Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
A Zephyrhills, Fla., real estate agent has opted to take a brutally honest approach in order to try and sell a $69,000 decrepit, three-bedroom home, and the no-holds-barred method has met with some success.
“‘Here it is, literally the worst house on the street!,” Philippa Main wrote in her listing description. “The seller has done the hard work of cleaning up almost half-acre property (it only took 7 dumpsters!), so now is your chance to take it from here.’”
Deciding that there was just no way she could cover up the poor condition of the home, Main opted against the usual strategy of highlighting the nice aspects of the property in favor telling it as it is, listing features such as the peeling paint, knocked out windows, a crumbling chimney, stained walls, holes in the ceiling, and more besides.
“The roof leaks, the floor creaks, and there’s a terrible draft, but this 3 bed, 1.5 bath home is very open concept,” she wrote. “And by that we mean the inside is open to the outside, because several of the windows are broken.”
Surprisingly, the honest listing has paid off, as it promptly went viral and attracted thousands of views, realtor.com reported. Main said the home now has a pending offer, despite being on the market for less than 10 days.
“The funniest and the most annoying part of being a real estate agent: If we see in a listing they’re describing this ‘great natural light’ or this ‘open concept floor plan’ or ‘tons of storage. [But] We get there, and it’s like, a single, creepy light bulb you would see in one of those interrogation movies. And that’s it. I just wanted to make sure that I got ahead of all of the questions about the condition, and just kind of put it all out there for everybody.”
The listing certainly makes it clear what potential buyers can expect in terms of the renovations that will be necessary to make the home livable again.
“Now I know you’ve heard of detached garage, but have you ever heard of a detached foundation?! Because that’s what you’ll find here in the large bonus room,” the listing reads. “And if you’re not interested in crying yourself to sleep every night while you rehab this home, might we suggest tearing it down and building a brand-new one in its place? The neighbors would likely thank you!”
