By Steve Roulstone

My second Blog this week is not my usual subject, but I just cannot miss commenting on two properties that I have visited on the last three weeks, both on behalf of differing Landlords and for differing reasons, but it is the difference between them and the manner in which the Lettings Industry views property as opposed to the Sales Industry as to what is acceptable and what is not that I wish to comment about.

Lettings Viewing.

The first property I have mentioned before in this Blog, it is a house that we have let before, but not before we had gone into long conversations with the Landlord about the standard of the house and what work needed to be done. On being asked to re-visit, I found that the property was worse again, as the outgoing Tenant had removed the stair carpet and left protruding nails and an exposed carpet edge right at the top of the stairs, which was a clear trip hazard for anybody visiting the house, never mind potential Tenants. The outgoing Tenant had also left furniture in rooms, some in a state of disrepair and some just left, but it was not the Landlords property and would not form part of any let and needed to be moved. Finally, the garden which was packed with plants and bushes anyway, seemed to have been untouched throughout the summer months, meaning it now took on the appearance of a jungle, in fact I could only get pictures when taken from an upstairs bedroom window that gave any impression of its appearance.

Not suitable.

The only decision I could come to was to advise the Landlord that the property needed attention before it could be considered suitable for viewings. This was not a Managed property, so we were unable to do anymore until the Landlord had dealt with the stairs carpet, organised the removal of furniture with the outgoing Tenant and done something about the Garden, presumably also with the last Tenant. No matter what was promised, because we were not managing, we would not accept responsibility without knowledge that the work had been completed. We would also not accept a position where the outgoing Tenant could accuse us of damaging furniture they had left. In short, there has to be some semblance of order between the end of one Tenancy and what is done to start the second.

Sales Viewing.

I cannot begin to think of words to describe the second property and what we found. The Landlord wanted our opinion of the property as an investment, a service we will carry out when appointed, to give our experience on what to look for and more likely, look out for. The property was for sale as on behalf of a clearance organisation, following a failed mortgage. Nothing what so ever, had been done to change the house from how it was left by the previous owners, other than to place paper tape on toilets, which did little to hide the worst kind of mess one can imagine in toilets (there were two in the same condition) which was smeared over floors, doors and walls. The furniture in some rooms were caked in I have no idea what, and carpets in two rooms had not been cleaned despite the dried remains of what had clearly been somebody being ill. Despite this, somebody had gone to the trouble of bagging the empty drink cans in plastic bags. I did not count them but there must have been two dozen bags – full!

Not suitable.

I washed my hands when I got back to my office and wished I could wash my shoes and change my clothes. The smell was impossible to describe, but the house was possibly the worst I have ever been asked to view. Despite this, the Sales Agent showed no surprise in our comments of disgust and offered no apology or explanation as to why it had been left in this condition, or worse being offered for sale? Now I know that the buyer will not be expected to live in the house as it is currently being shown, but never the less, it is a health hazard and offers more danger to people looking, in my opinion, than any house I have looked at being offered to the rental market. I was just amazed and have had to comment about the difference. I know the Sales Agents are struggling for business still, but I would have thought that as a general statement, they would at least take some pride in what they are selling. I mean, a Car can be refurbished, but you would never expect a garage to sell one in the state of the house I was shown this week!

2 Thoughts on “Lettings show Sales how to show a home!

  1. I understand the views, points and opinion of a letting agents it is really hard to find a tenant in a property which is unhealthy and so messed up property. Maybe the landlord should fix that one before he/she want to let the property.

  2. Showing a home effectively is somewhat of an art-form. It can range from disastrous to an instant sell depending on many factors from the sellers attitude to cleanliness of the property!

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