Leave the world as you found it or if you can, better than you found it. All my article ideas come from talking with clients, lenders or experiencing every day life in the real estate world. This article is no different. The idea of leaving a home, the beach, the park, wherever you are; as you found it, is not a new idea but shared often.
When you are little, schools, parents and society drill into you, don't litter, leave the park better than you found it, bathe before getting into the pool. We share this world with others, with nature with animals and birds. What we do affects what happens to others. And it affects us. At what point do those messages fade into oblivion?
When it comes to real estate the rules are no different. In fact as a Realtor, we are constantly drilled with those messages from our continuing ed, newsletters, private remarks on MLS. Leave the home as you found it. I can't tell you how many times sellers tell me, we came home after the showing and the door was left open or the carpet was pulled up, the blinds left open or the toilet used. This is so frustrating. From a real estate broker's opinion my first thought is hmm, doesn't the agent showing the home agree to uphold higher ethics than the average person, why would they do this? The average person must have, at some point heard these messages. Certainly an agent has. Its a privilege to be allowed into someone's home, their sacred space where they live. Treating it as though it you could care less what the seller's think or what happens to the home is not ok. You wouldn't want that to happen to your mom's house or your house.
So, word from your mother. Whether you are an agent, a buyer, an inspector- Remember, the home belongs to someone else. Treat the home as if it was a museum, don't touch things that aren't yours, leave it in the same condition as you found it, close those blinds, make sure the doors are locked. You will find the homeowners will be thankful and it might even give your conscious a lift that you did the right thing.