A post today real estate niche- selling hoarder homes made me remember this transaction from years ago, I took a listing that could have been described as an ''indoor outhouse'' including stray animals, and stray people.
A friend asked me for a favor. They wanted me to sell the house of one of their professional colleagues. This property was extremely packed and cluttered, to the point where you couldn't even walk through some of the rooms. This was a unique challenge for me.
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It was apparent that...
How did I help them sell this hoarder's house? I asked them to paint the dining room which was packed floor to ceiling, and the table piled three feet high with stuff. I just assumed they would empty the room. But I was wrong.
They moved all the stuff one foot from the wall, painted, and pushed everything back. There was not even a dent in the mess, and I could not show it to agents without a warning of its deplorable condition.
During the same time, I was working with a young, engaged couple. They wanted a new home. We found new construction with three bedrooms and an unfinished lower level, and they could move right in, but they were settling, it was not what they wanted.
Their wedding was less than a month away, so I recommended that they check out this dirty and messy listing. The house was in their desired neighborhood, well within their price range. It was a five-bedroom brick house with a finished lower level and much larger square footage than the new one. But how could I persuade them even to consider this place? After all, they wanted new!
Thank goodness they trusted me enough to take a look. I warned them. Do not look at the condition. Please try to picture the house vacant, with white walls, new carpet, new appliances, etc. The bride-to-be walked in and immediately clasped her hands behind her back – she did not want to touch a thing! She was grossed out and thought, "How can I live here?"
I suggested they make an offer asking the sellers to clear the house. This would involve removing all the carpeting, including the padding, appliances, ceiling fans, shower doors, and window shades and coverings. Additionally, we asked for a final walkthrough of the empty house with proof of pest control after the carpeting and padding were removed. The buyers did not believe they could make these insulting demands. They took my advice, and I presented the offer.
Guess what? The sellers thought it was fabulous because they could use everything in a new place! So, they emptied the entire contents of the house into a truck and kept going. Go figure!
After the buyers upgraded the house with new flooring, a kitchen, bathrooms, window treatments, and shower doors, this young couple had a much better home than the new three-bedroom with an unfinished basement. They bought their "new" five-bedroom brick house with a finished basement for less than the much smaller brand-new home.
This is one of my most creative contracts.
It was apparent that...
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