With winter slowly melting away, eHow asked me to do a quick vlog for sellers who are prepping their homes for the traditional high season in real estate: Spring & Summer! De-clutter, de-personalize, stage & match your decor with your house style. Good luck! 

 

Another fabulous LogoTV viewer pops Hermanity a question.  I love hearing from you guys! 

Question:  I'm selling my house soon. Should I do a pre-inspection? 
Answer: Yes! It's like getting tested at the clinic. No one likes surprises! Trust me, it'll save you a lot of heartache & pain down the line. A pre-inspection gives a seller a chance to correctify any outstanding repairs, gives the buyer a more clear picture of the house's condition and helps mitigates negotiations in escrow. 

Has a pre-inspection ever saved your deal? I wanna hear! 

I was showing this $936,400 foreclosure to my clients. Coveted location, built in 1937, hardwood floors, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, all seemed honky dory...until we peered into the backyard and gasped in unison!

Is it me, or does this remind you of a lynching apparatus?! Yikes!  I'm sure it's nothing that sinister but it's odd how the same thought flashed through our minds!  If it were my listing, I would have had it removed before hitting the market. Who wants buyers imagining what (or who) dangled on that thing!?

What a deal!  Not only do you get a dated brown shingle home on the outside, but  wow you also get a white post-modern curvy condo inside. (giggle)

My initial theories on this listing:
1. Must be a Mixed Marriage: Exterior by Berkeley Hippie & Interior by SOMA Yuppie
2. The house (& probably owner) is schizophrenic
3. The person who designed the inside has something against right angles.
4. It's not just mental cognizant dissonance , it's rental cognizant dissonance
What are your theories for how this dubious design came about?

If I've said it once I've said it a million times, please match outside architecture with inside decor. (If you missed the memo, revisit my webcast here!)

I've definitely come across some distressed sellers who weren't too far from this cartoon!

Got any other funny real estate cartoons? Please share. It's a tough business. We need a little humor.

Nowadays, in this economy, to sell a listing you've got to be a pornographer. Sell that fantasy! Buyers are visual creatures!  As my fellow agent & real estate TV Host of 365 Realtor  Nicole Martin loves to joke:  "Real estate is the finest form of prostitution."  LOL! 

Am I being salacious to just get more web hits? Hell yeah.   Hey, if the revered Inman News can do it, so can I! Here is their article published yesterday  titled "Selling House Porn to Gen X & Y" by Candy Evans. Selling homes is like selling sex, indeed...not that I would know.

XXX...er, i mean, xoxo,
Herman