"Its Not MY Job" - Part 2

"Its Not MY Job" - Part 2 is the continuation of the story started in "Its Not MY Job" Doesn't Get You the Job, or My Respect".

More of the story- the owner of the property had passed away (yes, I wrote a previous blog where another house was staged under similar circumstances), and if I remember correctly, a lawyer representing family that lived out of state was executor of the estate and found the Realtor. The Realtor was smart to realize that odd shaped rooms with interior elements that were out of date would need staging (e.g., full length mirrors along walls, etc.). It was the estate that paid for the staging services and furniture rental.

What I couldn't understand was if the estate was willing to pay for an upgraded kitchen and master bath, why not a new lighting fixture in the powder room and for a cleaning service? I wasn't expecting the Realtor to actually clean, but to at least get a cleaning service in there. I specifically mentioned having the property cleaned prior to staging when I initially saw the property, and was told that since work wasn't done yet in the kitchen and bath, it wouldn't be worth having the property cleaned. Well, of course - that makes perfect sense. But was that forgotten when the work was done?

I also don't believe that the Realtor was acting as the general contractor in having the work done in the kitchen and bath. It never came up in conversation, such as, "I have to call the plumber...", or "The tile guy told me he'd be back on Monday...".

Upon seeing the condition of the property on staging day, I was suddenly put in an situation where decisions on how to move forward had to be made immediately. I had a team of stagers unloading accessories, and a truck full of rental furniture on the way. There was to be an open house in a few days, so putting a complete stop on the staging seemed a drastic measure. I politelyreminded the Realtor that the property was to have been cleaned, and that pushing a broom around really wasn't enough, and that we would need to do some spot cleaning and wiping down of things before putting in the furniture and accessories. And that's when I got the "it's not my job and its not your job either and don't do it because you're not going to get paid for it just like I'm not getting paid for extra work" response.

Remember - the reponse was in regards to them removing 6 nasty blinds and throwing them away, and pushing 2 triangular shaped end tables into a closet.

Maybe I hit a nerve. Maybe the Realtor was having a bad day, or was getting a lot of pressure from the estate. Or maybe they just didn't want to be there that day.

Regardless, after the Realtor left, we did wipe down some surfaces like kitchen counter tops and built in shelves. We also cleaned the grimy mirrors, as they were so bad there was a smudged reflection in them. The "after" photos would have looked horrible. Unfortunately we couldn't do anything about the windows, which was really too bad as the view was of a lovely park. And here's the kicker - my photos were to be used for the listing photos!

It didn't take us very long - all we did was some simple surface cleaning - but the wood floors remained dusty and dirty, and there was a layer of "ick" all over the place.

Well, the Realtor was thrilledwith the results. And the presentation of the property was impressive enough to at least one other Realtor from Sotheby's who gave me a call for a bid on one of their properties a few weeks later. I'm sorry to say, though, that after 3 months the property had not yet sold and we were asked to destage. I didn't follow the property after that, so I don't know when it sold. I'm sure it did - it was in a desirable neighborhood - but I don't know when.

All the Best,

Monica