Listings that include cameos from a dinosaur and a unicorn have been done before, but a new video advertising a four-bedroom home in Washington boasts a knight in full metal armor.
Weighed down in 100 pounds of 16- and 13-gauge steel, the knight in shining armor appears in at least a dozen photos of the home and in a new marketing video, sitting on a bed, stepping into the shower and slicing up some fruit in the kitchen with a sword.
Jonas Elber, a Realtor at RE/MAX Spokane, tracked down a theater company for the suit and staged a photo shoot with a period reenactor who knew how to wear it. The idea was to draw attention to the home’s unique castle-like vibe, which is unusual in the Pacific Northwest, he told Slate. The home is comprised of more than 40,000 bricks and looks like a medieval fortress with battlements and hidden nooks. It’s currently listed for $600,000.
“I just felt a greater need to try to get as much exposure as I can and try to tap into those Renaissance and medieval fans,” Elbert told Slate. “We’re really looking for the Renaissance enthusiasts that either want to have a second home that’s the castle or it might be worth moving there with working-from-home options and stuff like that.”
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The day of the photo shoot, Elber brought in a team of photographers and videographers to stage the photo shoot and film a listing video of the knight dancing in the house. The weather topped 100 degrees and they had to make sure that the actor did not overheat. In between directing the crew, Elber would help him take the helmet off so that he could come up for air.
“Well, everybody’s got a different sense of humor, but I did run it by a few of my closest friends and just basically said, ‘Tell me if this is too ridiculous,'” Elbert said. “And, you know, ‘Is this going to add or take away from my credibility?’ And then, most importantly, I ran it by my clients before we did it and just said, ‘Hey, I want to represent you and the home the way that you guys want to be represented. Can I get your blessing on this script and idea?'”
Since the photoshoot went live two days ago, the house has already drawn a lot of online attention. Elber said it had sat for over 200 days without much interest while, now, people from all over the country are reaching out both with genuine interest and to make cracks about the knight.
To weed out selfie-takers and other people with no plans of buying, Elber and his team at RE/MAX are requesting letters of approval before scheduling any showings. While that delays the process, the knight trick evidently helped: they already have buyers coming in to Washington state from California and Virginia.
“Some of the comments we’ve gotten online from people who know more about armor than I do see the shower scene and say, ‘Oh my gosh, you don’t put water on armor like that, it’s going to rust,” Elbert said. “So he really went the extra mile by being willing to get his armor wet and then taking care of it immediately after the shower scene.”