How many houses do I see on MLS that have disgusting pictures of the inside. One even had pictures of people sitting around a dirty card table in the kitchen. Crap strewn everywhere, filthy looking carpets, wallpaper hanging off walls… god, if you want to sell your house, clean it up! Where are these people’s real estate agents? I’d refuse to take on a client who can’t be bothered to clean their house before selling. —God, People Are Dirty
This article appears in Apr 25 – May 1, 2013.
I’m on mls a lot and I haven’t seen any shit like that, but I’m not looking for anything in woodside so maybe that explains it?
i was on mls today, just curious about house prices in my neighbourhood. holy hemoglobin
True dat, Cranky.
And just think — you can get a shithole a lot cheaper than one that’s all shined up and all it really takes is a bit of elbow grease to clean the shithole up.
Most times, your property will appreciate higher than you’d think simply by buying a shithole and just CLEANING it and painting some walls and shit. A LOT more than you’d put into it.
Basically, buying a shithole (that’s structurally in good shape) is a smarter move, financially, than buying one that’s all perfect and shined up.
Our shithole in Hillybilly Hollow ain’t fancy but it’s paid for. Whoever buys it when we sell will not be getting a pristine mansion – they can do that on their own freakin’ dime.
Painey, the house prices in your area are insane – I grew up a few streets over from your place and know what we got for the family homestead back in 2007 – a far cry from the current prices. A relative of mine lives on Dublin and the homes there are selling for $400k and up. There’s no way we could ever move back to the penisula but that’s fine by me. I love the weekly lobster fights out here.
Not “dirty “OP, “rustic”.
my favourite euphemisms when house shopping *cosy, handyman’s dream, a certain charm*
I love gawking at peoples’ homes, there are some real doozies on here http://www.uglyhousephotos.com/
i love it when a home seller doesn’t clean up, it drives the price down. i would never buy a ‘pristine’ place with updates. maybe when i get really really old, and can no longer do the work, i will have to pay full price. but not til i have to.
Halifax has a relatively solid yearly gain on property value as compared to the rest of North America. If there’s no one buying in this country the Europeans are always interested. Mainly for the scenery and the close proximity to New York.
Dirty hippies….
^^ dirty rednecks more likely. the hippies are too busy outside rolling around in the clover & seeing god in the fluffy clouds to dirty up a house. and would hippies own a house? can one claim ownership of land which rightfully belongs to the planet itself if one claims to be a hippy? ooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I’m with PK. You have to look beyond the dirt and see the potential. Not in card players, mind you, LOL If you’re seeing photos like that then it sounds to me like your price range is very low? What do you expect?
Screw that. Looking beyond the dirt means you’re looking beyond potential health, safety, cosmetic and even structural issues. For example, only an idiot would buy a house from a hoarder or meth cooker.
messy people tend to need paint jobs pretty frequently. They tend to have broken glass they’re not aware of. They tend to ruin carpets.
I absolutely take the current state of the home into account.
looking beyond the dirt doesn’t mean walk through while blindfolded and a wad of vicks up your nose.
and i have been accused of being somewhat black and white but i think there’s a difference between messy and meth lab.
if the house is sound (your home inspector will tell you that) but filthy, with trashed carpets, gouged counter tops, brass fixtures, old fridges adorning the erstwhile landscape and windows stuck since the parting of the red sea, you can get a bargain. you take the condition into account, yes, and get tens of thousands of dollars off what the seller dreamed he should get for it, and what the realtor cringed to list at.
this is if you are the kind of person who wants to take on a project, for whatever the motivation. if you want to walk into a turn key, you pay for the ease.
if you can do most of the work yourself, gutting bathroom, kitchen, fixtures, flooring, drywall you spend far less than what it would add to the price of the house if the seller got all that done before listing. and bonus! you get the stuff & style you want.
it depends on what you want, the type of person you are, how handy etc. me, i love ripping shit out and starting fresh. current house had a deck they covered over with a piece of carpet, or you’d go through the rot holes. and the shingles had wings to fly. but the bones were solid. it’s work in progress and a lot of fun.
I applaud those who take on “handyman’s specials”, but question the wisdom of _any_ homeowner who lists their home on MLS with the photos described. They’ve all but guaranteed themselves far lower offers, if they get any offers at all. Any real estate agent worth their money would be on your ass in a heartbeat to get your house in order, if not professionally staged. Photos like that tell me that they’re not really looking to sell.