Genius: one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
–Thomas Edison
You might say the same thing for great real estate marketing — though I might tweak the ratio to 10%/90%.
In this case, how long would it have taken to clear the built-in buffet (pictured above)?
Ten seconds? Thirty?
Not a lot to add a couple hundred (or thousand) to the sales price.
One Cockroach (or Many?)
So, what’s the big deal about a solitary, cluttery photo?
Just like there’s seldom just one cockroach, there’s usually not just one thing that the Seller (or their Realtor) let slide.
You’d guess that the same house may (also) need new paint in a few (or many) places; the mechanical’s may not be updated; and the house itself may not exactly be in pristine, ready-to-show condition.
Etc., etc.
And as a result of the foregoing suppositions, decide to skip seeing the house altogether.
Harsh, perhaps — but often true . . .
Wall Street Parallel
Something analogous happens on Wall Street when a company misses consensus earnings estimates by 1¢ — and its stock gets whacked.
To casual observers, it looks like a massive overreaction.
However, sophisticated investors understand that, if senior management knew Wall Street’s earnings estimate — and it always does — and couldn’t massage its numbers to hit it . . . . it’s indicative of much deeper problems.
