I visited my first foreclosure open house recently. What a disaster -- sloping floors, peeling linoleum, a bad smell coming from the refrigerator (which was an imposing item itself, all black with a giant "Oakland Raiders" sticker on it), a hole in the living room floor, and so forth.
But the image that really sticks with me is the wadded up packet of ketchup (like you'd get from a fast food outlet) sitting on the kitchen counter. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for the agent to pick up and throw away.
True, it wouldn't have made a penny of difference to the home's (negligible) value, but I wouldn't have gone away with such an extreme a feeling of "No one involved in this transaction gives a darn." Which is why I say that details matter.
But the image that really sticks with me is the wadded up packet of ketchup (like you'd get from a fast food outlet) sitting on the kitchen counter. It would have been the easiest thing in the world for the agent to pick up and throw away.
True, it wouldn't have made a penny of difference to the home's (negligible) value, but I wouldn't have gone away with such an extreme a feeling of "No one involved in this transaction gives a darn." Which is why I say that details matter.
