Sellers, Put Your Underwear Up!

I was recently working with some client’s looking at homes in Tomball, TX, and it seemed like every house that we went in was dirty. I don’t mean that they were slightly dirty, I mean that the seller’s didn’t even try to clean up. For some reason, most of the houses had dirty clothes on the floors of all the bedrooms. Nothing turns off a buyer like dirty underwear on the floor… especially if there are skid marks!

One of the last houses that we looked at would have been a perfect fit for my buyers, but the parents forgot to tell their teenage son that we were coming. When we opened the door, we heard techno/club music coming from the bathroom. The seller’s son was taking a shower and jammin out in there. My clients were friends of mine and they thought it was funny, but I couldn’t convince them to look at the house again. We laughed about it for a long time. The house was also messy with random assorted junk all over the place. I scheduled the showing a full day before, so it wasn’t like they didn’t have time to get their house ready. It’s a shame because I’m sure my clients would have strongly considered the property if it was staged right. In this buyer’s market, everything has to be perfect to get a good offer. Buyers have too many houses to pick from right now.

As a Realtor, it’s easy to forget how hard it is to keep a house in show condition while there’s a whole family living in it, but I have been there. If you’re a seller and you are trying to keep your house clean, I feel your pain. Just remember to pick up your underwear. ; )