The story begins with a humbling referral to our brokerage from a long-time and well-respected real estate agent. The agent had heard of our unique marketing strategies in the past, and was looking to our brokerage to ultimately sell their long time client’s luxury home on Vancouver’s prestigious West Side. The house was named the “Chess House,” originally designed for Martin Raymond Chess in 1965 by world famous architect Arthur Erickson.
The clients were considering their next move out of the community. Not only were they looking to maximize their sale value, but also wanted to see the home and its architecture preserved or even restored by the next owner. The challenge was that over the years, and through multiple owners, the home had been renovated in several spots and many of the ad hoc changes were not within the Japanese inspired style and original design.
Our clients were worried that the glorious “Chess House” would be deemed a tear down and Vancouver would lose a piece of valuable history architecture. What was the right pricing for such a home? What were the right target buyer groups? How do we source those buyer groups most effectively? How could we have buyers fall in love with the home again and perhaps even look to restore it?
To understand the home, we needed to gather its history and we started with the Erickson Family directly. We explained what we were trying to do and any information on the history of the home would be most helpful, including permissions to use materials we received. We were able to recover several amazing artifacts including original invoices, later upgrades, the inspirational photos from Japan that Arthur Erickson himself had taken, original home construction photos, original title documents, magazine write ups etc. We started to compile the story, and to that end, we actually created a book on the Chess House with a complete chronology. The book was designed to retell the story of the Chess House, Arthur Erickson’s vision for it, but most importantly have someone fall in love with it again. We then thought, who appreciates architecture and historical buildings the most? Once we sat down with pen to paper, there ended up being more influential groups than we thought – architects and their clients, studying architects and technologists, members of the Vancouver Heritage Society, city planners, current and past owners of Arthur Erickson homes and buildings, targeted members of the press and several others. Sourcing and creating the highly targeted list of invitees was both complex and long. By written invitation, we proceeded to host a day long event for who wanted to enjoy some wine and food, experience the architecture, reflect on the details from our book, and agree to let at least one friend know about the house.
To our good fortune we had over 100 people attend the event with several arranging private viewings days later. At the time the market was slower and multiple offers were not prevalent. While entertaining varied interest along the way, we ultimately were able to secure a top offer from a buyer who was had not attended the event, but was influence by their professional advisor who had. The comfort came for us in that we were not only able to deliver on price, reduce the average days on market for similar homes, but truly found a buyer that had a passion for its architecture and preservation of the home.
Special Thanks to those who provided permissions and historical detail
To understand the home, we needed to gather its history and we started with the Erickson Family directly. We explained what we were trying to do and any information on the history of the home would be most helpful, including permissions to use materials we received. We were able to recover several amazing artifacts including original invoices, later upgrades, the inspirational photos from Japan that Arthur Erickson himself had taken, original home construction photos, original title documents, magazine write ups etc. We started to compile the story, and to that end, we actually created a book on the Chess House with a complete chronology. The book was designed to retell the story of the Chess House, Arthur Erickson’s vision for it, but most importantly have someone fall in love with it again. We then thought, who appreciates architecture and historical buildings the most? Once we sat down with pen to paper, there ended up being more influential groups than we thought – architects and their clients, studying architects and technologists, members of the Vancouver Heritage Society, city planners, current and past owners of Arthur Erickson homes and buildings, targeted members of the press and several others. Sourcing and creating the highly targeted list of invitees was both complex and long. By written invitation, we proceeded to host a day long event for who wanted to enjoy some wine and food, experience the architecture, reflect on the details from our book, and agree to let at least one friend know about the house.
To our good fortune we had over 100 people attend the event with several arranging private viewings days later. At the time the market was slower and multiple offers were not prevalent. While entertaining varied interest along the way, we ultimately were able to secure a top offer from a buyer who was had not attended the event, but was influence by their professional advisor who had. The comfort came for us in that we were not only able to deliver on price, reduce the average days on market for similar homes, but truly found a buyer that had a passion for its architecture and preservation of the home.
Special Thanks to those who provided permissions and historical detail
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201 - 2468 Scotia Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V5T 1W5
201 - 2468 Scotia Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V5T 1W5
O 604 684 8844
T 866 352 9311
F 1 855 684 8844
201 - 2468 Scotia Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V5T 1W5
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