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Creepy dolls helped sell this New Orleans home super fast

“Hideous and horrifying” vibe, but the vintage toys left by previous owner proved marketing hit

One of the many listing photos with dolls for the New Orleans house (NOLA Living Realty)
One of the many listing photos with dolls for the New Orleans house (NOLA Living Realty)

How do you turn a dilapidated home in New Orleans into the top listing on Realtor.com and sell it in just a day? Two words: Creepy dolls.

NOLA Living Realty agent Tony Bertucci leaned into what he called his home’s “hideous and horrifying” vibe by posing creepy dolls around its decaying interiors for the listing photos, according to a report in KNWA.

Bertucci, who bought the 1966-built home to flip, had to turn his attention to repairs at other buildings following Hurricane Ida. He put a $149,500 ask on the property and dug up some creepy dolls left by the previous owner to “lighten up the photos of the house.”

“I did it just to get the house some attention, because the house was so hideous and horrifying,” Bertucci said.

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The plan worked — the home went under contract after just a day on the market. Naturally, several potential buyers asked about the dolls and if the house was haunted.

It was the most popular listing on Realtor.com last week, beating out a Michigan home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and the longtime Massachusetts farm of Aerosmith co-founder Joe Perry.

The home itself totals 1,370 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Bertucci wrote that there is room for a driveway to the rear and that the home could be expanded by 700 square feet or so by enclosing the garage area.

That’s all after cleaning up what’s already there and maybe most importantly, getting rid of those dolls. Or not.

[KNWA] — Dennis Lynch 

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