Zuimei and I have begun house hunting with the help of our friend and realtor Tim. I was absolutely shocked at the state of most of the houses we looked at. We are expecting to pay around $350,000 give or take a few thousand and I am stunned at the conditions some of these houses were in.
I should have taken photos. The first one must of had a 100 pairs of shoes in the entry way. Yes, it was owned by Indians and not to apply a racial stigma but why wouldn’t they have hidden them, and gotten people out of the house? When we showed up there was at least one person in every room. As a result, the house had seen some hard living.
In another house the owner was chain smoking while banging away on the computer. Again, get out!
One of the last houses was the worst though. It smelled horribly and we could hear the tenant in the basement rumbling around, although we never figureed out how to get into the basement suite. There were unmade beds everywhere and sheets on the ground with old garbage scattered in various locations. Not like old food, but there were old photos and notebooks on the table and floor. That, and the smell made me think that perhaps someone had died in the house.
While I am not expecting the Taj Mahal, for $350K I would expect people to have some sort of house pride, at least to keep their investment safe. House hunting in Toronto is disappointing to say the least.
I feel your pain, fella.
My wife and I are currently looking to buy, and I’m amazed at the condition (aesthetically) that some people have their homes in.
If you’re trying to sell something, make it worth the sales pitch to start with. It’s a buyer’s market – at the end of the day, we can buy any home, it doesn’t have to be yours.
Can the seller say a similar thing?