Does your listing agent take pride in your home?

Thanks for sharing Susan!!! Yes the listing has to be showable to sell!!!

It is the seller's job but if they no longer live there, someone should be checking on the condition.

Hello Susan and great information to past on to us here in the Rain.  Hope you have a great Sunday!

I showed a home this weekend with tenants... they did not pick up one thing.  Underwear on the bathroom floor, bills and paperwork all over the bed, food out on the counter, and even leftovers in the oven. Full grown bushy pot plants in the back yard too.  It was awful!  The listing agent probably knows that the tenants aren't helping- I bet they don't want to move.

Good afternoon Susan Mangigian ,

It is disgusting to see this kind of show condition in a vacant home on the market. I agree with you if the seller has moved out and won't make sure it is clean the listing should step up and get some cleaners in there. It's obvious the agent has not been there in quite some time to check on things. Will be interested to see if they reach out to you for feedback for feedback!

Susan, a dirty house not only doesn't sell, but also reflects on the listing agent.

Hello Susan - motivation can be quite sensory at times.  The sights - the sounds - the smells - plus all sorts of things we touch (and avoid).  Independently and in combination, they create an impression.  Typically, it's a pass on that particular property by potential buyers.  

Great post!  Thanks for sharing and enjoy your day!

if people only knew how poorly represented they were, I have run across some really bad listing agents over the years that wont lift a finger to help a deal get to closing.

Wow, that's terrible. There are obviously quite a few reasons that's still on the market! I'm not too surprised the listing agent did not respond to your feedback - evidently she's not interested in making sure the home shows well. Why that is is anyone's guess!

I could see there being a mutual appreciation of the house, but I would think the buyer will have to really love it.

Any money an agents spends cleaning a listing is a business expense and a write off . Plus the home gets sold quicker leading to less time spent on it over the months it sits there unsold

Get beyond, way beyond how dirty you think it is. You work with what you have. You find a buyer that sees the potential because you do. If you don't or can't, a buyer with an agent that does will hammer out the sale. Keep your eye on the sale, not the listing agent or seller. 

But the price, there's the ticket to the quickest sale. Get beyond the "how do people let a place get so run down and rusted... why isn't the dead horse house white glove clean". Make an offer. 

Awesome location, quick occupancy, needs TLC but stop renting! Or fix and flip is the approach to market this one. Dirty, smelly , outdated, wrong colors , cluttered matter less and less when the price is lower to the ground than other listings around it.

At least no tenant that won't move in place. Just make an offer when you find a buyer who looks beyond and plans to update top to bottom. Sounded like the place needed way way more than windex and if over priced, keep an eye out when if it does not sell so you get the foreclosure sale Susan Mangigian .

Susan, excellent thoughts on cleanliness of a listing and how it impacts the Seller's interests. Cleaning the place will have a higher return on the investment than almost any other. As for the Buyer's agent, an unkempt and not clean listing  is helpful to work the negotiations in Buyer's favor.

A lot of them are dirty.  One had trash and food left by the sellers who have not lived there since last year. 

I just don't understand that attitude. "A wing and prayer" I guess.

I agree with you 100%! Listing agents owe these vacant listings their full attention. And then, they need to have an honest talk with the owners to maintain it.

Hi Susan:

From the description, which was pretty ugly, you have to wonder what else you would find as far as deferred maintenance, systems not working, and perhaps worse. It certainly reflects badly on the listing agent.

Jeff

It's amazing to me how many agents don't even do the little things to get a home "show ready".  From wiping down dirt, grime and cobwebs on the front door to a quick sweep inside and out.  Too many out there for a quick buck...