the importance of managing expectations

why set buyer up for disappointment?
I hope it will shock no one to hear that not all high-priced Manhattan lofts are perfect. Some, indeed, have gross deficiencies. There is an interesting dance to marketing one of these lofts: playing up the good stuff, while warning The Market that there is an ‘issue’ (or two, or three). This dance has a high degree of difficulty, with potentially severe consequences for missteps: you can fail to attract enough buyers if you over-emphasize a defect (err, "issue") or you can bring buyers to the loft who are viscerally disappointed when the glaring "issue" stares them in the face.

I am led to these ruminations by a lovely loft with a potentially over-the-top renovation in a prime Manhattan loft neighborhood priced around $1,000/ft. There is nothing in the pix or floor plan to suggest that anything that is stated in the glowing listing description is untrue or over-stated. Yes, the kitchen looks top-notch, the finishes and materials appear to be high quality. You’d think a price around $1,000/ft would attract serious buyer interest. Maybe it will. Maybe there are enough hints in what is not said and not shown to prepare buyers for one glaring deficiency.

My guess is that they have mis-stepped here, however, and that a significant number of buyers who show up will be disappointed, and some will react so strongly as to feel that they were tricked into wasting their time visiting a space that would never appeal to them — glowing description, nice pix aside.

enough hints, or stumbling through a difficult dance?
The space is a duplex with a pretty big footprint (and a hefty price, even at ‘only’ $1,000/ft) and I am all but certain that there is appreciable natural light from three windows on one side of one level, period. The floor plan shows windows at both ends of that level, and windows at one end of the other level, with skylights at the other end. Two words appear nowhere in the listing or floor plan: "bedroom" and "light". Three of the 8 photos include the same 3 windows, one photo includes what looks like a window on that level with sheer curtains across it, and none of the photos on the other level include the walls that the floor plan shows having windows or show skylights.

If I am right, NO ONE who prefers a loft with light will seriously consider this space but lots of people who prefer light may visit. Some of those people will feel cheated, and the listing agent will have wasted time showing to people who will never bid.

the temptation to generate appointments
Sellers and agents who market lofts with deficiencies like this one are tempted to bring in foot traffic in the hope that people will be swayed by the other (significant) benefits to the space to bid anyway, with that temptation leading them to soft pedal the deficiency. This is a hard call, particularly when the issue is a lack of light. When the issue is that an otherwise modern loft needs a new kitchen, it is easy to signal that ("beautiful blah-blah space babble-babble with a kitchen that could use an upgrade blah-blah") so that people expect to pay for a new kitchen and have already begun to do that math before seeing the loft.

But no math will ‘solve’ the ‘issue’ in this loft. i would not be surprised that someone sleeping in the "rooms" that have floor plan "windows" or skylights would have difficulty telling day from night. It is hard to make that a ‘plus’ factor ("perfect sleeping areas for those of you who work at night"??). As I said, there are hints but they are subtle (e.g., neither of the "rooms" that have "windows" and neither of the "rooms" that have skylights are labeled, unlike every other "room" or "area" in the loft).

I suspect the sellers and agents made a conscious choice about this. The Market will determine if they chose the right steps. My inclination would have been to be more explicit, but I can’t prove that this is the right choice. IN-ter–esting.

© Sandy Mattingly 2009