Every industry has its highs and lows, and real estate is no different.
Industries also have participants with different work ethics, styles of conduct, and business philosophies.
But while it goes without saying that there are “many ways to skin a cat” in real estate, sometimes, you see something that just has absolutely no place in the business; like the condo, for sale, that I’m about to show you…
Maybe I have a saviour complex. I assure you, it’s not about the money…
When I see a listing like the one I was in last night, I want to “save” that seller.
I want to save the seller from the awful brokerage and agent they’ve hired, but more importantly, I want to save them from themselves.
At the end of the day, it’s the seller that decides to list with Bosley Real Estate or ABC Realty, and it’s the seller that decides “how” they want the house or condo sold.
I don’t want to make this into a discussion about real estate commissions, or about the lack of barriers to entry that allow some agents to gain access to the industry, but I feel like there are a lot of sellers out there that hire the wrong agent, and get 10-15% less for their property.
10-15%? In this red hot market, you say?
Yes, I really believe that. I could take a $400,000 condo and sell it for $425,000, with what I do. And I could see that same $400,000 condo sell for $370,000, with what another agent does, or in many cases, doesn’t do.
Case in point: I saw a condo last night that was probably one of the most disgusting condos I’ve seen in years.
But the amazing part is: this condo was in a 2-year-old building.
It was either tenanted, or owned by a person who didn’t respect their own property, but at the end of the day, it was listed in the worst condition I’ve seen in a long time.
Take a look:
We’ll start with the bathtub, because this was the least offending thing in the condo:
We moved on to the kitchen, where we saw rat/mice droppings under the sink.
Seriously – who has rodents in a 2-year-old condo? How dirty do you have to be?
Somebody punched their fist through a door, and yet at no point, was fixing this on the seller’s “to-do” list:
The entire condo had pieces of white drywall/spackle, probably from the popcorn ceiling, all over the hardwood. Maybe somebody was moving out a surf-board and kept hitting the ceiling? Either way, a broom could have remedied this in nine seconds:
The kitchen left something to be desired….
Mmmmm……
Aaaaah….
We call this “like new” condition…
We weren’t sure if those drops were blood, but I’m fairly certain they were…
Most of the drywall was in this condition, or worse:
And last but not least, stay classy!
Honestly folks, I’ve seen worse. I have.
But not in a 2-year-old condo. Not even close.
For the life of me, I just don’t understand how any rational human being could put a $400,000 asset up for sale in this condition.
And even worse, I don’t know how any listing agent could sleep at night knowing that he or she had a person sign a contract for services, without suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the unit should be cleaned and repaired.
I’ve been working all summer long to get my listings ready for sale. I have nine properties coming on to the market in September, and some of them are over two months in the making.
Renovating, painting, staging, cleaning – it’s part of the process.
And again, I don’t want to make this into an advertisement for “why hire me,” but I really believe that you can make anything for sale – be it a product or a service, look better, and sell for more.
I’ve got clients that have spent $25,000 to get their properties in order.
I’ve got clients that have moved out of their property in order to allow for a “model suite” environment during the listing.
Selling real estate isn’t about signing a listing contract and putting the property on MLS, and it simply can’t be done overnight.
–
Have a great long weekend, folks!
Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that we were saying, “Summer is here!”
And Monday, it’s that “back to school” feeling that never seems to go away, even when you’re an adult…
joel
at 8:01 am
This is bad! I would think that the agent would put up a couple of hundred dollars to have this cleaned properly as I am sure that they would make it back in commission. They are going to have their name associated with this mess, either tell the seller he has to have it cleaned or get it done for him.
Appraiser
at 8:14 am
Thanks David. Those that think that because it’s a “hot” market, you can just throw anything on the MLS and it will sell, don’t know anything about real estate. It may sound cliché, but you do only get one chance to make a good first impression.
Having said that, let’s take a look at the TREB numbers for August – hot off the press this morning.
Overall sale up 5.7%, and prices are ahead 10.3% year over year.
More suprising, especially for those bears who keep talking about a condo glut in Toronto: Condo sales in the 416 are up 10.1% with average prices (wait for it) ahead 9.5%!
There’s more bad news for the bears I’m afraid; active listings are down -10.5% which suggests even tighter market conditions going forward.
We are headed for an all-time record year – wow! Recession you say, pfffft! Not in real estate!!
Kyle
at 1:58 pm
What is more hilarious are the constant claims from the bears that house prices are “risky” and that by renting and investing they have done far better than owning real estate in Toronto. Given that both the TSX and S&P500 both treading around were they closed out 2013, these must must either be impossibly good stock pickers, or just a delusional bunch.
Appraiser
at 2:59 pm
The TSX is down another 180 points as of 3:00 pm today, to approx. 13,400, about where it was in July 2010!
The DOW is down over 7% in the past month!
Jimbo
at 10:20 pm
That’s why you never bet on Canada unless the world is doing well and needs to waste our resources…. Go USA or emerging Latin America.
Would never advocate a house over stocks or stocks over a house but today’s society needs to be buying into stocks or you will be broke in retirement unfortunately.
JG
at 8:51 am
Wow! That’s disgusting! Just have to shake my head on this one.
Trying to see the glass half full here – wouldn’t this be an ideal purchase for well below asking. Very well below asking. Put in the $5k to completely turn it around and re-list 6mths later for a significant price increase?
Or at the very least, a new home buyer gets a steal on a property that once they put in the $5k to clean it up, they get an instant boost in value!
Marina
at 9:12 am
The grossest part is that someone actually lived like this.
David, how much can the agent do (other than walk away)? For example, can the agent pay to have the apartment cleaned without the client’s say? As mentioned above, they will likely recoup a simple cleaning in commission.
Noel
at 9:35 am
It doesn’t take rocket science or any skill on behalf of an agent to know what to do to list this property in the best possible light. The fact that some agents wouldn’t follow Real Estate Listing 101 before they list is boggles my mind as does a client who would be willing to have the condo listed in this condition. I guess neither the owner nor the listing agent wanted to spend a dime.
Fro Jo
at 10:29 am
I’ve always wondered about the rodent / insect infestation situation in Toronto condo buildings.
Can anyone give me the lay of the land on this one?
Jimbo
at 12:04 pm
Rodents and insects are a part of high density living. It doesn’t matter what part of the world or in what city, they’re present.
Rodents tend to stick closer to the food sources and insects like damp locations. Best you can do is keep food packed away and dry the surface after you’re done cleaning especially showers.
GinaTO
at 11:29 am
A friend was shopping for a house a few years ago, in a very hot market, and she visited a place where underwear was lying around the floor and the dishes weren’t done. These sellers obviously felt like they didn’t even have to try.
And I second the question about the rodent presence in a condo building: I get it that this unit is dirty and would attract them, but they have to get in the building somehow, and if they are in this unit, they probably are in other units as well, even clean ones. How do you deal with rodent presence in your condo, when you know it’s not just up to you to do something about it?
H Marshall
at 9:49 am
Sometimes roaches or mice are on the property during the construction stages and they are in the units before the residents. Think of it as the Welcome Wagon.
Lee
at 12:10 pm
If I were the listing agent I think I would be embarrassed to have my name associated with this unit. But as someone else asked, is there anything an agent can do if the owner doesn’t want to put money into cleaning and fixing? I’m going to be putting my unit on the market soon and I am cleaning and fixing issues before I even bring in an agent to look at it. I have two toddlers which means crayon on the wall, spills and stains I didn’t notice before. Nevermind the extra money I can get if it is cleaned up, I would be too embarrassed to let anyone walk through and see that sort of mess.
Noel
at 10:12 am
No, there is nothing they can do. I simply wouldn’t be the listing agent as that would reflect bad on me, never mind I lose commission, but that’s just me.
Paully
at 6:01 pm
What a very special dump that is! Mmmm. So clean and fresh!