Recently I showed several homes in the Lake Zurich area, yours among them. Here is what I found:

• A driveway with about 7 inches of snow on it, making it necessary to park across the street and trudge through the snow to your house
• An icy and un-shoveled front walk, making it very dangerous to get to your front door
• Empty liquor bottles, food containers and dead roaches on the kitchen counter
• A cloud of cigarette smoke so thick you could cut it with a knife, and overflowing ashtrays everywhere
• A basement with mold climbing the walls and obvious major flooding and seepage problems
• Filthy bedrooms, bathrooms, carpets and walls...filthy everything, really

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, I know you want your home to sell; after all, you do have it listed with a real estate company. You may not want to do any major repairs on your home. Perhaps you don't have the funds to do so. I understand that. But everyone can clean; all it takes is a little elbow grease and some soap and water. At the very least, your home should look and smell clean to prospective buyers.

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, do you think that having your agent include the words "as-is" in the MLS remarks removes your responsibility to disclose major defects in your home? It does not. My buyers will have a professional home inspection performed on any home they decide to write an offer on...and can use the results of that home inspection to cancel their contract. Disclose, disclose, disclose. It's the law.

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, if my buyers slip and fall on their way up to your front door, you better hope your homeowner's insurance is up-to-date. You need to get out there and shovel or ask a friend or neighbor to do it for you. It is your responsibility to provide a safe environment for others who come onto your property.

Mr. and Mrs. Seller, I'm assuming (and I hope) that your real estate agent advised you about what you needed to do to prepare your home for sale. Rest assured that your agent will be told about the condition of your home at the time of showing. When he or she calls you today, you need to listen and take action. Do you honestly think that my buyers want to buy your filthy un-cared for home? They don't.