I don't have any issues with For Sale By Owners. It is a free market. I equally have no issue with FSBOs who pay a fee to enter their home on the MLS and then try and act as their own listing agent. What I do have a problem with is people who distrust agents because they paint us with a broad brush in the lack of integrity department but then turn around and misrepresent themselves. That wastes my time.
Today I walked through a home which was billed as a "totally renovated home." It was not. It was an incomplete, sloppy, half finished do it yourself job of dubious quality. What I observed was a patchwork of poor workmanship, probably illegal (which is to say, no permits) "improvements" and a desk in the basement covered with indications that the owners were unskilled weekend warriors.
We saw:
- Exposed wiring everywhere
- Missing molding and sloppy finishing where it wasn't missing
- An incomplete kitchen with a CURTAIN for a sink cabinet door
- An incomplete master bath
- A finished basement with a 6-foot ceiling -which couldn't be legal in their wildest dreams
- An HVAC unit in a basement closet with hanging wires and ductwork that was separated and leaning
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Your exactly right. They do make the best argument for accountable agents. Thanks for sharing.
Nothing deceiving about their property description though! In their minds it's the best house on the market....at least you know not to show it again :)
UGH, It is so amazing what we see on MLS. You have to wonder are we looking at the right house. I guess it is a nationwide problem!
Yes, this is quite sad. Frustrating when others do it themselves and do it badly. But, as you said, this is the best argument for bringing in the professionals. Based on what you wrote sounds like it will take them a while to realize it since they think they know it all. They'll prob. get a lot of viewers, but no offers.
Always a big let down when you walk into something like that, whether FSBO or agent listed.
Philip the title of this post very well could have been "Hell, Do it Yourself" if you had walked in for a listing presentation and they were hell bent on sticking to their picturesque description.
I bet they are proud of their work too!
So many DIY tv shows on every weekend that give the average person the idea that they can do work to their home and it will be no problem.