After a 2-year renovation project on our house we invited all our neighbors in the 4-unit condo building next door for a dinner party to show our appreciation for the headaches they endured during construction. Of course, in addition to dinner, they asked for a tour of the house.
Amazed at the transformation, there was one feature that blew everyone’s mind. Not the back wall of glass overlooking our back yard which replaced the huge confining boulders. Not the grand entry featuring a distinctive and elegant staircase which replaced the original decrepit George Maher staircase from 1893. And not the amazing kitchen/great room which had been created by opening up a number of small, dark, depressing rooms.
The feature that was the focus of hours of conversation at a joyous dinner party was none other than the then-revolutionary Toto Washlet toilet in our primary bath.
After most of the guests left, the young couple from the first-floor garden unit hung out with us a bit longer in the living room for after dinner drinks. At one point, the wife asked if she could give our Toto Washlet a test drive.
She then went upstairs. After around 20 minutes of alone-time with the Toto Washlet, she returned to us in the living room and said this to her husband: “Honey, I need a cigarette…and I don’t need you.”
I was reminded of this quaint event recently when my colleague Curtis and I went on a listing appointment for a condo in one of downtown's crappiest buildings overlooking Lake Michigan. (Neither I nor 98% of Chicago’s brokers will steer our buyers to this building). The seller showed us the apartment and could not stop raving about the Toto Washlets she installed…so much so that I was tempted to offer her a cigarette. Or maybe even a full pack.
During our appointment, she asked what the biggest negative of the condo was from a selling standpoint. A straight-shooter, I told her that the dilapidated building was an eyesore and would substantially limit the pool of interested buyers and her ultimate financial return.
And then she brought up the Toto Washlets again, trying to convince me of a significantly higher value for her condo.
My friends, in the world of residential real estate, Toto Washlets only have so much power. As amazing as they are, let them do what they’re equipped to do (which is a damn lot). Just don’t count on them to add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the value of your property.
Have a great weekend!
Best,
Brad
