It’s not easy being green…

Posted on Dec 31, 2006 by Cari McGee in Sellers

I went to a Broker’s Open yesterday. A Broker’s Open is like an Open House for realtors. We’ll hold them to showcase a new builder or subdivision. Sometimes, if a house has been on the market a long time, we’ll hold one to remind other realtors of the house’s existence. That was the case with the one yesterday.

It’s a lovely home; 2,727 square feet, fantastic mother-in-law quarters, good school district, .75 of an acre…$319,000. Here’s the problem…it’s green. Not the outside. The outside is grey with white trim, red shutters and rock accents. The inside is painted green. Green entry, green dining room, green hallway, green kitchen, brighter green accent wall at the bay window, green family room, green along the stairwell. And you hope, as you hit the landing and turn the corner on the way up, that that is the end of the green. But no. The upstairs hall is green, the master bedroom, two auxillary bedrooms and the bonus room, all green. You might be thinking, “Green is a nice color. It’s very soothing,” Yes, yes it is. When it isn’t mint chocolate chip green, and it’s not on every wall in the house, yes, it can be a great decorating feature.

We all told the listing agent on the way out, “Paint over the green with a nice neutral and it’ll sell right away.” She knows this. She’s told the sellers. They refuse. In fact, the last time she brought it up, the sellers YELLED at her…”We know that people don’t like the green! Don’t bring it up again!”

When you’re dealing with the places people live, sometimes things get a little testy. Real estate is an emotional business, it’s subjective. Good realtors understand this and make allowances for clients who are going to get upset. Usually, the client doesn’t understand that the realtor is not emotionally involved, so he or she is providing perspective. Often badly-needed, as in the case of the green house…

I wrote this and didn’t post right away. Now it’s six weeks later, price has dropped almost 3%, sellers are “MOTIVATED”, all appliances are included and a home warranty, too. How hard is it to paint the walls, I ask you??