The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
House seller turns to comedy
AFTER TRADITIONAL estate agency methods failed him, a fed-up Fifer has turned to comedy, song and film in a bid to sell his house.
Iain Rooney is hoping to tempt potential buyers with a funny music video, which includes a shot of him drinking tea in the bath, about his four-bedroom home in Cellardyke.
While it has yet to sell the £230,000 property on George Street, the short film is creating a stir onYouTube and Twitter.
It has captured the attention of crime writer Ian Rankin, who has retweeted it to more than 40,000 followers and has been seen by hundreds ofYouTube users.
Iain and wife Lisa, who have a 14-month old son, Danny, are hoping the video will find its way to someone who wants to buy a traditional, stone-built villa on the coast in the East Neuk.
He told The Courier: “We are just trying to do something different and create a buzz.
“When we put the house on the market we thought it would sell quickly, but in six months we have had only one viewing.
“We were getting a bit down and demoralised so I decided to do something about it.”
Iain wrote a song about the house and, with the help of an application on his smart phone, put it together with some quirky images, such as photographs of the bottom half of a mannequin and some wigs hanging up.
Among the lines are: “We haven’t sold by conventional means so we’ve gone for a gimmick to bring home the beans.”
The song goes on: “There’s a nice little sun trap where you can drink Pimms and a handy cupboard for keeping your spare limbs.
“The wallpaper might make you go ‘wowsers’ but there’s plenty of room for keeping your trousers.”
It also says: “The attic’s a great place to hide from your spouse, it’s my favourite room of the house. Please buy my house.”
Iain is delighted with the attention his video is commanding and said: “The more people who see it the better.
“It might just land on the doorstep of someone who wants to buy our house.”
See it for yourself at bit.ly/housevideo