This may sound like admonishment from your Mother, but it's really a warning for those of you showing distress sales to buyers. Don't open that refrigerator.
I learned the hard way, and a showing today brought home the lesson loud and clear once again.
I was taking new buyers around short sales last year in San Marcos, CA - fortunately he was the son of our good friends and neighbors, who were also present, so we all had a good laugh. Well, more of a gag.
The home was beautiful, practically new, with gorgeous kitchen and stainless appliances. And a fabulous price. Who would have thought such an attractive scene could harbor such, well, not sure what to call it.
I have a habit, a bad one I suppose, of opening the refrigerator, the dishwasher, and cabinet doors in vacant homes. And I did here as well. Hopefully you are not eating right now, for the smell that emerged from that innocent looking refrigerator was beyond description. Truly. And of course it permeated the house (it was a warm day) within seconds, so the remainder of the house tour was a tad bit shorter, accompanied by lots of laughing, gagging, and ribald comments, and a continuous reminder of the toxic mess left behind. I pity the next bloke who opened that door.
Lesson learned...DO NOT OPEN A REFRIGERATOR DOOR IN A SHORT SALE, FORECLOSURE OR REO.
I was reminded of this today, where thankfully I headed the silent warning to myself. This time, however, the refrigerator was clearly full of something that had gone beyond a simple science experiment and was leaking out on to the floor and...well, nuff said. A clear warning to NOT open that door.
Too bad I did not have my camera with me to show you the floor in front of that frig. I won't go into a description for fear of insulting your sensibilities. It was perhaps the worst refrigerator scene I have witnessed.The bank will need the EPA on this one.
Should there be warning in the MLS listing?
Or maybe a prudent and thoughtful agent should post a notice on the door ‘WARNING, Hazards may exist within. Proceed at your own risk"
All kidding aside, there are homes out there that possibly contain toxic hazards, or certainly unhealthy conditions (e.g., swimming pools, dishwashers, sinks, toilets, dirty carpets) and it pays to be careful. Truly bad smells don't arise innocently.
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Jeff doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me once you let the cat out of the bag. Dead cat at that:)
Jeff~
so TRUE! The nose knows that odoriferous refrigerators can lead buyers out the door ...
Probably good to check it out ahead of time---or at least ask about the fridge...YUCKO!
Jeff, Tough way to learn a valuable lesson. Bet it won't happen to you again. Another reminder, don't open an unplugged frig either.
Jeff, definitely a good rule to live by! I had to schedule a sales clean for one of the REO listings I had and had them pay extra attention to the fridge and microwave. The fridge was full of rotting food and there were maggots in the microwave. aaagghhhhhhh. Even after the place was clean the fridge was a Do Not Open kind of fridge.
So, Jeff, is this like the marbles in the medicine cabinet at a party ... only LOTS worse. Just consider the positive ... your buyer can go into the penicillin business.
Jeff ............. LOL
I have the same bad habbit when I go to Open Houses, but I have not been surprised that way yet :) :)
Jeff - Sounds familiar - been there - done that.
Jeff, been there and done that! There's nothing quite as awful as a bummer fridge that is growig a cure for the next pandemic.
Jeff, we kinda got used to smelly fridges here for awhile, but I sure don't want to smell them again! I remember once I had a client open a fridge door and it came off of one of the hinges!!! That was sight, the two us trying to put it back on.
Yuk, yea there should be a sign. Actually it should be unplugged with the door cracked open. Scary....Bet ya got out of there quickly.
Jeff - funny, we do not open refrigerator doors - no suprises please. :) ~Rita (yes, been there done that)
I had that happen to me this summer. Sour milk. The stench met us at the door. The kids were running around the house with their noses plugged asking when we could leave.
Hi Jeff, I can certainly appreciate what you must have gone through. But I can tell you this, if it were my listing, you would not have had that experience. The sad thing is that some listing agents think this is OK. It isn't under any circumstances.
Jeff-How Nasty! I would let the listing agent know that this is unacceptable.
Guess a box of baking soda won't do the trick for this one, eh?
Jeff- I did something worse. I was on a showing and opened the freezer door and it was completely full of ICE and spilled all over the floor. I guess the icemaker was on overdrive. That was a great lesson!
ALL - thanks for all the comments on this smelly issue. Clearly it is one that many of you have experienced first hand. I suspect this is pretty common in short sale, foreclosure, and REO homes (at least where they are not occupied). Let's just say I think about it in every one of these homes I tour now. :)
Jeff
Jeff, I started my real estate career in property management. I've learned (the hard way) that when the electricity is off, you should NEVER leave the fridge door closed. It should be propped slightly open with a towel in the door (same for the freezer). Once the bad smell permeates the plastic walls inside the fridge, it's impossible to get the smell out. You might as well throw out the fridge and buy a new one. It's very simple for the listing agent to prop open the doors with an old towel (and tape a warning sign on the front, as you suggested). Good warning to all, thanks for posting!
Regina - well I saw another one today that made me cringe AND definitely decide to NOT open it. Yep, I agree...any frig like this needs to find another home.
Jeff
I have a summer home for sale. I received a call from the real estate person stating she smelled an odor coming from the fridge. When I got there that night there were dead flies and maggots in my beautiful home. There was a prior showing of my home to a couple with 3 children .somebody left the refigirator door open!!!!!!!!
Debbie - ugh. I would ask my agent to check on this sort of thing to make sure the home is in showing condition. It's a shame people take such poor care of homes they rent.
Jeff