A Melbourne man has taken a brutal swipe at real estate agents as part of his bold plan to make “Australasia’s biggest ever house sale” while simultaneously relaunching his career.
Brett D’Souza, like many Australians, has been faced with the difficult decision to sell his home due to the country’s soaring interest rates and buckling mortgage repayments.
Rather than cough up thousands in fees and commission to sell his three-bedroom Brunswick pad, in the inner city, through an agency, he has taken the job on himself.
“It only takes six weeks to get your real estate licence, I never understood it. There’s a whole facade about it too, especially with underquoting,” Mr D’Souza told news.com.au.
“Why would I give 30 or 40 grand to someone to sell my house? Do they even know the area? Who’s going to know the area or the house more than me?”
The 46-year-old comedian has been formulating his detailed plan since December with the goal to not only secure a solid financial boost for himself and his nine-year-old son, but also muscle his way back into a rewarding job.
The 46-year-old has lived at 6 Walton Street for 12 years after buying it for just under $700,000, and has injected countless hours of hard work into its renovation.
“My whole heart is in this house. I don’t want to leave, I can’t afford it. But my son goes to school in Footscray, it’s a 25 minute drive, I can’t do it anymore,” he said.
“We could rent it out but then live in a crap house in Footscray, but I can’t afford to do both.”
Mr D’Souza will call on his 20 years of experience in advertising and his filmmaking prowess to execute his multi-pronged project that he hopes will ultimately score him a contract with the ABC.
The early phases began on Saturday with his home’s listing appearing on realestate.com.au and Domain, which would typically cost $750 but Homesta did for free.
He has taken a punt that a series of videos and updates to roll out across Instagram, YouTube and the home’s dedicated website will drum up enough traction that more sponsorships will pour in.
“I’m trying to make it a comedy show but an independent version of The Block,” he said.
“I’m going to try and add value to the house as I go along. So it’s $1.8 million at the moment … Why can’t I get a new fridge and new white goods in the house if I get enough views?
“I can make ads for brands or people that become involved because I’m a filmmaker, and I’m pretty good at it.”
Mr D’Souza will launch the project on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Campaign Brief – an advertising agency – all at once, then press forward with the roll out of his video series, Private Sale.
The trailer for the series dropped on Saturday and features Mr D’Souza explaining his motivation for taking the sale of his home on himself.
“I’m going to have the greatest house sale this country’s ever seen,” he tells viewers.
A crew of actors will play out a host of issues in the real estate industry throughout the series, including well-known gripes with handymen and Baby Boomers.
The comedy series, which he will campaign the ABC to endorse, will ideally propel him into more fulfilling work.
“As much as it is about selling my house, it’s also about finding my career or deciding what I want to do when I grow up. I want to make stuff that is fun and makes people happy,” he said.
“I don’t want to make commercials, I hate it.”
Having dedicated all his money and time to the project, Mr D’Souza is well aware of the weight that his “punt” carries.
“It is a big punt but I’ll have crack.
“Am I going to give all my money to someone who’s done six weeks of training? Or should I, as someone who’s done advertising for 20 years, take control of this?”
Keep the conversation going, email brooke.rolfe@news.com.au
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