Does the Election Make You Want to Flee the U.S.? Call These Real Estate Agents
Does the Election Make You Want to Flee the U.S.? Call These Real Estate Agents
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We’re in a golden age of real estate gimmickry—agents lately have been using everything from homeowners dressed up like pandas to R-rated promotional videos to close the deals on homes.
So, the reasoning goes, why not go all the way—evoke the self-avowed master of closing real estate deals? And stoke a bit of overheated political fervor at the same time?
Within one week, three separate enterprising agents from around the country employed the Passion of the Donald as a sales tool, posting ads on social media offering to sell the homes of Trump detractors who are thinking of fleeing the U.S. if the Republican candidate is elected president.
Realtor® Kareem Jandali, who sells homes in Troy, NY, for his eponymously named company, posted an ad on Facebook on Wednesday as a bid to help market his business, according to The Albany Times Union. It says: “Leaving the country if TRUMP is elected PRESIDENT? Give me a call and LET’S GET YOUR HOUSE SOLD!!”
So far he’s scored three potential clients, lots of shares, and, he claims, not a single angry response. “It’s free advertising,” Jandali told realtor.com®. “People just think it’s really catchy.”
Despite the Trump jab, Jandali isn’t necessarily a hater. In fact, he once auditioned (but wasn’t picked) to be on “The Apprentice.” He declined to say whom he’ll cast his vote for come November as he likes “some of the things [Trump] stands for” and not others.
Who says never to mix politics and home selling? Well, most people, actually.
Farther South, Odessa, TX–based Realtor Michelle Blackwell posted a similar ad on her company’s Facebook page on Monday to drum up business, according to ABC affiliate WFAA8.
By Wednesday, the Heritage Real Estate Group’s post had received nearly 50,000 shares, 14,000 likes, and more than 1,600 comments. By Friday morning, the lightning rod ad had been taken down. WFAA8 reported she had received comments ranging from marriage proposals to personal attacks.
Blackwell did not immediately respond to calls and emails for comment. And no one from Trump’s camp seemed to want to discuss this latest spate of ads. Perhaps they have their sites set on bigger targets?
And just maybe they get that these posts aren’t as vitriolic as they first seem. California-based real estate broker Henry Ayala, who posted an ad similar to Janali’s on Facebook, tells realtor.com he’s an equal-opportunity prankster. The broker at Excellence Real Estate says he put up the post in an attempt to snare new clients with a sense of humor. It hasn’t quite worked yet, but it has garnered about 3,500 views and a few hundred likes.
“I don’t have a preference right now” among the candidates seeking to become the country’s next president, he said. But “I do intend to post [a similar ad] for either Bernie or Hillary when they cinch the nomination.”
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