Are Sellers Ignorant or Just Arrogant?

Presentation of a house for sale seems like a no-brainer to many that are involved in the industry. Yet there are still houses out there on the market that have not had one whit of attention paid to cleanliness and clutter.

Here piggy piggy!

This begs the question: Are the Sellers Ignorant or just Plain Arrogant?

Do they REALLY not know all about how to present their house for sale?

Ignorance - which in this case is not bliss. It's "blah!"

And does the listing agent really not know what to tell them about keeping their house picked up and make it presentable to buyers?

Or are they just thumbing their nose at the process of attracting a buyer? Arrogance - an attitude that few can afford to have in a market where the competition is stiff, and prices are decreasing.

I had this question posed to me yesterday - by someone that has their house on the market. This seller toured other listings to check out the competition and was shocked at what they saw in a house - same price range, smaller square footage.

They shared there was a half-eaten granola bar left on the kitchen floor. The bathroom shower was so disgusting they said she would not want to shower in there - ever! Every room was dirty - the grout, the window tracks, the counters, the flooring. You get the picture.

They toured it at an Open House - with the listing agent touring the buyers through the pig sty.

Their house, meanwhile, is neat and tidy, it is ready for any buyer to walk into and picture themselves living there. It has been depersonalized and prepared for sale.

In this day and age of media exposure, articles, television shows, professional home stagers in EVERY market in the US . . . HOW is it possible that these people still don't have a clue?

And it is not just about the Sellers - the REALTOR needs to wise up and get tough on the client. Letting them leave their house a mess, is a mistake. If the REALTOR truly wants to SELL the house - and not just show a pig-sty to the public, then there needs to be a truthful conversation with the sellers.

If the Sellers don't care about keeping up appearances - that means they are not motivated to sell - and that Realtor is just wasting time and dollars marketing a property that is a turn-off to anyone that walks through the door.

And the public that is out there shopping - trust me, they would rather buy a house that has been well maintained and cared for than one that looks like it has been neglected.

The only ones that want a house like that - they will low-ball the price and hope that the sellers that don't care about presenting a nice product to the market won't care about their equity and price either.

Arrogance - a costly mistake. Ignorance - let's educate the sellers and get them to clean up their act!