When the owner of 3644 Fairway Boulevard first started meeting with agents about selling his 1930s Art Deco Compound, they were told it was simply too old looking to sell for anything over $1.6 million.
Though, after working with DPP partner Ben Kahle, it sold after just 8 days on the market for $1,775,000. A full $25k over asking. breaking the highest sales record for the neighborhood. Meanwhile, other homes in the area in that price range have sat dormant.
So how’d Ben do it?
A Depth of Knowledge, Exposure and Experience in The Local Market
Aside from having lived in the View Park neighborhood for the better part of a decade, Ben has worked the area as a Realtor® for the past five years.
In that time, Ben has been clear, consistent and diligent with his direct marketing to the area. He’s also been very involved in the community (more on that later).
He has a number of other record breaking sales in the area, which gives him a unique working knowledge of what the market will bear — where and when it will pay a premium for a home.
An Expertise with Historic Properties
Ben’s a co-founder of the View Park Conservancy, and helped lead a three-year initiative to have the View Park neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
His own View Park home – the Doumakes House – is a registered historic landmark and the first house to receive a Mills Act contract in unincorporated LA county.
In 2017, Ben was awarded the LA Conservancy Preservation Award of Excellence. And just this year was appointed by Mark Ridley Thomas’s office to be a commissioner for the LA County Historical Records and Landmarks commission.
Prepping the Home with An Eye Toward the Classic
Ben knew going in that the local market has been over-saturated with trend-of-the-week flips. He intended to take a more classic approach – attempting to capture the emotion of the house, while still honoring the unique Art Deco architecture. “There’s a real appetite out there for a more classic look.” He explains. “So I went in with a modern, yet classic approach.”
To that end, Ben painted the interior of the house and staged / re-arranged the furniture using what the owner already had on hand. As you can see from the photos, the result was indeed, classic, unique and soulful.
Additionally, he transformed the muddy, tiered backyard with native landscaping and railroad ties.
All of this, of course, needed to be captured by professional photography, videography and copy writing, then positioned with Ben & DPP’s excellent, cross-platform marketing tools.
And, by the time the home hit the market, it was primed to sell – quickly and at the highest rate the View Park area had yet seen.
Congratulations, Ben. Here’s more future record-breaking sales!
