Buyer Beware: Skeletons in the Closet

RISMEDIA, August 15, 2007–How much do you suppose a pile of crunchy dead bugs on the basement floor will affect the selling price of a $500,000 home? How about a life-size skeleton hanging in the closet, or an open coffin in the basement with a dummy vampire inside? Or an overly ripe kitty litter box under the kitchen table?

The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA) recently conducted an online survey of its members to rate the items they found most annoying when searching for a new home with buyers. The results of the survey are revealing, surprising, and sometimes downright weird.

Here are the top five things exclusive buyer’s agents find most annoying when previewing a home:

1. Broken door locks preventing access to the house
2. Pet deposits in the backyard or dirty cat boxes
3. Missing light bulbs in the basement
4. Sellers that ask you to remove shoes and then have wet carpet or dirty floors
5. Having loose stairs on a stairway or missing banisters

Other reported annoyances include:

Low-hanging dining room light fixtures in a vacant home
Closet doors that fall off or are not adjusted properly
Going into a vacant home and hearing animals in the walls
Halloween decorations that are left out
Dangerous children’s toys left out
Dead cars in the driveway or yard
Homes on large lots without a survey or description of the lot boundaries
Political signs
Graffiti on a home for sale
Dead birds or animals in or around the home