It is not news to anyone at this point that the real estate market has changed in the last two years. The news is not always the same as understanding. We seldom realize what it means for the people in that industry. What does the change mean for the Real Estate Agents as agents and as people, what does it mean for sellers, or buyers. What new challenges do Appraisers have?
I can speak as an Inspector, two years ago most of the homes we inspected were “staged” for sale. For those of you not familiar with the term staging was a method used to make the house marketable. There were several Staging companies in our area in most cases they removed most of the homeowners furniture and replaced it with their own trendy stuff for a fee of course. Staging worked, basically they decluttered the house and made it more like a show room. It was often a sort of Pottery Barn meets Zee Gallery with a European flair thrown in.
They were delightful to inspect and buyers loved them. They were clean, and it was easy to move around the house to access windows and outlets. They were bright and cheery and then we went home.
Home of course is a different place. A pile of mail on the counter some dealt with some not, a mixture of furniture bought through the years not a theme running throughout the house. Reality was firmly at home if not everywhere in our workplace.
How times have changed, now it is a delight to go home. Most of the homes we inspect now are Bank owned. Almost none are staged. Most of the light fixtures in Bank owned homes are missing light bulbs, the places are empty, the walls are beat up. The carpet is fully exposed because there is no furniture and that is not a pretty sight. Often the homes have been vacant for awhile and the heat has not been on (the gas is often off). Sometimes the water is off and the electricity is off. The houses are bone cold, dark and frankly depressing. We are glad at the end of the day to go home and see our own clutter at least the lights work we can take a shower, and the heat is on.
In my opinion Agents would do well to carry light bulbs and install them. Banks would do well to heat the places even though they are vacant. Staging might be out of the question in some cases but dead carpet is dead carpet. Fresh paint is the difference between a budding romance and a breakup.
In most cases these at heart are good houses they are just currently unloved. Yes some people see below the grime but most are just shell shocked. When there are no light bulbs I as an inspector have no choice but to recommend a complete review of the fixture. I do not know if it is a bad fixture or if wiring has melted or a circuit breaker failed, or if it just needs a bulb. When the gas is off we can not test a gas furnace or determine if a gas water heater works. If there are gas fireplaces who knows if they work? The gas stove in the kitchen? again who knows if it works. These situations makes it harder for a buyer to make their decision. Buy or not buy? Again I suggest Agents would do well to carry light bulbs and install them in their listings. Show a little love to the property so someone can more easily see below the grime and fall in love with the house.
Banks should shoulder the cost of heating an empty place (keep the gas turned on) and the water service on. Surely a heated place with working lights and fresh paint can not hurt the Appraisers feelings. Running water is basic. Will it change my report?, yes in terms of the lights, the plumbing system and the heating system, but not at all in terms of paint. But paint may well help the buyer decide.
Even though the market has changed our job as Home Inspectors has not changed. Some people say we are paid skeptics. Be this as it may we at the end of the day are concerned with safety and functionality, Bank owned or not. However the Agents and Banks have a different job. They have a back log of properties to match up with buyers.
My gut feeling is they need to give the buyers a reason to love the place and less reasons for inspectors to be skeptical.
