Nearly late, I arrived at a home showing this morning and found the buyer walking around the house while taking notes with pen and notepad. It really doesn’t bother me to have buyers carefully inspecting everything simply to make sure nothing is missed as well as it being a help in jogging one’s memory of what was on site simply by reviewing notes taken. For some reason or other, and likely due to the years of experience of taking mental notes of as much as possible of a home when walking through it, some consider me to possess a photographic memory, but in fact I don’t. I merely attempt to observe the important aspects of a home. I’m actually one of the worst when it comes to remembering people’s furniture and personal effects simply because those things are personalty and have nothing to do with structure. There have been times when other agents have mentioned this or that about an owner’s possessions while thinking to myself, “Really? Why would you be so curious about someone’s stuff other than being downright nosey.” Yesterday, I endearingly chided one of my customers for being overly snoopy in looking at photos and books that were displayed in a china cabinet.
After going through that home with my customer today, she said the home would be a possibility but would do some checking with contractors for ballpark costs of improvements. In walking away, she turned back and asked about another property listed in the area. When I told her the price and number of bedrooms, she then asked the most interesting question, “Does it have tenants living in it?” I replied, “Yes” and asked her if she would like me to set an appointment. Her reply was even more interesting by saying, “I’m not interested in a home that have tenants in it.” I didn’t make one comment about that statement and bid her a kind adieu. Driving back to the office, I remembered so terribly many years ago a pattern with buyers when viewing homes that had tenants in them. For some queer reason, buyers seem to shy away from wanting to purchase something occupied by tenants. Yes, I’ve sold homes being occupied at the time by tenants, but those were more the exceptions than the rule. I remember saying more than once to sellers, “Don’t rent your home while it’s on the market because it will likely become an exercise in futility and in the end may sell for less than you’d ever expected.” Yes, I’ve had other past experiences with buyers not keen on purchasing a home that had been rented. I think it must have something to do with a fear of purchasing something that’s been possibly neglected or abused over the terms of tenants living there.
I showed a home today that is quite old, but appears to have been so well cared for over the years that even the basement smelled more like new than old. There were no signs of aging other than the out-of-style colors and fixtures. One owner homes seem to draw buyers while homes that have a history of owners divorcing while in residence, as well as homes going through foreclosure more than once. Another interesting twist is when I’ll see a home sell over and over again with the owners not staying but only a few years. It makes us all wonder if there are homes in Mason City that were built on either cursed or blessed earth. There are stories I’m sure many have to tell if dared to speak.
