I spent a very frustrating Saturday showing duplexes to a client who would really like to buy one. Now, if someone would only cooperate!
The first one we looked at had the "for sale" sign removed and hidden next to the house. I wasn't sure why but I thought maybe it was moved for lawn mowing. I walked up the sidewalk with my client and knocked on the door. No answer but a dog eagerly awaited going inside with us. I unlocked the door and walked in the the living room and there is a nearly naked guy saying "whoa, what are you doing in here!?" I identifed myself and asked him if he was aware of the appointment. At that point, a young lady, wearing a robe, came out of the kitchen. She informed me she was aware of the appointment I had made the previous day but this was not a "convenient time". My client was upset and embarrassed we had been turned away by this nearly nude couple. We left immediately. I called the agent on the way to the next appointment to let her know what was going on. She asked if I could come back at a better time because the seller "really needs to sell". I told her my client had informed me "no thanks" and "I've seen enough".
On to the next one! At the next duplex, no one was home. I unlocked the door and walked in. I had to slam the door quickly in my client's face to protect her as I was being rushed by a huge pit bull and another dog. The place stunk and there was so much junk in the place I wasn't sure we could actually "look" at the building. I shimmied back out the front door and told my client, "I don't think you would like it". She agreed, based on the smell still wafting in the air.
Third one the charm? The next duplex was gorgeous and clean. We liked it! The only problem was the 3 tenants were all there and were truly pissed off stating "you can look at it but we were only notified and hour ago so this is really inconvenient!". Hmmm, I set these all up like 48 hours in advance.
Fourth and final. The last one was empty and clean. The only problem was the cigarette smoke smell. As soon as I walked in, I had to run for the back door and get fresh air. I felt like I was choking to death! Alas, the buyer didn't like it either.
Moral of the story, if you are an investment property owner, and you want to sell, you need to set some ground rules for the tenants or sell it empty! Stop wasting everyone's time.
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