Um, in this case the answer would be NO! You have already read how a dirty house turns a buyer off but what about a "dirty" house?
Again, this past weekend while showing homes I not only ran into filthy homes that were on the market but some interesting situations to say the least. I know that many Realtors®, on-site agents and friends of mine that are contractors read this blog - so, I ask you to please take heed and learn from this story.
While touring homes this past weekend my clients and I had visited a new home community. One home in particular that was under construction was just to the phase of flooring being installed. Cabinets were in and some finishes were on the walls. It was great the first time through. Laborers were there working while we toured and there were no problems at all. After previewing we left and went on to other homes. The next day my clients decided that they would like to return to the home. This particular home had everything that they were searching for and then some. (Including the "man" room which has nothing to do with this post but I will venture to explain that in a later post)
We arrived about 4:30 in the afternoon on Saturday. I was a little surprised that there was no one in the house working but actually that was great for us to go through without feeling like we might be in someones way. We made our way through the living room, dining room and butler's pantry. My clients were in front of me and started to round the corner into the kitchen when the wife started laughing hysterically. You know the kind of laugh, it is the awkward, giddy kind of laugh when you don't know the appropriate response to a certain situation. The husband followed and also was surprised. As I made my way into the kitchen I was blessed with 2 hard-core porno magazines laying on the counter beside a Mountain Dew can. Wow, how do you recover from that one? Fortunately, my clients are well aware that it was beyond my control that the magazines were there and, at that point, there was nothing that I could do since they were already "spied". (Very hard to miss!) We were able to move past them and continue through the house.
My point? What if my clients had their child with them? What if, what if, what if. Extremely embarassing! It is the responsibility of the on-site agents to police their inventory of homes as well as the superintendents of the work crews to maintain a professional atmosphere regardless of the stage of construction the home is in. I have spoke to the on-site agent and she apologized profusely - however, no one should be put in a most embarassing postition such as we were this past weekend.
So, to my associates out there........dirty homes don't sell, and "dirty" homes don't sell either! Clean them up and keep them clean!
Here's to porn-free shucking...............
