In most interviews I get asked a lot of the same questions. Two of the most commonly asked questions in interviews are:
“How much do you hope to sell your life for?”
and
“Who do you think will buy it?”
My answer to the first question has always been a cheery, tongue-in-cheek reply, “Well, as much as possible would be an honest answer I suppose, but I guess that really will depend on who the buyer is and why they buy it.”
This usually prompts the second question, “So who do you think the buyer might be?” and my answer is, “I really don’t know!”
When I first hit upon the idea to do this, I had a certain expectations of the type of person that I was perhaps offering this package to. These were my original thoughts:
A PERTH-BASED PURCHASER
The house alone might be of interest to a traditional type of real estate purchaser, looking for a new home here in Perth. The house would suit a single person, a couple or or even a family. They would of course get all sorts extras too.
A PERTH-BASED, OR AUSTRALIAN-BASED PROPERTY INVESTOR
Alot of people ask me “Why sell your house, hold on to it and rent it out. Perth is currently experiencing a very tight rental market, the area that I live in is a good location, close to transport, shops, schools, beach, etc. This is tempting, but really does not fit in with my current goals, which are much more achievable if I am free to travel without a mortgage to look after.
A BUYER MOVING FROM ELSEWHERE IN AUSTRALIA
One of my initial thoughts were that perhaps this would be of interest to someone moving to Perth from another part of Australia, perhaps coming here to work in the booming mining industry.
AN OVERSEAS BUYER
Having moved from the UK myself over six years ago, I know from personal experience how it is to settle in another city in another country. Maybe someone already planning to come to Perth would want an easy start, with a house, car, and everything else they needed already set up, and a ready introduction to some potential new friends too.
However, since I launched the website just over three months ago the suggestions have been coming in thick and fast. Here are a few other ideas that have been suggested as potential purchase motivations.
PROFIT FROM SELLING ITEMS INDIVIDUALLY
I thought this idea was brilliant when it was suggested by email from a Japanese TV viewer. In the early days, just after I launched the site, a Japanese TV network interviewed me, and one particular question they had was about what I would most regret leaving behind. I told them about my Australia Day Koala Bear. I had a few emails afterwards wondering if I would sell the bear separately. But one email suggested that not only the bear, but most of the stuff in the house would be sought after by collectors of unusual stuff.
I wasn’t really sure, but since then I have had quite a few emails asking if they could buy some small item, maybe my watch, or some shoes. This has amazed me!
But maybe there is an opportunity for someone to buy the whole package, and auction off EVERYTHING, one item at a time, and still have a house worth $420,000 at the end.
Food for thought!
15 MINUTES OF FAME
Believe it or not, I have been approached by several TV stations who are very interested in finding out about and meeting with the buyer after the auction. It appears that there will be quite a lot of interest in the buyer, and I guess they will be put into the spotlight somewhat. Maybe the buyer will be looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
Maybe they will be trying to launch a singing career, or break into the movies. Maybe they are a band or perhaps a record company looking for a unique promotional opportunity! Who knows?
UNIQUE ADVERTISING PROSPECT
And on the subject of unique promotional opportunities, I just got sent a link to a website called The Bachelor Guy, who suggests that for a large company looking for some pretty unique publicity, this mght be a great purchase:
“And anyone is eligible to bid, including corporations, or some rich guy with money to burn, looking to create publicity from all this. (Think Marc Ecko and Barry Bonds’ homerun ball.)”
Step on up Coca Cola, Red Bull, Ronald McDonald, or Richard Branson. Haha.
Wow!! What an amazing adventure this is turning out to be!
Link to the auction:-
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250255442325
