Aug 12

Written by: Bruce Rosenbaum
8/12/2008 12:00 AM 

Melanie and I knew that finding the right home buyer who appreciates (and can afford) the beauty, charm and quality of a totally restored and modernized Italianate Victorian house was going to be a challenge. Little did we know in a down real estate market, it would be comparable to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Our Modern Victorian home restoration was a major undertaking in time and money. We feel (as do about 1,500 other people who have viewed the house) that the end result is breathtaking and is the perfect blend of Victorian charm and modern conveniences. However, when the economy is in the doldrums (do I dare say the “R” word – Rotten), selling a home that had been appraised at $1.5MM is now like a gorgeous debutante that does not have anyone to take her to the ball. In some ways, finding the right buyer is now a bigger challenge than the restoration itself. We’re hoping it doesn’t take us as long to find a buyer than it did to do the actual restoration and modernization (10 months) of 390 Mount Hope Street.

My Blog to date has been about the trials and tribulations of the restoration in its full glory. I now will dedicate my Blogs to how we market and sell our restored and modernized Victorian home in a down real estate market. Here now is what has happened so far:

Month 1

I was naïve to think that with all our marketing prowess and great Press – that the house would have sold the first week after our home tour. No luck. Lots of looking, but no buying. It took me about 4 weeks until I realized that I needed a professional Realtor to take over and sell our home. I hired Linda Dillon from Century 21 Access properties in Canton MA (cell: 781-632-6253). Linda is a creative thinker and understands the property and the area. We decided to work as a team to get the house sold. Our co-broke commission is 2.5%.

Month 2

The first thing that Linda did was lower the price to $1,395,000 and do an Open House. We knew it was a long shot to attract the “right” buyer to an Open House at the price we were asking for the home. We were right – one family showed up and spent about an hour touring the house. They gave us all the signs that they loved the house and were interested in purchasing until we found out that wanted the home for a steal. First priority when talking with prospective buyers is to ascertain their financial ability to purchase.

It’s interesting – many realtors have told us if our home was in Brookline, Newton or Wellesley – we could get $2.5MM tomorrow. The only problem is that it would very difficult to move the home to any of those towns with a 60 foot Italianate tower attached!

We also did specific, personalized mailings to folks who would have the pocketbook to purchase and would love the home for living and/or business. Mailings to area architects, designers, jewelry manufacturers (connection to the original owner of the home), executives, small business owners, physicians – yielded nothing. We had one call from a jewelry manufacturer in Providence, RI interested in seeing our home – but he ended up not even coming out for a home tour.

In addition, Linda came up with a creative idea of reaching an executive at Dunkin’ Donuts. During our restoration, we found a Dunkin’ Donuts cup from the 50s. We took a picture and Linda framed it and sent it to a Dunkin’ Donuts executive who was just moving to the area. No response so far.

Month 3

Lowered the price to $1,295,000 – near our breakeven. Our next marketing idea was to mail to homeowners who are live in a 100+ year old home, make $300,000+ a year and invite them to a presentation at our home titled: How to Restore and Modernize a 100+ Year Old Home…and Stay Married at the Same Time! We also knew that old house people would most probably not be in the market for a new home – but they would be a great group to network with to get referrals to friends or family that could be possibly be in the market. Old home owners also understand the stress and rigors of a whole house restoration – so we thought the title of the presentation would bring plenty of people in. Blame the economy, Summer timing, real estate market, unfortunately – no one responded.

In a down real estate market – lowering your price is your most important marketing weapon in attracting buyers to your home. Our price is close to breakeven – so each price reduction means a loss – something we want to avoid. However, as each month passes and the home sits – we pay our mortgage, utilities and debts – money going out and not coming in. Melanie and I want to find the right buyer for the home and are willing to work out the best deal for both parties.

We know once we find the right person who takes our home tour – a sale will happen quickly. For improved MLS searching – we value ranged the home from $995,000 to $1,295,000 and will consider all offers within the range for the right buyer.

As we moved into Month 4 – I will Blog weekly updates on our marketing/selling efforts in search of a buyer. If you have any ideas on how to sell our home –please email me at bruce@modvic.com with any feedback or suggestions. I’ll even give a Referral Award of $1,000 to anyone who provides a lead that turns into a sale of 390 Mount Hope Street. Do you also know anyone who is relocating to the area or is working with a relocation firm? I would love to show our Victorian house to anyone who interested in buying. I know there’s a lot of people out there that want us to succeed – keep us in your thoughts!