I remember driving to Ark City to go through the process of listing a bank owned property there. Commonly called REO's, real estate owned (by a bank) and since you never know what you will see in this business, I was still anxious to get a look at it and see what we had. It was terrible, the typical scenario of a forclosure, grass needed mowing, couldn't see the forest for the trees, etc. Got inside and I could see that there had been some attempted upgrading and renovations...but done very poorly.
As I walked through the interior, my mind was trying to come up with a narrative about this house. A description to let a potential buyer know what this house was like. I looked at the fairly new oak kitchen cabinets that were obvioulsy not installed by a professional.Then I looked at the laminate floor that didn't go all the way through the house and where it stopped it stopped abruptly, without any finish trim. The rooms were very small, the upstairs was a nightmare of lathe and plaster, peeling paint and wallpaper from the dark ages. I'm taking pictures and nodding my head, which, by the way, is very hard to do at the same time...
I notice it has a basement, oh boy, dark, dank, smelly, everything you want in a basement. Take pictures down there. Then go outside to breathe and the grass is high and I am thinking all the while, how can I be honest in describing this house but still let people know what it is like in a brief description. Trust me, I was...speechless.
Can I at least say it has good bones? No, I wasn't convinced it had good bones. Layout was weird, kitchen was big but poorly remodeled. What do I say? The typical "needs tlc" just didn't seem like enough, it needed more. I was thinking "house kit", at least it came with the land and you build from there? Just couldn't get my lingo on. The house was depressing.
Not a good selling point "depressing home in nice residential neighborhood, bring matches." No, the asset manager wouldn't allow that. Has to be upbeat and perky, yet honest. Yeah, I can just go with honest, because I can't do both.
So I went with the old stand by "has potential". Not lying, not too depressing. It did have potential. So content with my description, but thinking this hummer will never sell, on the drive home after planting a sign in the yard, I get a call on my cell phone from an investor. He says, "what can you tell me about the house." I told him. He asked if it had any redeeming qualities? "You mean would it make a great rental property, why yes!" Some fixing here and there and adding and subtracting, yep would rent.
A few days later, we have an offer. Few months later and it is a new house. I was thrilled he wasn't a slum lord. Total remodel, sold for more than twice what he paid.
Sometimes you just have to see the potential.
Mary Welch Broker/Owner Preferred Choice Realty Harper, Ks.