“Just needs a flush”: Real estate agent's brutally honest property tour goes viral

“Just needs a flush”: Real estate agent's brutally honest property tour goes viral

With a smashed letterbox, graffiti-covered walls and an air conditioner hanging off the wall, one NSW agent has decided that the best way to sell a seriously damaged home is to have a laugh about it.

Every real estate agent has inspected a property that's going to need a little work before hitting the market.

A fresh coat of paint, perhaps. Some new carpet. Maybe a kitchen renovation.

Then there's the three-bedroom house in North Albury that has given Ray White agent Rahul Goyal an opportunity to demonstrate the kind of optimism that only a career in real estate can produce.

The property at 288 Swan Street has been listed for $389,000, and while it certainly offers renovation potential, it's probably fair to say the photographer wasn't asked to concentrate on its best angles.

Instead, Mr Goyal and the team at Ray White Albury Central decided to embrace the property's condition and produce one of the more entertaining real estate video tours to emerge this year.

And it's working.

By Friday, 13 November, the video had reportedly attracted approximately 117,000 views on Instagram.

Nothing a little paint can't fix

The video begins with a damaged letterbox.

Not to worry. According to the agent, that's an easy fix for about $100.

Getting inside the house presents a slightly bigger challenge, with Mr Goyal having to jump a fence to retrieve the keys.

Once inside, prospective buyers are introduced to a decorating scheme that could generously be described as unconventional.

Graffiti covers the walls. Windows are boarded up. The flooring has seen considerably better days.

And the air-conditioning unit, which appears to have developed a desire to separate itself from the wall, is dismissed by Mr Goyal as a simple split-system issue.

Technically, it has certainly split from something.

A visit to the bathroom provides another memorable moment.

When his companion reacts rather loudly to the discovery inside the toilet, Mr Goyal remains completely unfazed.

Apparently, it simply needs flushing.

If only every maintenance request could be resolved so easily.

Out in the backyard, there's even a former fishpond.

Unfortunately, the fish have moved on.

One suspects they saw the condition report and decided not to renew their lease.

The ultimate renovator's delight

Despite the property's unusual presentation, the opportunity itself is genuine.

The home sits on a 639-square-metre block and includes three bedrooms, a separate study, one bathroom, garage accommodation and outdoor areas.

The listing describes it as a significant renovation opportunity.

And that may be understating things.

Mr Goyal has estimated that bringing the property back to a fully renovated condition could cost approximately $150,000.

The agency says the house was previously rented and suffered substantial damage before squatters also occupied it.

For the owner, the circumstances are obviously far from amusing.

But the agency's decision to approach the marketing with some humour appears to have generated considerable attention.

Business manager Michelle Crowe told realestate.com.au that the idea followed another memorable inspection in which Mr Goyal had to enter a damaged property through a large dog door.

Rather than trying to disguise the obvious, the team decided to take a different approach.

And it certainly beats describing a missing kitchen cupboard as an opportunity for open-plan living.

Sometimes honesty really is the best marketing

What makes the video particularly entertaining isn't just the state of the property.

It's the agent's delivery.

There's no elaborate attempt to convince viewers that a graffiti-covered wall is a feature.

No suggestion that a broken window creates exceptional indoor-outdoor flow.

And absolutely no pretending that a dangling air conditioner is a premium inclusion.

Just an agent walking through a property, acknowledging what's in front of him and finding a way to make people smile.

For an industry where property videos can sometimes take themselves a little too seriously, it's a refreshing change.

And beneath the humour, there's actually a useful marketing lesson.

Mr Goyal hasn't attempted to turn an unsuitable house into a dream home through clever photography and flattering descriptions.

He's identified the likely buyers — renovators, builders and investors prepared to take on a substantial project — and created content that people want to watch and share.

Whether those views translate into a sale remains to be seen.

But with the video already attracting six-figure attention, the marketing has certainly achieved something.

And if there's one thing agents everywhere can appreciate, it's that sometimes you simply have to work with what you've got.

In this case, that's three bedrooms, a large block, a questionable air conditioner and a toilet that apparently just needs a flush.

We wish Mr Goyal every success with the sale. And whoever buys it, we'd strongly recommend allowing a little extra time for the pre-settlement inspection.