Home Buyers: Three real estate agents share unexpected house findings.

Real estate is a people business.  What one person might call home might be frightening or surprising to a prospective home buyer.

I asked three Connect2Agent members to share with me any surprises or stories they had in showing or selling real estate.  Here are their stories:

Surprise guest in the bedroom

Kae Schennberg, a real estate agent in Richmond, KY, made an appointment to show her seller's house with the wife.  This wife's husband worked 2nd and 3rd shifts and so he wasn't aware of the appointment.  The home buyers were touring the house and were chatting about the features as they stepped into the master bedroom where they found the husband fast asleep in bed. 

The wife was not aware that her husband had come home from work and was sleeping in the master bedroom.  Luckily the home buyers had not woken the husband, but it did cut their house visit to a quick close.

Burglars or Home buyers?

Kae also shared a story of a fellow real estate agent who was out with some home buyers viewing several listings.  She got to one of the last houses for the day and entered with her home buyers.  Unbeknownst to this real estate agent, some neighborhood children had moved the "for sale" sign as a prank from the house next door to the house that the real estate agent and the home buyers entered. 

The homeowners heard their voices and thought that burglars had entered the house.  They hid in the closet for almost the entire showing, until the end when they stepped out of the closet to confront the agent and the home buyers. Needless to say, they were all embarrassed beyond belief.

Nothing beats a Pepsi

Kae Schennberg had a double wide mobile home listed that was on three acres of land.  Everytime she would have a showing to a prospective home buyer, she made sure to carry Pepsi with her.  Why?  Because the owner of the property owned a camel who liked to gulp this tasty beverage.  Apparently the camel agrees with corporate marketers and to him, "Nothing beats a Pepsi".  Kae said the drink worked like a charm everytime.

Vacant property- or is it?

Tom Viers, a real estate agent in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was showing a house 4-5 years ago.  When he arrived at the house a U-Haul trailer was in the driveway and the garage was open.  He called the listing agent to make sure that there was no one at the house and that they could go in.  She assured him that it was fine to show the home buyers the house and that the house was vacated. 

Viers entered the house with his home buyers, calling out, "I am here to show this house"- no answer.  Upon touring the house, Tom and his home buyers discovered the homeowners fast asleep. Viers said they must have been so tired from moving that they forgot about the garage or locking the house.  He and his home buyers quickly left.  The homeowners never knew they were there.

Ideal Buyers:  Vampires or the Adams Family

Bill Fagerland, a real estate agent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, showed a house to a prospective home buyer where the inside was painted completely black and the interior was dimly lit. When they got to the basement there was a closed coffin.  Fagerland didn't explore the house any further with his home buyers and left.  The house ended up being sold to another home buyer.

Fifteen years later, he was teaching a real estate class and used the house as an example of a house that didn't show well.  One of the agents came up to Fagerland at the end of the class and asked him if the house was on Notre Dame Court.  He said it was and the agent shared with him that the house was up for sale again.  He told him that the house is still black and the coffin is still there.

Share your real estate stories

Have you ever previewed, sold, or listed a house and run into something unexpected?   Please share your stories by commenting below.

Posted by Rebecca D. Levinson