Tessa Carla Blog's: Brutally Honest Listing for ‘Worst House’ Helps Attract Over 20 Offers

Thursday 16 December 2021

Brutally Honest Listing for ‘Worst House’ Helps Attract Over 20 Offers

Brutally honest real estate listing ugly house — Realtor.com

On the market for $199,999, this woebegone home was marketed as the worst house on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Yet it sold in a week.

It’s probable that this can be explained by the fact that the listing agent embraced the philosophy of brutal honesty.

“There’s no need to put lipstick on the pig on this one. I just felt like there’s nothing to hide. I needed to be upfront and tried to make it look funny,” says the listing agent, Jeff Kluger with Coldwell Banker.

Kluger used a healthy dose of humor to sell the distressed property in Kill Devil Hills, NC. He’s also a believer in the old maxim that all publicity is good publicity.

“The phone rang all day long and all week long,” Kluger says. “You’ve heard a million times that it’s location, location, location—and that’s what this property has going for it.”

But beyond a coveted spot right next to the Atlantic Ocean, there isn’t much else to speak of.

If you are looking for a Real FIXER UPPER on the Outer Banks, this is it. This one is uglier than your 3rd divorce.

Sarcastic similes aside, most of the home’s roof has fallen down, along with both the ceiling and insulation. The scourge of mold can be found almost everywhere, and potential buyers are told to enter at their own risk—if they should enter at all.

“I took the [listing photos] on a cellphone. Normally, I would use a professional photographer, but once again, even a professional couldn’t make this look good,” Kluger says.

Exterior of home in Kill Devil Hills, NC
Jeff Kluger

Kluger continued with his listing and admitted that the photos are not pretty.

This Might be the WORST HOUSE you have ever seen on the Outer Banks, but it is priced accordingly!

The property was listed for just a slim dollar under $200,000, but more than 20 offers on the property came in. Why? Similar vacant lots this close to the beach sell for about $350,000.

Having been completely neglected for the past several years, it is a complete disaster and will not be for the faint at heart.

The pilings the home sits on are in pretty good shape, as are the floors. If the winning buyer chooses not to tear the place down, everything else will require serious work, due to years of neglect.

“I don’t know what the buyer will end up doing, but most people who made offers indicated they would try to rehab it. A few said they would tear down and start over,” Kluger says.

He estimates that an investment of about $125,000 could make the place nice again.

Kluger took his inspiration for transparency after reading Facebook message boards where agents discussed clichés that they said they were tired of seeing in listing details.

“One was, ‘Uglier than your third divorce,’” he says. “I commented that I might have to steal that quote for my new listing, and I decided to go with it. I just thought it would create interest and some humor, which it did.”

Although the listing was unconventional, his client was on board with the approach he chose to take.

“His first reaction was ‘Wow.’ But then he said, ‘You’re the professional, and you know what you’re doing, and you know your area,’” Kluger says. “He told me this morning he couldn’t be more thrilled with the results, so I think I think it worked.”