How Do You Show a Home That Can't Be Seen?
There is probably nothing more frustrating for a Buyer than getting excited and revved up for a house hunting trip, only to find that the home at the top of the list....well...maybe it would work if we could see all of it. Such was the story on Wednesday night when I was out house hunting with new Buyer-clients.
The sun sets in mid to late November around 5pm. So when you are meeting a client at a home at that time, you are praying for a few things. First of all, that the street numbers are visible at night. I just love feeling like Mr. Magoo driving up and down a street struggling to see house numbers in the dark. Number two, you are praying for electricity. When you have those two items, you are doing pretty well.
Then you could to a home that might as well have an invisible second floor. Yes, you can see it from the street. The downstairs is great. Seems like no one is even home. Then you get to the bedroom level. There are door knobs with locks on all of them and they are all locked. Knocking on each of the five bedroom doors gets us into only two. And that was awkward at best.
What was happening in this home, or at least what I suspect was going on, was that the home owners had decided to run it like a boarding house when it became apparent they couldn't afford it anymore. It was a Short Sale and there was zero furniture on the main level of the home. No dining room table. No sofa. No TV. The only sign of life were pots and pans on the stove. But in two of the rooms we entered, you could see the resident of the room had set up the bedroom like a mini apartment. Bed. TV. Chair.
This could be the perfect home for my Buyers, but how in the world are we ever going to see all of it? It's not easy to show a home that's masquerading as an extended stay hotel.
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