Turning Lemons into Lemonade Is a Business Strategy 

In the January/February issue, we asked members to share their worst listing experiences. The stories we received confirm that tact, compassion and sometimes a strong stomach are important attributes. 

Our luckiest “Lemon Listing” prize goes to Melissa Dabney of Long & Foster - Vienna. She made lemonade out of her challenging listing with a full-price contract for her clients. 

Here is Melissa Dabney’s winning entry:
I walked in the front door of my potential new client’s home and knew this was going to be a listing appointment I would never forget! 
I was greeted with exposed subfloors that had random tufts of carpet sticking to them. Not wanting to appear nosy, I waited for her explanation. The answer: she was sick of the dirty carpet so she started tearing it out with her bare hands. …. 

The living room was covered with toys, crafts, pet supplies, live birds chirping in a cage, but not a stick of furniture! The office had a large popcorn machine in the middle of it, with old, burnt popcorn. When I opened the closet in the daughter’s bedroom, I encountered a live reptile exhibit – hot lights, lizards and a huge snake! We finally made our way to the basement where, to my surprise, there appeared to be an arsenal of recreational guns with evidence of target practice in the foundation wall. 

Always up for a challenge, I took the listing and advised the sellers that we had plenty of work to do. In addition to the challenges I could see, I found out after the listing agreement was signed that there was a tax lien and the property could be a foreclosure! 

There is a happy ending. The house went on the market and was under contract in four hours at full price. It settled on time due to hard work and an awesome job by Todd Condron of Ekko Title!

First runner-up Steve Hough of Long & Foster – Falls Church shared this story with us:
I received a call from a woman who said she would like to sell her condo in a nearby mid-rise. …. As we entered her unit, she said, “Close the door quickly.” As I stepped inside, I immediately knew why; there were several dozen loose birds in the living room – not parrots or canaries, but sparrows, chickadees, etc., perched on lamps, chair backs and open cabinet doors. Apparently she put birdseed on the sills of her open windows and welcomed whatever flew in!

As diplomatically as possible, I told her I thought it would be difficult to sell her home under these conditions. She acted surprised, and said, “All my visitors seem to like my feathered friends.”