (14)

surprise real estate, arizona real estate, phoenix real estate, marketing tips, glendale, peoria, surprise, arizona, sellingedge, gaylen

This post has been included in Arizona Information

14 Comments on Dirty Homes For Sale

OCT

2007

We see more and more of these properties today; I think it just invites a rock bottom offer...sellers need to understand there is lots and lots of inventory and the property that shows best and is priced best wins!

If its dirty, it has to be a "deal" No one wants to invest their time and effort to clean a property up for it only to be worth what they paid.

Gaylen - I have personally cleaned a clients house; I see it as earning my commission.

I have been in some homes where the cobwebs were floating from the ceiling (you ended up with them all over you), the ceiling fans had 1" of dust on them and there were dead flies and spiders all over the place.

f the seller doesn't care or is one that has been transferred or something that prevents him/her from being able to maintain it --- a listing agent could discuss using a cleaning lady who can come in the day before a showing or on a weekly basis. If the agent is too busy to give their listings a once-over themselves, then it wouldn't be a bad idea to work out a business relationship with a local cleaning lady/crew.

No, I have a hard time selling a dirty home. I've even cleaned occupied homes before open houses. Yes, I have been known to get the extra mile and am not afraid to tell sellers they need to do a better job of cleaning or maintaining their home. You know if a home is filthy most likely the owners didn't take care of the upkeep on the appliances and exterior maintenance and it will be a matter of time before something goes wrong after closing.

If an agent fails to disclose the condition of the property there is no reason you shouldn't call them and let them know they should disclose the condition on the listing. Further, if its overpriced you should suggest that the price in no way reflects the condition/value.

We owe each other the truth and we owe it to our customers too. Perhaps if the bank of owner heard the feedback over and over they would consider sprucing up the property or dropping the price to get it sold.

And, if you truly want to avoid showing dirty homes you could always go back to the old practice of property previewing.

Jennifer - I too have cleaned homes and have used a cleaning lady. I think it is part of my responsibility if the owner can't for whatever reason. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in this.

Jen - I'm not going to call the listing agent and tell them to do their job. The results will be they won't sell the home. It is just amazing to me that a "professional" doesn't do their job.

I HATE DIRTY HOUSES but I'm not going to be the one to do the cleaning. Tidying up is one thing, cleaning OH-NO. When I take a listing I stress the value of clean so many times that they cannot miss the point. If the house is vacant, I arrange for it to be cleaned and paid for by the seller. If it's a relocation, the relo company is pretty good about wanting to keep things in good order and will pay to have it done.

I can't say it's been a problem but if it were, then the buyers' agent should be forewarned before the showing. Sometimes houses with a lot of children can be tricky, but I agree, they probably won't get the best price.

Yuck, and I do not even like walking into them. I have clients that will go in and say can we leave and we do. so the answer is yes.

Susan - I'm glad I'm not alone, thanks for the response.

Gail - I'm not sure you have done any "short" sales or bank owned, if you have did the bank pay to have it cleaned?

I know, but you can't always make your sellers keep their homes like your own!

OCT

2007

Michael - You are right, IF they are NOT living in the house. However, you sure can if they live there and they want your professional services. If an agent just wants a listing and wants to work harder to sell a dirty house, that is their choice, but from most of the comments here professional agents don't put up with it.

Gaylen:

I have seen homes that need lots of work and the asking price did not reflect it. The worst part of foreclosures is that the bank does not even accept the low offer with a letter included explaining the repairs needed. I have 2 posts that that should accompany your post: Photos! Do they Give you the Whole Picture? and Foreclosure.....Offer Rejected! These were written from personal experience.

Brigita - Thanks for the posts and your insight, they are excellent.

OCT

2007

The dirty ones get low ball offers just to see and if the low ball has a counter still around the LP then we move on.

If you ask me a dirty home should be sold quick, because unless your trying to pull something you better have that baby priced to move or who in their right mind would buy it?

Leave a response…

Name:

Email:
(optional)

Comment:

What does the graphic say?