HOUSTON – A Houston-area real estate agent that put Manvel on the map for his “not haunted” sign on a listing is taking a successful idea and running with it.
After Ellis Young’s home listing in the 3200 block of Spring Ridge Drive sparked interest from news outlets from Nevada to Ohio, Ellis told KPRC he’s teamed up with Addi Printing, in Pearland, to roll out three new signs geared toward bringing out the lighter side of home ownership.
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The new signs will say “Chuck Norris-tested,” “Room for Activities,” which is a “Stepbrothers” movie reference, and “Harvey-tested.”
In the case of the Manvel house, Young said he added the tongue-in-cheek sign to “loosen up” the homeowners. Young said moving out is sometimes a very difficult thing to do, especially when people are moving out for not-so-happy reasons, so this is a way to make it all a little less formal.
“They loved it,” Young said of the Manvel homeowners. “They’re from Louisiana. They thought it was real funny. Stir the pot a little bit.”
Ellis said while some “uppity” neighbors didn’t appreciate the sign, it’s his way of “doing things a little differently.”
“The whole thing is silly,” Young said, of his original “not haunted” sign on the suburban four-bedroom, 3 1/2 bath home built in 2002. “That’s why we think it’s funny. It’s not some old home in the Heights.”
Young replaced the “not haunted" sign with a “gluten-free home” sign, but he received backlash from that, as well.
“I got my butt chewed,” Young said. “I apologized and apologized.”
“You just can’t please everybody,” he said.
Young isn’t the only real estate agent who is thinking outside the typical sign. Another real estate agent Young has worked with recently made waves in the Houston market with her $250 tacos perk.
Young said his signs have been out longer than the tacos sign, but he jokingly called Nicole Lopez, the real estate agent who posted the tacos sign, when the story hit the national news and he said, “Dude, you one-upped me!”
Now, it seems Young is on his way. He said another home with a “not haunted” sign in Humble has an offer.
And just for the record: “I don’t believe in haunted houses,” Young said. “No ghosts have jumped out at me when I’ve been showing houses – that house in particular.”
What do you think of the new signs Young is printing? Would you be interested in seeing a home that was “Chuck Norris-tested”? Let us know what you think in the comments.