In the small village of Sequim, Washington, 237 homes were for sale in the month of August, 1997. And how many sales were made that month? Just one. The real estate agents were no longer looking for listings. The only solution was to sell the home myself.
First, I decided to make the sale of this home my full time job. The locals were not buying so I had to snare someone from out of the area, perhaps even out of the state. The challenge was to pull travelers off Highway 101 (at that time, Sequim’s main street) and bring them six blocks north, one block west, another three blocks north, and then west on Williamson Lane. I stocked up on real estate signs and frames, poster board, arrows, stick-on letters, and bought two dozen helium-filled balloons every day.
We parked our Lexus on 101, facing west, and the Buick on the far side of the main stop light, facing west. Both cards had signs and balloons and messages that were changed daily. One day they would say “Cozy home priced below the market.” Another day “Owner will finance” and the day after that, “Custom Home with Shop!” When the traveler turned north, he could see our Mazda up ahead, with more balloons and a sign that said “Left at the next corner for the biggest little home in Sequim!” More signs, more balloons, more arrows, until the traveler rolled up to the pickup parked out in front.
Twenty-seven days later we sold our home to a couple from Wisconsin who had just been passing through. They had not planned to buy a home in this area until the following year but—mesmerized by the signs and balloons—they followed the arrows. After payment details were discussed, they purchased our home on Williamson Lane for list price.
Labels: advertising, balloons, ghost address, hidden ownership, internet privacy, LLCs, real estate, signs
Privacy blog post by JJ Luna at 4:40 AM
0 Comments
