Have you ever been dissappointed showing homes? You know the feeling, you have a great buyer and most of the Atlanta homes you show are just a total dissappointment? I have a buyer that must settle in 45 days and doesn't want a foreclosure. He wants a home, not a project. "Turn Key" would be perfect. The first two Atlanta homes we saw had terrible views, really needed some trees behind to hide the nuclear landscape or perhaps beautiful wood blinds to buffer the obvious, not just juvenile curtain toppers. I told the buyer if she really liked the home, we could ask for trees to be planted, fast growing pines. Had a few trees been planted there, the bare landscape wouldn't have been an issue and the reason the buyer didn't put in an offer. Buyers have a lot of inventory to go through, so why add to the hassle?
The third Atlanta homes we looked at had a lovely area around the front door and looked very appealing and inviting, like home. Across from it was the community park which was well groomed adding to the appeal. Once we opened the door, you could smell a lingering cooking oil scent; not just today's meal but many different meals and that oil and spice scent hung heavily on the draperies, furniture, and carpets. It permeated,a nd penetrated everything. Even the door knobs and floor were sticky. I thought to myself that once the owners moved, they could take the draperies and furniture and clean the carpets. However, as we walked around, it was obvious the carpets had been more than well lived on. A note announced "we will clean carpets upon move out." What happened to having your listing pristine? Obviously the owners know the carpets are a mess and should address that issue.
When we got into the kitchen area, there was a nice breakfast bar, but no stools or chairs because that's where their child played and stacks and stacks of toys and books were piled under the counter area so that was made "invible" to the eye, like an optical illusion. I had to go over and put my hand on the counter and point out the barstool possibilities. No dishes in the sink, but lots of pots of varying sizes clean and placed on the four burners of the stove. "That means there's no storage in this kitchen" my buyer said as her eyebrows raised punctuating her point. The dining room chandelier had glass globes that were dirty - we originally thought they had the lighting turned down low, but the glass was obscured by a greasy film. We walked over to the door going down into the basement and I was ready to leave as was my buyer. How much money and time would it take to paint a door? Someone who used the basement door must have had a routine of reading several newspapers, then opening the door because there were inky hand and fingerprints at all levels and again the door knob was gummy. We left.
Now if I were to return that agent's email and phone call asking for my honest feedback, all I'd get would be grief because he/she probably keeps their home like that. Possibly they have tried to reason with the seller and the seller would either not want to hear it at all, or would say "let the new people deal with it" because they're already emotionally detached from the property. The agent would forward my email to the seller because the agent doesn't have the common sense to have told the seller her home needs to look like new as that is the standard set by today's buyer. Atlanta is a buyer's market on steroids, and even most foreclsoures homes look better than this one.
This home in this market in Atlanta will not sell! All the staging, a good price, lots of advertising and showings will = NO SALE! The buyer I had isn't going to be the "new people" and until you do some housekeeping, have your mortgage company loss litigator's number handy because you'll be sitting for awhile.
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