Carlsbad Home Sellers - I Learned More About You Than I Want to Know

This letter is fictitious, but the general comments and scenarios are not. I have shown over 100 properties in the last couple of weeks and these are from those showings. Sellers – take heed. These are just a few of the many comments my clients shared with me. I share them with you in hopes that you will gain a better understanding of how buyers are looking at this market and the homes for sale.

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Dear Carlsbad Home Seller:

I toured your home today with my agent. I am pre-approved, have a 25% down-payment, have sold my home and am ready to buy. I know what I want and where I want to live. I know you probably want some feedback so I decided to write you this letter.

I have to say I am learning more about you than I want to know and it’s very distracting.

I was really disappointed when I walked up to your beautiful house – the front door looked like a disaster had hit. I wondered what else I would find inside? Well, I didn’t have to wonder long…that slider to your backyard was almost impossible to move. Just one more thing I will have to take care of if I decide to buy your home…which I doubt I will want to do.

The loud barking dogs almost sent me running. Thank goodness I realized they were penned up and couldn’t come after us - they sounded really angry! But I was not happy to see that they were your neighbors’ dogs and they barked constantly. I know you may not have control over them but it sure was a turn-off. It would drive me nuts to listen to that all the time. How do you stand it?

I really don’t want to know what you had for dinner last night. I could tell the second I walked in the door. At a least the dirty dishes were in the dishwasher (but it was kinda noisy - is it an old one?).

I love the light here in Southern California, so I was really disappointed when I walked in your house and it was so dark, even on a sunny day. My agent had to go around and turn on all the lights and open all the blinds and curtains. Wow, the change was amazing!

You have a lovely family, but I could not believe how many photos you have on your walls. How did you hang all those? Seems like everyone is getting married, or having a baby shower, or vacationing somewhere on a tropical island. It doesn’t look to me like you are planning to move. I was so caught up in looking at your family that I almost forgot to look at the house. Wow, how many kids do you really have?

Maybe I am a bit prudish, but some of your art work really offended me. I tried to look past it but it was so obvious and in my face. Oh, and by the way, I’m not a religious person, although I respect your spirituality. But why do you think buyers want to know all this about you? All the crosses and bibles everywhere made me uncomfortable.

I’m glad you weren’t at the house when we arrived. The sellers at the house we visited before were watching TV and stayed there while we walked around. I couldn’t wait to get out. And they started asking all these questions about our family, and when were we moving and all that kinda stuff. They were very nice and all, but I couldn’t wait to leave. I didn’t even get a chance to look in all the rooms.

By the way, how did you come up with the price? Did your agent advise you or did you decide on your own? I saw 10 houses today and I can’t figure out why you think your home is worth so much. There is a lot of work to do, and I just don’t feel like dealing with it. The first house we saw today is the same exact house - it was beautiful and it was $75,000 less.

I also liked the house we saw just before yours because it offers more space, is move-in ready, and is less expensive. I saw on the listing sheet that your home has been on the market for over 200 days. I have to say I am not surprised.

I’m glad there is so much to look at so I don’t feel any pressure to buy something that has problems or that costs so much. I love having all these choices.

Well, I wish you the best of luck. I'm sorry, but your home is just not right for my family.

Sincerely,

Disgruntled Buyer

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I would not take these lightly.  I know it's hard to keep your home looking clean smelling fresh, and getting all those pesky repairs taken care of. But the buyers REALLY do notice.