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Strange REALTOR® Experiences

By
Real Estate Agent with Florida Property Experts
Daytona Beach Area Real Estate Blog. Information and Reports by Lisa Hill, "THE SMART CHOICE!"

real estateAs a REALTOR®, I've encountered many strange things over the years. I'm sure I'm only going to only scratch the surface in this post, but I thought I'd share a few things memorable experiences.

  1. The filthiest house I've ever seen: This one was very early on in my career. I scheduled an appointment to show a listing, and when I showed up with my buyers, I couldn't believe the condition of that house. The owner opened the door to let us in, and we couldn't even walk on the floor since the floor could not be seen. It was completely covered with clothes, potato chips bags, soda cans, empty cigarette boxes, dirty diapers, etc. Basically, the floor was serving the purpose of trash can, dresser, counter, and who knows what else? Then there was the kitchen. Holy moly! There were dirty dishes stacked everywhere. And the kitchen floor was sticky too. I don't even want to know. All I know was my shoes were sticking to the kitchen floor. There were also 3 children running around and playing in the midst of all this mess. I don't even remember what the bedrooms looked like since the floor and kitchen counters left such a lasting impression.
  2. Naked man in shower during caravan: I guess that pretty much sums it up. But we didn't know he was in there until an agent opened the door. That pretty much explains why he didn't hear the doorbell.
  3. There's nobody home... I think: I had scheduled an appointment to show a house, and the listing agent said to ring the doorbell and knock first, then use the lockbox. I knocked and rang, repeatedly. There was no answer so we let ourselves in. We heard a TV, but after calling out "hello" several times, I assumed the TV had been left on, so we proceeded to look around the house. We started on the leftluxury dining room side, with the bedrooms. We were taking our time and enjoying our look. Then we crossed the hall and headed toward the kitchen and family room. But as we crossed the hall, I could see into the room where the TV was blaring, and I saw... feet! Wait, what? Yep. There were 2 feet, crossed at the ankles sticking up in the air. A man was laying in his recliner, feet crossed, sound asleep in front of the TV. We quickly left, locking the door behind us. The funny thing was, I got a call from the listing agent a little while later, wanting to know why we didn't show up for our appointment. LOL
  4. I need to sell this house, but you can't look in those rooms: And investor listed several properties at once and one of them had tenants. When I got to that house to take pictures, I was unable to get into 2 rooms because there were people sleeping in them. And there was still another off-limits room that was locked, for no explainable reason. Sure. That house should be easy to sell. *Yikes!*

Now, I have to admit, I've been thinking about writing this post for a while now. But I'll give credit where credit is due. What prompted me to finally write this post today was a post I was reading by Trudie Melson called "Real Estate HORROR!!!" I highly recommend you read Trudie's post. Her experience was by far, the worst real estate transaction I've ever heard about!

If you're a seller or buyer of real estate in Daytona Beach, South Daytona, Port Orange, Daytona Beach Shores, Wilbur by the Sea, Ponce Inlet, Holly Hill, Ormond Beach, Ormond by the Sea, New Smyrna Beach or Edgewater, I have years of experience in buying or selling real estate in any of these cities, make a Smart Choice and call me today!

Lisa Hill real estate agent with Adams Cameron

Adams Cameron & Co REALTORS

Lisa C. Hill, The Smart Choice for all your real estate needs, with Adams Cameron & Co., REALTORS.

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Comments(14)

Sheri Sanders
Berkshire Hathaway C Dan Joyner Realtors - Easley, SC
Realtor/Broker - Easley, SC Real Estate

Very interesting blog!  Thanks for sharing with us.

May 31, 2008 03:48 PM
Linda Lipscomb
Linda Lipscomb RE/MAX Lexington Henderson County TN - Lexington, TN
731-695-1118, Lexington TN Homes

Lisa,

I can relate to your experiences.

Had a few similar.

Good post.

Thanks for sharing.

May 31, 2008 03:48 PM
Anne Hensel
South Beaches Real Estate Professionals - Saint Petersburg, FL
Realtor - Broker - St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island

I think we all have our stories

May 31, 2008 03:52 PM
Audrey June-Forshey
RE/MAX Realty Services - Darnestown, MD
GRI, Gaithersburg, MD

Lisa, I was showing today and the TV was left on, I rang the doorbell 10 times, practically screaming hello through the house, no one answered.  It was so weird to, seemed like almost all of the lightbulbs were burned out in the house. . .   Then, as we were going upstairs, someone comes out of the master bedroom. 

Seen the guy in the shower too, it is not a job, it is an adventure for sure!! 

May 31, 2008 03:52 PM
Lisa Hill
Florida Property Experts - Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Real Estate

Audrey-  LOL. That's one way of viewing it. It's not a job. It's an adventure!

May 31, 2008 08:43 PM
Susie Blackmon
Ocala, FL
Ocala, Horses, Western Wear, Horse Farms, Marketing

I vote for the naked man in the shower!  Thanks for sending me to Trudie's horror story. 

 

May 31, 2008 09:08 PM
Don Rogers
Keller Williams Realty Chesterfield - O'Fallon, MO
Realtor, Broker, CDPE, GRI, OnullFallon MO & St Charles County MO homes

Lisa,

A couple of those experiences have happened to me.  It keeps you on your toes doesn't it?

Don R.

Jun 01, 2008 10:39 AM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE

I think I would've flew the shower curtain open and said...what are you doing here?????  lol!

Jun 01, 2008 10:39 AM
Mary Strang
Viroqua, WI

Hi Lisa: If you are a Realtor long enough, you will encounter a seller in the bath tub or shower! I have, and since then he has been nick-named Rubber Ducky, fortunately the shower curtain was also closed! The buyers and I had a pretty good laugh that day.

Jun 01, 2008 11:29 AM
Lisa Hill
Florida Property Experts - Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Real Estate

Sally- Is that your excuse to take a peek? LOL

Jun 02, 2008 02:04 PM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

Too bad you didn't take a picture of the filthiest house.... it's always so shocking to see how some people can live... but on the other hand, it makes me feel like a really good housekeeper afterwards... haha

Jun 06, 2008 04:03 PM
Lisa Hill
Florida Property Experts - Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach Real Estate

Georgina- If only I could print my mental image. I don't know what excuse anyone could possbly think of for that filth. And a couple of the kids were old enough to be helping!

Jun 07, 2008 03:58 AM
Leslie Prest
Leslie Prest, Prest Realty, Sales and Rentals in Payson, AZ - Payson, AZ
Owner, Assoc. Broker, Prest Realty, Payson,

My worst was the house that smelled SO badly like the cats which were walking around that the buyer and I had to get out, we couldn't breathe. I like cats, but don't be ridiculous!

I loved the guy asleep in the recliner.

Jun 07, 2008 10:28 AM
Donna Yates
BHGRE - Metro Brokers - Blue Ridge, GA
Blue Ridge Mountains

Lisa;  As agents, we could all probably write the next best seller regarding our experiences!  I attempted to show a dirty house too, not knowing it was dirty until I opened the door.  It sounds very much like the one you described.  It was so bad that I simply closed the door and told my clents we should move on to the next one.  I could not believe the mess and the listing agent never said a word to warn me.  So far,  haven't run up on a naked anything at this point.  LOL  Off to see Trudie's post.

Jun 07, 2008 08:58 PM