There’s a hot real estate market and then there’s a house that’s literally up in flames.
In order to draw attention to a lot where a home recently caught on fire, Florida Realtor Dylan Jaeck published photos from the disaster on Zillow. The 1,280-square foot property in St. Petersburg was badly damaged in a fire approximately nine months ago and the existing lot is for sale for $99,000.
“Bring your smores to the campfire and build your dream home!” reads the listing.
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Following the fire, local authorities condemned the property but have not yet torn it down. Jaeck told local news outlets that he wanted people to notice the unusual photo and start talking about the situation in the neighborhood.
“The reason why we put the fire picture up is so you know that this property has to be torn down and you can build a new dream spec home,” he said. “It’s creative marketing. It’s a niche. I got people talking.”
While Jaeck’s listing was quickly picked up by local news, not everyone was happy with it. Some called it unprofessional while others said that, due to its realism, it could confuse buyers. But in Jaeck’s view, there is clearly no such thing as bad publicity.
“Some Realtors and even some brokers tried to think that it’s looking like it’s very unprofessional, that I would post someone’s house that’s on fire,” he said. “But on the neutral side of it, people are thinking hey, he’s smart… and potentially it could bring me a buyer.”