Long before Lexington home buyers decide a certain
place must be theirs, it behooves them to ask a lot of
questions. For example: "How's the neighborhood?" or "How old is
that water heater, anyway?" Ask away! Such queries help you
pare down your options, so don't be bashful; real estate
agents have heard them all.
However, the adage "There's no such thing as a
stupid question" isn't always true. As proof, just check out this list of
the strangest questions real estate agents have ever heard about a
house from realtor.com. Cue the “Twilight Zone” music—things are about to get very, very weird.
1. 'How do you keep alligators from coming up into the
toilet?'
Michael Lyons, a real estate broker with Lyons Realty Group
in Hollywood, FL, has certainly heard his share of concerns about
alligators lurking in yards, ponds, and swimming pools. But sneaking into the
house? Through a toilet? That left him stumped.
"I couldn't answer that question seriously," he
said. "So I made up some weird solution. I told them, 'pour vinegar down
the toilet once a month, they hate it.'"
This seemed to appease the buyers, who ended up purchasing
the house. No word on whether or not the vinegar trick worked.
2. 'Do any swingers live in the neighborhood?'
While home buyers often have questions about the neighbors,
this one was a first for Kate Julian, a real estate agent with City Chic
Real Estate, in Washington, DC.
"They said they were swingers and that's something they
were looking for," she said.
Unsure what to say, she countered with, "drive
around the neighborhood and see." After all, aren't swingers very friendly?
3. 'Does the car in the driveway come with the house?'
Chike Uzoka, a real estate agent with Weichert in Newark,
NJ, has heard of buyers asking whether many things "come with the
house," from chandeliers and furniture to appliances and pool
equipment. But a car?
The only way he could answer such a question was with
sarcasm: “If the attorney doesn't catch it in attorney review, then yes it
does!”
4. 'Is anyone buried in the backyard?'
Larry Prigal, a real estate agent with Re/Max in Gaithersburg,
MD, had no reason to believe the house he was selling had any corpses stashed
6 feet under. "So I joked, 'I’m not aware of anyone buried here, but
you can dig it up after you’ve settled on the property.'”
Who knows? Maybe the buyers were worried about our next
point...
5. 'Are there any ghosts in the house?'
When Chris Dossman, a real estate agent with Century 21
in Indianapolis, holds open houses at older homes, it's not
uncommon to hear creaks or creepy noises. That prompts a superstitious few to
pop the ghost question.
"I usually respond jokingly at first that there are
ghosts but that they're friendly, but then immediately follow with ‘just
kidding,’ because people can be really weird about those things,” Dossman said.
"Cellars and basements can be especially freaky, even to me."
Nonetheless, a haunted house is, in fact, a selling
point for some home buyers. Go figure.
6. 'I really like this house, but I need to pray about it.
Is that OK?'
Kimberly Sands, a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker
Sea Coast Advantage, in Wilmington, NC, said she gets this question (or
some variation of it) a fair amount, so she wasn’t alarmed, at first.
“I thought the would-be buyer would go home and pray
about it and then decide, so I said 'sure.'" That's when things got weird.
"All of the sudden she drops to her knees and starts
flailing her arms and yelling at the top of her lungs: ‘Dear Jesus, please send
me a sign, Jesus, a sign that I should buy this house!’ Meanwhile, I slowly
started inching toward the door planning a hasty escape. I ended up
waiting outside on the curb for her to come out for about 15 minutes. When
she came out, she was cool, composed, and had her answer: no."
7. 'Do you think the homeowner would give me the
house without a down payment?'
