Once again, I decided to head out to some weekend open houses to get a first-hand look at some of what’s on the market. And, once again, as I pumped up everyone’s favorite “open house traffic” statistic, I often found myself wondering: What were they thinking?
When I say “they” I’m referring to both the home seller and the seller’s agent, whose alleged job is to advise the seller on how best to sell their house. You would think that in today’s market, when the smallest defect can cause what few buyers are out there to look right past your listing, making your home look the best it can would be a no-brainer, especially if you’re going to put on an open house.
Unfortunately, as you can see below, not all sellers see things that way. Note that in this series I won’t be linking to the real actual listing, because that would just be cruel.
Agent: “Northwest home buyers are really into homes that have that ‘lodge’ feel lately. Tall ceilings, open floor plans, and exposed wood.”
Seller: “Hmm, well I can do the wood part, but that other stuff is a no-go. I’ll just throw a little extra wood in there to make up for everything else.”
Agent: “This light switch is installed upside down. You should probably fix that before we list.”
Seller: “How about if I throw a bizarre switch plate over it instead? That will distract them from the backward switch!”
Agent: “Be sure you vacuum thoroughly before the open house.”
Seller: “That’s silly. Why would I vacuum when all the buyers are just going to traipse a bunch of dirt and mud through the house anyway?”
Agent: “Why doesn’t this room have a closet?”
Seller: “Because we had to have somewhere to put the toilet. Duh.”
Agent: “That A/C unit in the window is ugly. Make sure you take it out before the open house.”
Seller: “A/C out of the window: check.”
Agent: “See if you can do something to spruce up the basement.”
Seller: “Hmm, let’s see… Seattle people like coffee, right? And ponies?”
All of the photos in the “Real Actual Home Staging” series were shot by The Tim at real actual open houses around Seattle.