SHE WOULDN’T GET OUT OF BED, SO I SHOT HER 
A magazine for Houston real estate agents has this version of the backstory behind the body-in-the-bed photo featured in a Heights-area bungalow listing posted last week: “The current tenants are being evicted, and therefore, were uncooperative in making the home look attractive to any other buyers. They refused to clean it for showings and, clearly, even refused to move when [real estate agent Traye] Wise and his assistant stopped by to take interior photos for the listing website; Wise said he asked the husband if he could rouse his wife from bed so they could take just one photo of the bedroom’s interior sans tenants, and while the husband allegedly told his wife to get out of bed, she refused. ‘This was in no way done on purpose,’ Wise said about the bedroom photo. ‘It was supposed to be edited to take (the woman sleeping in bed) out. It was supposed to be Photoshopped, and my assistant put it up by mistake.’†[Houston Agent Magazine; previously on Swamplot]
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That’s far less exciting than all the scenarios I imagined. But now we know!
Having been a landlord myself, I’ll never understand why some people think they can occupy someone else’s house without paying rent. And usually, the deadbeat tenant will damage the house before they get evicted.
Mr. Realtor needs to write her a thank you note. Thanks to her lack of cooperation, this listing got more traffic than 610 between 59 and I-10 at rush hour.
Love it.
Nice headline.
I’ll show it to my wife tomorrow morning…as a warning.
Awesome backstory. Glad it was shared.
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Amazing the mindset of tenants that simply try to bunker down and not leave. I don’t know why they were evicted (didn’t pay, or maybe they were month to month and the owner tried to terminate the lease to sell the property, etc.) but either way — if you’re evicted (or can’t pay), GTFO.
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Since when did living in ANOTHER PERSONS house become a right? It should be considered trespassing and they should have been able to call the cops. The law should allow an owner to toss someone that’s been evicted then let the “tenant” (which they are no longer) deal with all the court BS to get back in if they feel they were wronged.
To the listing agent: The buck stops with you. It’s your responsibility (especially in a home like this) to review and approve ALL photos and typing before it’s posted to the website – not pass the buck to the assistant. Still, it was pretty funny!
I thought HAR photos could not be photo-shopped? for legal reasons. So I will continue to spread the “She Wouldn’t Get Out of Bed, So I Shot Her” line.
yeah, the whole “should have been photoshopped” line bothers me… is that a normal practice by this agent?
Bill and caneco, do you every actually LOOK at the photos on HAR? In 90% of them, trees are shopped out, colors are tweaked beyond all normalcy, skies are airbrushed unnaturally blue, etc.
And don’t get me started on the GODDAMN FISHEYED LENSES.
Honey, the body in the bed was the least of the eyesores in that house.
I think, they could wait a little, evict tenants, clean the house and THEN make pictures and present them on HAR. A house rents much quicker when is nice and clean, no?
As for Photo-shopping – yes, often the pictures are altered, and the rooms made bigger/wider. Easy to catch on kitchen cabinets, when they are like 4+ feet wide :)
The assistant missed that picture and it took Swamplot pointing it out to 100,000 people for YOU to notice? Sorry Mr. Listing Agent, you are really not looking very bright here.
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Besides, most of those interior shots weren’t really fit for public consumption.
His assistant also make a spelling mistake as follows: Home has been completely updated to “incluse” Kitchen Cabinets, appliances, lighting, flooring & paint. His assistant should not have inclused the photo of the tenant in bed.
Its the lesser of two evils. God only knows what is under all that crap, and if these tenants are uncooperative now, I don’t even want to imagine what they will do to this place on their way out.
That said, back in the day I worked as someone’s assistant, and took plenty of flack for stuff that was clearly my boss’s responsibility. Low blow to blame it on “the help”.
Are you sure that was a lady? It looks like someone was hiding a couple of christmas hams in that bed.
Brittanie,
I often every actually look at the photos = ]. My point is that something could be said about professionalism here (hint, it is lacking). If you allow this picture published (even with the lady photo shopped out) you still aren’t doing yourself any good. This picture doesn’t even give a sense to the size of the room…
You’re right, Brittanie
some agents post very lousy pictures…
As usual, blame the assistant.
The body’s gone now! Look at the listing again. Photoshopped.
Meh, bottom line someone is going to want/need to view a house in person before buying or putting under contract so I’ve found pictures can be great or crappy, it doesn’t matter.
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I’ll list units for rent using older pictures from before we updated and they rent just as fast since everyone still needs to view in person anyway.
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There might be a few people that never view due to a bad picture but I assume that’s the minority.
Isn’t this a tear down anyways? Interior shots weren’t really needed. Seems to be priced at lot value.
Cody, the photos always mattered to me when looking for a place to rent!
In fact, I always skimmed through looking for the kitchen and the bathroom pics first and it took me only a couple of seconds based on those shots to decided if I would even bother to read the details of the ad or just click “next!”.
I won’t be listing ANYTHING with Traye Wise!!!!