SarahGray Lamm ~ Chapel Hill / Carrboro / Durham Real Estate Blog ~ Agent Outlier

I've had a few bones to pick over the years with HGTV. Not the least of which has been that advising folks to do a $16,000 kitchen upgrade in a $190,000 home while the hardboard siding and window sills are rotting off the exterior seems, at least to me, to be a bit irresponsible. Homeownership is the embodiment of your mother's admonishment that if you cannot take care of your things then you don't deserve to have them.

So, it is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I believe HGTV may be responsible for the death of the oldest of our traditional advice to sellers. Remember this? "Neutralize, depersonalize, make it clean and give the buyer a blank canvas on which to express his own personality."

We called it Realtor Beige. That nondescript, not too white (not too anything actually) paint color that looks clean with white or wood trim, hardwood floors or carpet. The carpet? Beige, non-offensive. Tile or vinyl? Beige with light colored grout. Yep, Realtor Beige...goes with anything. Well, except falling in love. Nobody ever walked into a freshly 'beige' house and said "Wow, I LOVE it!" or "This goes with ALL my stuff!" "Quick, let's write up an offer before THIS gets away!" Unless the home is a living monument to Hendrix's Purple Haze or every room is bubble gum pink, you might be surprised how many buyers will actually respond positively to the colors we have graciously described in the past as "too personal."

HGTV has raised the expectations of young buyers. Not only are they looking for upgrades (some of which may not be reasonable in an 'entry level' home) but they also respond emotionally to the "ikea-look" or "pottery barn" colors which have become the signature home style of a generation.

I'll give HGTV this much; they have gotten people excited about what fun it can be to live in a beautiful home. They've inspired an entire industry to make affordable home decor that is mix and match. Think about it. Your large furniture is olive drab or brown or, gulp, beige. But your walls are eggplant or aqua, terra cotta or chocolate and you can find pillows and throws and rugs and wall art and knick knacks and candles to match and in any color palate that makes you happy and, should you ever get bored with it, can be changed over a weekend for a couple hundred dollars.

When I list a home and discover that every room is a different color I am no longer afraid. I still insist that the home be in good condition, clean and uncluttered. The quickest way to lose a sale is to have the buyer's inspector find $20,000 worth of wood rot and HVAC and roofing systems on their last legs. Those are the things I, as a Realtor, respond to emotionally.

But color? I've watched too many young buyers this year spinning around happily in a dramatically colored room, and daydreaming about how they will live in it, to be concerned about whether or not any color is "too personal."

R.I.P. Realtor Beige...you served us well.

“I'll get to it later.” You know, all those little things that go on the “honey do” list? The pesky little fixes for which you just need to call a handy person or spend an afternoon at the home store talking to the clerk for some DIY advice. Then there are the things a new homeowner needs to simply budget for...like painting and systems maintenance.

Face it, while you may feel a great sense of accomplishment when chores are taken care of, there is always something much more compelling to do after a day at work or on a Saturday afternoon; something more fun on which to spend your cash reserves. You are easily lulled into “ah, I'll get to it next week...how bad can it get?” Well, let me tell you how bad it can get.

Picture a sweet little starter home in a sweet little neighborhood lived in by a really great family with really great kids. They bought the home just a couple of years ago, at the top of the market, and surely had a home inspection done before purchasing. Inspection recommendations at the time surely must have noted that the home had hard board siding that had not been caulked or painted in a very long time. Trim boards in the early stages of rotting and loosening, had to have been 'freshened up' with a coat of new paint. The HVAC system still had useful life in it but multiple, previous owners probably weren't good about regularly changing the filters. Is the heat exchanger in need of replacment? Maybe. There is a cute little screened porch which was clearly built by a DIY inclined previous owner, probably not permitted, since some of the construction “techniques” include interior rated items used outside and the vertical supports being “supported” on paving tiles.

When this seller purchased the home they would have liked the floor plan and had some money to make improvements so they probably asked for a few repairs pursuant to the inspection or maybe asked for and gotten, a major repair, thereby making the seller unwilling to do much more. Not to worry, the new owners would take care of the smaller, deferred items.

 But when the time came to put some money into the home (for which the family had paid top dollar in a hot market) they chose a full kitchen redo in a home just 12 years old at the time; new cabinets, stainless appliances, solid surface counters, hardwood floors. There is fresh new paint inside in popular colors and they have created a truly attractive living space. But now they have to sell. I don't know why. It isn't advertised as a distressed sale and they haven't made any appreciation since they purchased but that isn't inherently the problem.

The inherent problem isn't entirely one of this sellers' own making either, but rather an unplanned collusion by all the previous owners; a gathering storm of laissez-faire and an “I won't be here long enough to worry about it” attitude from previous occupants. What this seller now has is a boat load of deferred maintenance issues that might just sink the ship.

The hardboard siding, uncared for over many years, has now absorbed enough moisture to crumble at the uncaulked seams and poorly painted edges. Unsealed nail heads are bleeding rust onto the siding as water seeps in. A lot of trim is peeling, missing and water damaged. The best solution is truly to re-side the house. Quite a few window sills have rotted and loosened and been painted over but an inspector’s sharp instrument easily punches a hole in it...even inside. There are windows with broken thermal seals. The DIY projects of previous owners, like a screened porch, were most likely unpermitted and are now testifying to the reason why we have building standards. The yard is a quagmire, 8 inches of standing water on this rainy day and draining toward the foundation. The systems, all original, are heading into the last stages of their expected life and the condition of the home's exterior does nothing to instill confidence in the maintenance of the other systems at this point. The HVAC ductwork in the crawl space is flattened from neglect of the system. The crawl space is damp. Any new buyer would be, quite simply, buying a large maintenance problem; and an expensive one.

It is truly sad. This seller is the one who was caught without a chair when the music stopped. The price they are asking is reasonable for the neighborhood but not for the condition. Add that to the fact that a typical buyer, paying anything near what the seller is asking, would end up upside down in it after fixing everything that needs to be fixed. The insane appreciation of past years (and ours wasn't even that insane) is gone and a buyer would have to live in this home for many, many years to just break even. This is a starter neighborhood of young families and working couples with regular turnover in ownership.

My buyer is exactly what this neighborhood attracts and she has a down payment, a good job, a qualification letter, flexibility on move in date and is ready to go. But she won't be the buyer for this home. Nor will any other informed and well represented buyer who is looking for a great house at a great price. She will move on. My guess is so will most others and I am truly sorry for this seller, left standing when the music stopped. The options left to them are not pleasant.

Responsible home ownership means deferred gratification is far preferable to deferred maintenance. Beautiful kitchens are one thing but you never know when the music will stop...and all those little deferments will keep you from surviving to the next round.

At the end of last year, when the change over to digital TV was imminent, I decided to come into the 21 st century and dump my cobbled together stereo system and 400 pound television (well, it FELT that way) and call in a professional. I mean, who isn’t wooed by the idea of a flat panel TV with sound streaming through quality audio speakers and the ability to play my ipod in sync with cool pictures streaming on the TV screen during a party?

So I did what any self respecting Realtor does…I asked a Realtor for a recommendation! Another agent in my office had just done the same and she was thrilled with her set up. I enthusiastically wrote down the number for “her guy.”

Rich Dlesk of Audio Video One in Chapel Hill, NC was happy to come over and sit down with me and talk about my options. By the time he left after our first meeting I was already so impressed I would have turned over a blank check! What did he do? What DIDN’T he do!

First, he LISTENED to me. He asked how I live in my house; when did I listen to music and in what rooms; did I watch movies and in which rooms. He wanted to know if I had friends over for televised sporting events and in what other ways I used media to entertain. He wanted to know if I had considered plans for future expansion of the system, say, should I ever make an addition to the house!

Second, he EXPLAINED how all this high tech stuff needs to work together and how it sometimes doesn’t just because the manufacturer says it should. He explained WHY that is and the best way to ensure that I didn’t end up with components that wouldn’t “talk” to other components or equipment that was not going to be used to its best ability if I didn’t have other equipment it requires.

Third, he OFFERED to design several possible systems that he felt would work for me and then SUGGESTED that there were some other cool options out there that I might like and which he would be happy to include BUT he would design the system in such a way that they could be added later if I didn’t want to come up with the cost all at once.

Lastly, he ASSURED me that he would seek out the best deals he could on the equipment he would be suggesting and made it clear that he had relationships with vendors of equipment that he had PERSONALLY tested and would vouch for the quality. His GUARANTEE was a year of FREE service to be sure I knew how to use the equipment AND that it was configured in a way that worked well for me.

Let me just say that the whole process was pleasant, informative, educational and made me feel like a valued customer. I love my system and Rich delivered just as he promised he would that first day. When my clients and friends ask me if I know someone who can set up an audio/video system for them I tell them to call “my guy” Rich Dlesk.

See that’s the thing about real estate agents…we not only network for referrals, we network for the awesome folks who become our go-to people whenever a client asks “Do you know anyone who…?” Yes, I do!I know lots of folks who are great at what they do…and hopefully that’s part of what makes me the one you recommend when someone says “Hey, do you know a great real estate agent?”