Changing a properties reputation

Hi guys,

I've come across a block of units in a small country town. As far as location goes, they're on a good street close to the city. "The worst place on a best street" kind of scenario.

However - Their reputation sucks. Drug lords lived here 9 months ago and the police were over every second day. Fighting, drugs, loud partying, even a murder up the street (Unconfirmed but believed to have something to do with a tenant that was in this block) - you name it. All the bad tenants were kicked out 6 months ago and fresh ones are in, however the reputation remains. The property even has a nick name and the entire town know which place this is if you mention it. The house directly across the road from it will not sell, simply because it is across from it.

Has anyone else had experience working with a property like this before? What's the fastest way to shift a reputation?

I'm contemplating putting a sign out the front saying "new owner - new reputation" to get the town talking. Possibly trying to get some articles in the local paper and doing a large external cosmetic renovation. Completely changing the colour and feel.

Does anyone have further recommendations? Has anyone done something like this successfully or have any challenges they can share?

 

Is it a town or a city? You probably don't want to tell us where right now, understandably if you're seriously looking.
I'm all for stigmatised properties and if it was just one house in a good street, I wouldn't hesitate. However, units in the country can attract the undesirables. Either you get a quiet little block with lovely quiet singles who all peacefully co-exist or you get druggies, the young unemployed orpahn types, recently out of prison and other lost souls. There are domestics, fireworks, drug deals, bashings, animal neglect, etc.
Do you live there? If so, I would think you might have a chance of making a change. If not, I personaĺly would not go there.
With drugs, there are things you will never know. And the town drug lord has some nasty contacts.

 

Reputation can be lost in a moment and take a generation to get back. Even without widespread reputation people gossip.

My parents built their current house in a green fields estate ~25 yrs ago. 22 years ago a woman in one of the houses in their cul de sac killed herself. My folks are now the only original owners in the street (they are the only ones who know what actually happened, and they don't mention it to neighbours). All houses have changed owners a few times; most many times. It only takes a few months for a neighbour to start questioning my dad about the suicide.

Owners in the suicide house never last long...

 

It also sounds like there are other influences in the area that may continue to exist even though the tenants have changed and you propose an external renovation.

If the reputation is as bad and widespread as you say then there is probably little you can do to raise the image in the short term. I do like your idea of trying to get the local media interested however unless you're a charity I don't think you'd get much mileage.

We have not bought a block as described however we have renovated some sad houses and although it improved the return it didn't change the fact that the some of the local inhabitants were rather feral light fingered mongrels.

Who knows, maybe with a bigger slice of the residential pie you can make a difference. In which case you should probably low ball on the property opposite as well.

 

Buy it and sell drugs out of there .Plenty of goodwill thrown in

Have to agree with @WattleIdo about quality of tenant issues being a concern but if thats not the case and there are better potential tenants its worth relaunching it, if you did something creative the local press would be all over it . Obviously no idea how big this place is but it sounds small, in my dd i'd go to the local top cop and get the low down and maybe offer a great deal to get a cop in there for 6 months

 

Thanks so much for your feedback. This is in a 5000 person large town. During the DD I went the local cop shop, the council, tourist info, all the sales AND rental agents in town, doorknocked all neighbours, the local motels and chatted with anyone who'd talk at the pubs or local shops.

It seems that 50% of the town are very familiar with the reputation.

The cops confirmed that they hadn't had a call out since the last bad tenant lived there.

Now 7 months down the track the talk in the city is changing. I'm yet to do the big external repaint and fence however it's the talk of the town that a bunch of young kids have come up and renovated. (I'm in my early 30s but look much younger and brought some teenagers up to help me... didn't realise it would catch on around town!)

Mixing the class of tenant's up seems to be the big thing here. Rather than dumping 100% of one type of tenant that seems to be how it had been done in town in the past (ie the block for young mums, the block for old folk, the block for indigenous people, the Centrelink block, those with disabilities and the single young men block)

I'm very clear with my agent that we're not creating a theme- No one is labeled when they walk in with an application, people are considered based on the merit of their application not their heritage or life style choices.

This has been beautiful and created a community. There are grandmas that can look after the single young mums kids, there's those working in town that can help change light bulbs for neighbours- just an all round friendly neughbourhood. We're about to have someone on NDIS support move in.

I don't live here- very far from this. I do however insist that everyone starts on a 3 month contract to ensure they fit into the community and don't cause any trouble. I've lost a few good tenant's this way, however I've kept any bad ones from being able to stay- I feel it's been completely worth it. Thanks for all your input along the way!

 

That's a great outcome @Melbpositivegeared. Sounds like a win/win.

 

Good on you! You're young enough to bring some fresh energy to the place and learn a lot from it all.

 

Love this! Congratulations!

 

Pretty it up, and do it straight away, and it should turnout OK in the end.

And get on the council.

And hold a Teddy Bear Picnic in the front yard with all welcome.

Perceptions will change.

And, if not, bulldoze it, and turn it into a carpark.