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July 8, 2008
"What a wreck!" vs "Awaits your vision"
We're about to sell my mom's old apartment. It's in a prime building in a prime neighborhood in a prime school district, etc and we're pricing it to sell. Also, it's pretty much a dump. A lovely dump, but still it's pretty much unchanged from it's original 1918 condition except for some lovely 1970s appliances. And even the features I love -- butlers pantry cabinets, clawfoot tubs -- could use some updating/paint.
Here's the issue: I think the ad should read "Handyman Special" or even something more drastic. I'm drawn to those ads. Brother thinks it should be "Just needs your touch" kinda thing. Who is right?
Comments
I like your approach; be upfront and you'll get quality over quantity. TLC, Bring Your Architect, etc. are fantastic key words for well-priced properties.
Posted by: nosleeptil at July 8, 2008 3:11 PM
Depends on what needs to be done. To me,
"handyman special" in NYC-brokerese means - this place needs a total gut rehab - walls to the studs, electrical, plumbing, etc. It is basically used not in its true meaning, but in one huge understatment of the work to be done. Handyman my a**- they mean hire a contractor. I like it better when they say "bring your contractor" - it is more honest - but there they usually mean "shell, basically currently uninhabitable."
If, however, the work is more cosmetic - something a handyman or owner could do - spackle, paint, new appliances, maybe hire someone to put in a new countertop and sink, then go with the needs-your-touch-to-make-it-your-own. Basically, I think it comes down to the bathroom fixtures - do they need replacing, or are they they lovely old ones, with livable (if not pristine) tile work?
And really, nothing is 1918 condition - the lights wouldn't work!
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 3:13 PM
If it were me, I would choose: neither. By using either of those "monikers," you are making a value judgment on your offering, a judgment your potential customers may or may not share, but one which communicates your own opinion of the place - a piece of information that can and will be used against you. "Handyman Special" = Oh, the owners are admitting up front there is a bunch of stuff wrong with it, I will not pay asking price. "just needs your touch" = confusion. How much of "my touch" - whatever that is - does this place "need?" What if "my touch" isn't enough?
Who knows, maybe one potential buyer likes it the way it is, and doesn't think it "needs" anything. I would be scrupulously accurate in describing its current state of condition, and let buyers decide what that means themselves. Accentuate the positive, and don't try to hide the negative, but don't blast it out in uppercase bold letters either.
Posted by: slopenick at July 8, 2008 3:30 PM
I always circle the What A Wreck ads
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 3:33 PM
Agree with 3:13. Here's some more parsing:
Handyman special = you need a contractor and it's probably a gut job but probably no weird surprises
Bring your contractor = handyman special plus some dicey looking things you wouldn't want to take on without taking a real close looksee first; or, at minimum, you are going to want to move some walls around.
Bring your architect = bring your contractor but, with an extra $200k, the place can be a modernist/farmhouse/victorian/edwardian/you name it showcase.
Needs TLC = handyman special but maybe you can live in one room on the top or bottom floor with a bath down the hall while you do the rest bit by bit (at least that's what it ought to mean, but sometimes it just means handyman special).
Just needs your touch -- well, it never "just" needs your touch unless all it needs are some new paint colors, curtains and a fancy oven. But this should mean a cosmetic only overhaul, without attacking the innards.
When all else fails, try "needs work" -- that way, no matter what it needs, you are being direct but open ended; teh gem within, and what it will take to get there, will be within the eye of the beholder.
Posted by: slopefarm at July 8, 2008 3:39 PM
Separate the issues of needing mechanical updates like plumbing and electrical from needing cosmetic updates like new appliances vs avocado fridge and old wallpaper.
Many actually seek out unadulterated properties with original details even if 100 years of paint has to be scraped off. Such apartments are actually hard to find in neighborhoods as good as you describe. Someone with money to do something was usually in there "updating" in the intervening years. And by updating I mean that they did something they want me to pay for and then pay to undo. Handyman special to me always reads as no details left and someone rewired it themselves in the 50s.
It seems best to be accurate by saying: "has many original 1918 details, but needs new kitchen/baths."
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 3:50 PM
3:50 is right. I'd phrase it accentuating the period details, because there is an eager market for an intact period apt in a prime location. It would be a shame for the gut renovators to get this one. I'd say something which included the following:
Apartment rich in period details: intact butler's pantry, clawfoot tubs, original woodwork, fireplace, etc, etc. Awaits buyer interested in turning this space into their period gem with 21st century conveniences.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 4:20 PM
Agree on emphasizing details, but don't say you're awaiting a certain sort of buyer please.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 4:26 PM
What are you asking for the place? I'm seriously looking at buying something in the near future.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 4:53 PM
agree with some posters above, there are ppl who love period details and don't want to gut it out.
perhaps something like: 'true and unchanged period details await possible update...'
Or for a shorter headline "update this period gem" or something similar.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 5:00 PM
agree with some posters above, there are ppl who love period details and don't want to gut it out.
perhaps something like: 'true and unchanged period details await possible update...'
Or for a shorter headline "update this early-century period gem" or something similar.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 5:00 PM
or "art deco gem in the center of ----" wherever it is...
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 5:01 PM
Unchanged since 1918?! Sounds like my dream home! I'd run with that and post many photos of the details.
Posted by: rh at July 8, 2008 5:14 PM
slopefarm - 3:13 here.
Love your definitions - they are quotable.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 6:58 PM
slopefarm - 3:13 here.
Love your definitions - they are quotable.
Posted by: guest at July 8, 2008 6:58 PM
5:01
I hear you but a 1918 house would not be art deco! :)
Posted by: tinarina at July 8, 2008 7:39 PM
please give some info on neighborhood and price. I have been looking for a year for a place that needs work (I can't stand these new awful renovations out there) but not a gut reno. who knows?
Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 2:01 PM
Now I'm curious: what does this place look like?
How about the phrase "needs updating" which to me means that the place is structurally sound, but kitchen and bath both need a complete gut reno, stat!
Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 3:16 PM
I'm interested,too...looking for a long time, myself, and not afraid of any renovations at all, as long as someone else hasn't already done a bad one. Where? What size? What price? Are you selling FSBO or with broker, and when will it be listed?
Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 3:48 PM
It doesn't matter what you write if the price opens some eyes then some will take a look for themselves. Who really believes the write ups anyway?
Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 9:33 PM
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