House vibes. Do they exist? Do you feel them? Do your clients comment on them?
There is no doubt in my mind that you can walk into some houses and feel warmly received, even if no one is there, even if they are empty. There is a sense of calm, of welcome, of good will. On the other hand, some places get your hackles up the minute you walk in the door.
I was out with some clients last week, and happened to overhear the wife whispering to the husband "lots of arguments in this room." She is a very intelligent and highly educated woman, and I suspect she was whispering because she was afraid I would think she was a bit ditzy. As it happens, I am a firm believer in house vibrations as a result of several personal experiences. We got talking about it, and the rest of the day she was more comfortable sharing what she was sensing as we walked through the homes on our shopping list.
I will never forget one particular incident. I was representing a buyer who fell in love with a cute short sale home in Northwest Reno, very homey and inviting. She really liked it, and we were in and out several times visiting, taking measurements, etc. The sellers seemed nice enough, and we waited out the several months of bank circumflatulating until an answer came back from the listing agent: the lender was insisting on a promissory note and the sellers flat out refused. Game over. Sorry.
She was seriously disappointed, but I assured her we would find one just as nice, and we made an appointment to start looking again the following weekend. After touring several homes, we happened to drive by The House. She looked longingly at it, and I suggested that we should take one more peek...if it was the house of her dreams, then maybe she could buy it after the foreclosure.
The minute I opened the door, we both got cold chills. Nothing looked different, but we looked at each other with a sense of foreboding. Something was seriously wrong and we could both feel it. We walked into the living room, then very hesitantly into the kitchen, where we found the p.o.'ed homeowners had returned to wreak major havoc. Fixtures ripped out, appliances missing, water all over the floor where the dishwasher was impatiently removed and stolen. Holes in the walls and ceilings. You get the picture. Such a cute house...so sad. We bolted out as fast as we could.
Now before you get the idea that I am some kind of woo-WOO-woo-woo person, I am far from it, perhaps the antithesis. But I have experienced this phenomenon too many times to discount it. The scientist in me tells myself that there are subliminal cues that our subconcious is picking up on as we enter these homes that lead to uneasiness and goosebumps, rather than presences or spirits or ill will. But who knows?
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