Last week I had an appointment to look at a townhouse close to downtown, no big deal, do that all the time. The Realtor told me he wanted to meet me there. Ok, I have no problem with that. Then he said he wanted to meet me somewhere before we got to the townhouse and for me to follow him. Again, I didn't think too much about it, sure no problem. When I met him, he said to follow him he didn't want me to go alone. Hmm...now that started to sound a little strange. He tells me the street is a one-way, and we would be turning down it the wrong way so park as soon as I could. We get to the street, he pulls into the first available spot, as there was construction trucks parked everywhere. So here I go down this one way street to find the closest spot available. Getting honked at, and flipped off in the progress! I see him out in the street, looking at me with this panicked look on his face. I get out of my Suburban, not paying too much attention and start walking down to the townhouse, still not totally aware of my surroundings ( was walking and checking in my bag to make sure I had everything). I finally make it down to him, and as we are standing on the front porch I start looking around, and see at least 6 huge, very intimidating men in white undershirts sitting on the front porches and sidewalk of several old dilapidated shacks across from the property. He hurries me into the door and locks it. I go inside and look out the front seeing a woman looking through my windows of my suburban and quickly realize this was not an area I should be in. He then proceeds to tell me, he had made the same mistake I had going down the one-way street, a week before, but had kept going about 3 more blocks, stopping at a red light. He was sitting there when out of no where 6 big "dudes" as he called them, ran over to him, in his BMW and jumped on his car, pounding it, and trying to break his windows with their fists, screaming and yelling at him. He threw it in reverse, and floored it, luckily no one was behind him. He said he had never been so afraid of dying in his entire life. He was still visibly shaken up, and kept looking out the windows checking on his car outside. Then I find out, the rather large men had been getting paid to "watch the place" so nothing would be stolen. It was a high crime "crack" area, and these people will stop at nothing to get their next high. I couldn't believe the investor of the property wanted it staged, their was no alarm, no security fence, nothing to keep these people out. It was a great place too, had a fantastic view of downtown, all the amenities, but it was in the wrong location to say the least. Obviously, I didn't feel comfortable doing this job, and knew the furniture and accessories would be stolen the minute I left. And I certainly would not have gone their alone, or with even two other male figures for protection. These people would not have thought twice about harming us to get what they wanted. When I left, the builder walked me to my suburban, and I was told to make a very quick u-turn and get out of there fast. Later, I told the Realtor how I felt, and he said he understood, and apologized for scaring me, he said he was scared too.
The Realtors seemed like nice people and they were only trying to please their client, but If I had been told about the area, I would have never even considered it. This was another lesson learned, and I'm sure there will be plenty more, but if you are not familiar with a particular area, don't be afraid to ask specific questions before venturing out and taking a chance with your safety. It's just not worth it!
This not only applies to home stagers, but to Realtors or anyone going to visit a property for any reason.
Luckily, the day ended on a positive note. I had another appointment in a gorgeous affluent area and safety was not an issue!
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Redesign Etc. of Houston is a Full-Service real estate staging company. We stage vacant, occupied, builders specs, condos, townhomes, vacation rentals and commercial property. We offer furniture & accessory rentals at competitive rates. Insured & Incorporated with the State of TX.
Owner, Cindy Bryant has earned the RESA-PROTM designation, holding professional home stagers to the highest industry standards, ethics, integrity and proficiency in staging techniques while protecting Homeowners and Real Estate Agents.
Please visit our portfolio of before and afters and website for more information. Check out our profile page too! Check out our sister sites for the Houston Bay Area League City Home Staging and Galveston Home Staging. Please contact Cindy Bryant for more information or call 281-748-2170.
Areas Served: Houston, River Oaks, Tanglewood, Bellaire, Piney Point, Mid-Town, The Heights, Montrose, Texas Medical Center, The East End, West Loop/Galleria/Memorial, Downtown, Museum District, West University, Spring Branch, Royal Oaks-Lakeside, League City, Clear Lake City, Friendswood, Kemah, Seabrook, Pearland, Sugar Land, Spring, Cypress, Tomball, The Woodlands, Kingwood. And all areas down to Galveston Island.
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