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It's unethical in my opinion. Once the buyer steps on the grass I think they'll notice the grass has been dyed. Any buyer in their RIGHT mind would NOT walk but RUN away from a house like that. If the owner went to that extent to cover up grass it leads one to believe they will NOT disclose problems they are aware of in the disclosure.
Depending on where you are located, if you saw a yard like this that has not been watered you should be concerned about foundation movement & problems.
In TX, many areas with high clay content soils have to maintain a minimum watering program or our soils shrink & expand and this causes our slab foundations to shift. It's usually a red flag here to see a yard that has been neglected.
I'm glad to see I'm not alone on this. When I was watching the program, the stager had some very good ideas. She suggested the Homeowner finish painting the stairwell (it was only done up as high as the Homeowner could reach), clean the fireplace bricks (totally soot-covered) and replace torn, raggedy window shades (Homeowner actually giggled, explaining "...but they came with the house!" ).
Those sorts of quick fix cosmetic changes are great, in my opinion. They are inexpensive, easy to do and can make a world of difference in the vibe given off by the house. I suppose one could argue that spray-painting the grass is cosmetic too, but to me, it felt sleazy. As a buyer, I think I might have one of two reactions. I might be insulted (How gullible to they think I am? More importantly, how many other things have been slap-dash "fixed" in here?). Or, I might be amused (Are they serious? Painted on grass???). I guess it would depend on my mood and how much they were asking .
Interestingly enough, the Homeowner had a follow-up Open a day or two after the spraying. One of the Real Estate agents who'd seen the Before lawn commented, "Oooo what'd they do to the lawn? It looks great!"
I just did a listing presentation on a house with a brown lawn. Only the weeds are green. Told them to pull anything green out first and start watering. They won't be listing for 30 days or so anyway. Plenty of time to get it green.
It's not like people just wake-up in the morning and say "I'm going to list today."
I would not want my seller to do that since I think it sets a tone for misrepresentation. I prefer openness in my transactions and complete transparency on the house.
That is great!! My husband and I always joke about spraying the areas the dogs kill green. I didn't realize they actually made paint for it. Too funny.
As a long-time professional home stager, I would never do such a thing. Like one post said... "In my opinion dying grass would be unethical if the condition was not disclosed. I also think that disclosing that the lawn was dyed would negatively affect the potential buyers view of the property. If the owner attempted to cover-up the lawns condition what else is being covered up." Perfect point - what else is being concealed? If a stager truly is a professional, they would know that this becomes a disclosure issue and I would not hire them. Interesting post.
There was an article in Temecula California where neighbors were concerned about the image of their street so they spray painted the foreclosure grass green. Yikes.
There is also a company out here that offers the service. Talk about profiting off of the housing crash.
I saw this staging show, and if I remember correctly, the homeowner was concerned that the spray would actually do more damage to the grass. The woman applying the paint stated that it actually helps the grass. If it "covered" the problem, but still was actually helping the grass to grow, then I wouldn't have a problem with it.
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