Aaah, I feel SO much better about our house now! ;)

I posted pictures of our neighbor's house but I retracted them because I might be sued. Anyway, these people are both attorneys with extra money to buy the 2800 sf foreclosed house next to me. Turns out they are using it to storage more of their S$$t. All our neighbors maintain their yards and homes beautifully so we are all distressed by this eyesore on our street.

I'm not sure whether to deep clean my house or just be thankful for the state it's in (which isn't too bad, relatively speaking).

Nightowl, your emotional response is yours to own. I found the site doing a search for staging, as I will be selling my home. The site cautions repeatedly about having poor quality listing photos, and presenting one's home in a poor/horrible manner, making it hard to sell or get the potential return from, and I would say frightening off potential buyers, through making choices that will keep people from ever stepping foot into one's home. There are photo's of people's pets, hygiene products in the bathroom, dozens and dozens of photo's showing walls with hundreds of pictures and or family photos, and he makes the point that buyers if they can see past that clutter may be concerned about hundreds of holes to patch then necessitating repainting, etc. I found it hard to stop looking, and with every photo I am more motivated to get rid of more stuff, which I have a strong tendency to hang onto.

I posted this on buying and selling as well:

I think the site originally started with the truly bizarre and "how-do-they-ever-expect-to-sell-this", but some of the photos seem like completely "normal" sorts of houses where a particular decorating item or style seems to be getting made fun of.

Those are the ones I don't get, except that perhaps it's harder to find the truly bizarre and unmarketable on a regular basis. As for the unfortunate things that show up in photos: Some of this I blame on the agent or photographer. They shouldn't take photos that have someone's dirty underwear or an overflowing trash can, or someone's sex toy in them.

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One of the most unintentionally beautiful photos I have ever seen though, was a real estate photo from an apartment building being sold in a poor neighborhood. It was a studio + kitchen in a late Victorian house and the woman whose apartment it was wasn't exactly a hoarder, but she obviously didn't have enough room for her stuff. The room was packed but it was all organized and very clean, and as is often the case in rental units (and in poor neighborhoods it seems), she didn't leave the apartment when they were taking the pictures. She is hiding out of view but she is reflected in the mirror. It's like Velasquez's Las Meninas.

Nightowl, I don't think it is a matter of going to great lengths to make oneself feel superior in the least. I saw those as reminders that, if I am not diligent about clutter, it will take over and that upkeep cannot be put off-in fact, DH just sanded and repainted the soffits out front over the past two weekends because we noticed some of the paint had started peeling.

I think jakabedy summed it up pretty well. Also, please note that you are not seeing comments about how awful those places were (or were not), but rather comments intended to reflect our own insecurities about our clutter/messes around the house (implied if not stated explicitly).

Hooked on Houses has a regular feature on Bad MLS photos. I agree, it is so strange that some people seem to give no thought to how the listing photos may repel buyers. There are some doozies!

It is not about feeling superior-- it is curiosity and amazement over a factual situation. No one is judging people, or their lifestyle. Just being baffled by how they choose to present a house for sale.

You have to feel sorry for real estate agents whose clients won't clean and de - clutter their homes, but then again, why do they allow photos of the worst of it, pics of bathrooms with the toilet lid up, etc. Kitchy art would not bother me, or crazy paint colors, or even contained collections, as long as the space is neat and clean and you're not overwhelmed.

I meant to add that I did find some of the listing photo's amusing, for example, shot's that included people in the photo's, like kids sprawled out watching tv, or one woman smoking! Scary posters, or cats on the kitchen counters, on and on. A lot of people have cats on the counters, but that is not going to be helpful in a listing photo. Superiority? I don't see that. More like examples of stupidity to avoid when selling your home: take down the rifle on the wall, clean up, throw out the trash. Frankly, some of those photos DO depict really, really awful rooms, and it would be fascinating to see the after photos after the hard work buyers go through gutting and renovating.

I am thinking if realtors feel comfortable posting these true photos, and some were not that horrible, they must know their audience.

Further, it explains clearly why the house is priced the way it is. Those in the market for a true fixer upper (no one HERE I am sure!) will get past the mess and see the potential. There are tons of shows showing this type of property and what can be done to change it.

I agree that it does remind us all to put our best foot forward when we are trying to sell. Clutter and cleanness is king.

Well, some are obviously photos from foreclosed/abandoned house listings.

For a very short time I was a real estate agent about 25 years ago. Never was there any thought, training or discussion on photos. I do still follow the local real estate market and from what I hear, still no training or anything on the photos. One of my pet peeves on real estate agents is that most are just salesmen. No or little knowledge about construction, architecture, decor, or obviously photography. It makes me cringe when I read the descriptions.

I working in advertising for Canadian newspapers. I do a lot of real estate ads. Thankfully some ask my advice about how to word their ads or which photo to use. Not saying that I am some expect but some of the choices are so common sense. One photo is straight on and immediately shows the poor condition of the driveway. The other photo is at an angle, driveway not so apparent and shows more of the nice landscaping. Its a no brainer but some agents don't get it.

A fun exercise for everyone is to go around their house and take photos. Then look at the photos, what do you think of your own house?

Debrak is right on about photos finding things that those who live in the rooms miss. If I am having a hard time with a room feeling a bit off I always take pics to help me see what it is that is not working.

Sometimes I think those who are not so hung up on their houses have it right and I am wasting time, energy and money pursuing a none existing perfect solution for my interiors. I envy those who view a home as merely shelter or a place to store collections and memories. I do not judge them.

Oh, yeah. My house could be featured.

Right now, there is a mountain of old electronics in the living room waiting for my helper to come with his pickup truck (wish he had a semi) so I can take them to recycling (can't throw them away here). One of the televisions says made in Indiana (nope, not India - INDIANA - like in America). And no, it's not "collectible" (maybe in another 20 years, but I'm not waiting that long)...

Piles of old lighting fixtures from the 1980's in the basement. DH saved all kinds of stuff ( The "Hon, I can fix that/I might need it someday" routine - know the one?) I loved him to pieces and he really COULD fix anything, but what the heck am I going to do with 18 old fluorescent fixtures? That you can't get bulbs for anymore.

I finally got tired of the ratty old couch taking up space I need for sorting other crud, so I took a Sawzall (I couldn't move it by myself) and cut it up so it would fit in the garbage can. Don't you know my brother stopped by and dug some of the parts out of the trash - at least he took them home and out of here. It must be a guy thing.

I could go on and on...so yep, my house looks like a LOT of those. It gets slightly better one garbage day at a time :-)

I have mixed feelings about seeing photos like these, after helping our son & DIL house hunt last fall. On one hand, it's "truth in advertising" and an honest depiction of the work that needs to be done on a house. You have an idea of what you're getting into, & the photos still show the space & size well enough. On the other hand, you wonder why the real estate company, if not the seller, doesn't invest a couple hundred bucks to have a cleaning crew come in for a couple of hours to eliminate the worst of the clutter & grime. I would think the cost to do so could be recovered in the sale.

When we were house hunting last fall, I was more disappointed by the homes that looked great in the online listings, but didn't live up to the images. One home we looked at was truly beautiful online, in fact I've saved the photos because there were some great decorating ideas. But when we looked at the house, the closets were filthy, the freshly painted kitchen cabs had dribbled paint on the backsides & the interiors were gross, and we found many signs of longtime lack of maintenance. The discrepancy between the online presentation & the real thing was a let down. Bottom line: the pictures were promising, but the house didn't deliver -- we felt mistrustful.

We ended up buying a fixer upper that looked neat & orderly online: not particularly attractive, but not a dump either. We could tell from first seeing the online pictures that the owner was elderly & the kind of housekeeping that implies, that the house needed work, and so didn't go in with high expectations. Looking at the house in real life, we felt it was a diamond in the rough in a great location. Bottom line: the real estate pictures were adequate but didn't oversell -- we felt we were getting a deal.

Two of our neighbors have houses for sale. One neighbor we are friends with. They just put their house on the market on Thursday and they got a contract yesterday! They are both retired and she said they spent the last few weeks getting the house ready.....took tons of stuff to the dump etc.. They had the kitchen remodeled several years ago as well as a new walkway and landscaping. The house is simply furnished, the walls are neutral with a minumum of art on the walls.

We do not know the other neighbors. They have no real estate sign out front but we found out from our friends that it's for sale.....again. They had it for sale a year or two ago then took it off the market when it didn't sell. I looked online and it's a real mish-mash inside...not horrible, but cluttered, dark, heavy furniture and too much of it, too much on the walls. It's been on the market this time over 90 days. It is not overpriced, if anything it is underpriced.

These two houses, just a few houses apart, could be a case study in what and what not to do. Incidentally, our friend's house is a split foyer (not a popular style) and small on the main level. The other house is a center hall colonial and much larger with a pool. The price difference, because of size and style, is $50,000 so you'd think the larger, more traditional floor plan would sell first.

Here is a listing picture that I grabbed from the MLS of a house that is for sale about 5 minutes from my house (not right in my neighborhood, but nearby). It's listed for just over $1.3 million. Anyone interested, LOL?!?

OMG, Beagles, that is the stuff nightmares are made of. Such a shame because it looks like a nice house. Here's hoping the potential buyers can see past the zoo. Maybe the owner worked r=for a defunct natural history museum and is storing the collection?

Mustangs, I have a similar situation. My street is lovely and the homes are well cared for. However, right across from me is a derelict house with a rotten old car in the driveway. No one even lives there for now. I am sure it affects the value of my home.

But beagles, you know the "Natural History Museum" isn't staying with the house, so why should anyone let that be a detraction? Looks like it has good space, great light, and some interesting architecture. Yeah, I'd take a look if I were in the market for it.

I'm beginning to think that HGTV has brainwashed us: the thinking's gone from "people are more inclined to buy a house with a pretty decor" to "people should only buy a house with a pretty decor." Price, location, size, & potential aren't the prime factors anymore.

Beagles....yes I believe anyone would be taken aback when they walked into that house...but it looks clean and bright. The menagerie in thr LR would not deter me....I could envision the space with furniture. Everyone's idea of "pretty decor" is different so the style of decor wouldn't throw me either.....but cluttered, dark, and dirty or smelly would.

I agree that people SHOULD look past the zoo... but do they? if that is the first thing you see when you walk in the front door, I think it will create a negative gut reaction... and that could color your perceptions of the rest of the house, which is mostly fine.

It wouldn't stop me from buying the house, but the house seems to have been on the market for a comparatively long time (it's newly listed now, but has gone on and off the market since 2013) given that it has very nice other features and the price is pretty much in line... so...

I have seen the version with the comical photos. This version is by turns comical, sad, or disturbing. I can't look, it's so ... personal?

Beagles-
I think that anyone interested is looking past the whole house
and thinking about that 14 acres.
Me ??? I'd buy it for the barn :)

"I agree that people SHOULD look past the zoo... but do they? if that is
the first thing you see when you walk in the front door, I think it will
create a negative gut reaction... and that could color your perceptions
of the rest of the house, which is mostly fine."

I know some people (clearly, like the owner,) who would react positively about that room. Nonetheless, they might have a better shot of selling by removing the distractions. :)

Well, I DID buy a house chockfull of clutter, and although it was from a very elderly couple, the kids ran the show. I thought I was being very open and all to be able to overlook all the stuff, but I learned, at least in this case, that I missed important clues from their actions and behavior which became painful lessons for me. Their reticence (the kids, all older adults, one who seemed to be temporarily staying in the basement) to clean up anything in hindsight seemed to reflect their lack of interest in being responsible in other matters, and they fought over everything. Trash items in the yard they initially resisted getting rid of, some of them, were found dumped in the weeds and woods after closing. Rusted barrels, rotted large dog house, piles of stuff. Cost me a lot to have hauled away. Some of their larger items in the basement cleverly hid water damage, even from the inspector. The clutter really did disguise a lot of problems. I could go on and on. From my experience, I am thinking that those who choose to present a home in the best light, are not just smart about maybe selling quicker or possibly getting a better return, but are showing that at least on some level, they care, and in the end, that may better translate to working with someone being open, flexible, honest, responsible, etc. Elderly people selling on their own, or ill people, etc. would be a different story.

On the flip side of this I bought a house that was completely staged from top to bottom for sale. Everything was painted, new carpet was installed throughout, and a brand new 3/4 bath was converted from a powder room. Furniture was brought in, art was hung, and flattering photographs were taken for the listing.

I happened not to see the listing before I saw the house in person. There happened to be an open house on a day I walked by on my way to look at another house.

The kitchen was several years old and none of the appliances had been used except for the refrigerator (There were still plastic wrapped things in DW and Oven)

The reality of it was the house had been horribly maintained and everything that had been done for sale was done in the cheapest manner possible.

I saw through most of it and bought the house anyway, because I was looking for a house to renovate.

I was not planning on having to replace 100% of the plumbing and electrical however. The electrician told me I have been lucky so far that the house hasn't burnt down. Among things that were likely done in the course of readying the house for the market were leaving cut off live wires in the basement, splicing wires in the walls with electrical tape, putting up new fixtures without boxes and connections covered with electrical tape, putting in new bath fans that weren't actually connected to anything.

I don't think the seller intended to deceive, I think the seller was an incredibly cheap person who accepted the lowest bid for any project and I know they put their agent through hell.

As I said, I fully expected a renovation project, and I got one in spades. But the way the house presented itself in a very superficial staged manner was one that was move-in ready.

I think it's more honest, that if the house is in lousy shape, it look like it, for those people who have not, like me, been through the old run-down house game before.

Yikes Pal! That is no good!

My house had unpleasant pics but it had been abandoned for 10 yrs. When I walked in, I almost choked from the dust. It had very old filthy furniture and was very creepy. There was an old dusty crib in the middle of the living room next to a creepy old rocking chair. The realtor and I left fairly quickly, laughing that anyone could think they could sell it for the asking price. But I couldnt get it out of my head. The realtor thought I was crazy to put an offer on it. Well, like Pal's house, it has needed much more work than I ever thought, but I got myself into this. So, I guess the more disclosure the better, although I think it would not have deterred me.

LOL I have a couple rooms that might work for that website...one being my parrots' room - three huge parrot cages on an eternally food riddled floor would qualify I think (I can sweep it hourly and it wont make a difference, they happily toss out what they dont want to eat). And there is one room that I use to store stuff in. Well, it has gotten a little out of hand and embarrassing. It's so darn easy to throw stuff in there that I dont know what to do with. It would make for a very bad picture.

Beagles, I would be turned off by that house. I would not be able to visit it. I am still upset that a dead pigeon was found in my house when we tore the walls out. I just couldnt look at those animals.

Beagles, that living room looks like the Cabela' s outdoor store! Wow.

Our house was also a disaster, both in the photos and in reality. DH wanted the acreage, and we did major remodeling. Photos don't always matter, but I think they are important in a typical situation.

I've visited that site a lot-- kind of in sheer awe how awful things can be. I'll never forget a "before" listing picture of a new home exterior -- and the "after" at the next sale. Talk about deferred maintenance! Big lesson.

I think the pictures tell a sad tale of people being forced to vacate. To me, most of these photos look like they were taken in still occupied forclosures. Many of these could be rentals, with tenants riding it out until the locks have been changed. There are plenty of instances where the current occupants of a home are in no hurry for it to sell :(