I met a man who sold a house
He sold a house just like a mouse
Just like a mouse who sneaks around
He sold the house without a sound.
(OK, as a poet I am lacking... but stay with me here) And how did he sell the house without a sound? The story is rather odd, yet to me it was so telling I asked him if I could blog about it.
Blog? He had that look on his face... My business partner chimed in and said "blab, she wants to blab about it all over the internet." He shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't mind.
All day long yesterday I thought about his story, there are so many lessons, each time I think about it I think of yet another lesson. Let me get right to the story here.
He told me he sold a house at a tag sale... I love tag sales at listings I have. Let me do the open house on the same day you do your tag sale (We call them tag sales in CT, some may call them yard sales, garage sales, you get the point.)
A few years back he heard about a house, a couple who could no longer live in their home due to age and illness. The family had told the accountant they just wanted to get rid of the home because mom and dad were hoarders. The man I met bought the house with all the contents in it. Bought it for a very low price I might add.
18 dumpsters later....
It took 18 dumpsters ... but the house was in good shape! He held tag sales there while cleaning it out. He was not intending to sell the house, but someone who came to the tag sale offered him what they thought was a low price for the house.
He took the money and ran. I mean, who wouldn't? So here is what ran through my mind.
Why didn't the family speak with a Realtor? He said because they were too embarrassed, didn't want to deal with it, on and on. That cost the owners $100,000.
Why didn't the family just hire someone to come in and clean the house out when the parents moved out? Did they have the resources to do that? Yes they had the resources, but felt it was too much trouble.
OK, now I am just shaking my head here in total disbelief. The moral to the story? I think there are many.
- Clean it up, clean it out.
- Speak to a Realtor if you are thinking about selling.
- Tag sales are a great thing, hold a tag sale and let your Realtor hold an open house at the same time.
I don't know about you, but I am still shaking my head here! I am sure I can come up with more lessons learned. It is a fantastic story. Will this gentleman use a real estate agent when he wants to sell another house? You bet, he knows this happened only because someone else didn't want to, he's no dummy!
I met a man who sold a house....
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