Selling Your House: A Lesson In How Not To

My neighbor's house is and has been for sale for months now. When they first told me they were selling, they asked if we were going to cause them problems in doing so. I thought that was really strange. Apparently, somehow the information on the property line I'd received from the previous owners had me mowing 2-3 lawn mower swipes too far. Somehow this was seen an omen of my evil as a neighbor.

I made it abundantly clear that I had no problems and settled in to watch them prepare for the sale. I say "prepare" because there's no way I would have put my house up on the market if it looked like theirs does. Yet, very little happened outside until suddenly there was a sign outside. Curious about the asking price, I looked it up and ended up just shaking my head. Condition aside, they were asking $209,000 (what ours had been listed at when we bought) for a house that had a tuckunder garage where my office and our guest bedroom are in our house. Same asking price, smaller house. Then the way it looks from the street . . .

I took pictures a couple of weeks ago of this house and have looked at them several times, wondering if I should write this up. I'm refraining from doing much more than stating the facts and not describing what I see. But, then, I think the photos will speak for themselves.

They've since lowered the price to $189,000, which to me is an example of how not preparing for the sale can easily cost you $20,000+ as I doubt this will be the last price drop.

First, to set your expectations, here's what my house looked like before the snow fell.

Now, take a look at the real estate listing for how its presented by the realtor. Note particularly the shot from the front that obscures the driveway. Below you'll see why the realtor used that odd angle. So, are you ready to see what it looks like? Enough rambling from me. The photos are hidden so you don't see them until you've looked at the others first.

As you look at them, ask yourself if whatever you are marketing (yourself for a new job, a site, your business) resembles this situation. From the interior photos, it's clearly nicely redone in the kitchen, but would you even bother to go inside?

OK, Show Me The Photos (just mouseover)

The driveway that's conveniently cropped out of the real estate listing photos.

A collection of lawn mowers started in August