30 Of The Most Hectic Homes As Shared On ‘The Broke Agent’ Instagram Account
The Broke Agent is a media brand that creates entertainment for real estate professionals. But the beauty of it is that you don't have to be in the industry to enjoy its content. Sure, that would unlock a deeper level of understanding and appreciation but it's not necessary.
Just look at its project Real Estate Fails, for example. Full of ridiculous architectural and interior design hiccups, it shares pictures from the ridiculous side of the housing market, proving that some agents don't have everything under control. Whether it's due to their own fault, the owners, or unfortunate circumstances, there are plenty of things that might deter potential buyers.
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We managed to get in touch with Eric Simon, founder of The Broke Agent, and he was kind enough to have a little chat with us.
"Just over six years ago, I started posting as The Broke Agent on Instagram, producing content that focused on the 'inner monologue' of a struggling realtor in Los Angeles. As a licensed realtor, I basically started making fun of everything that was happening to me and put it online in blog form, YouTube Videos, and short-form content like memes, tweets, and Facebook posts. It blew up really quickly and now has well over half a million followers across all platforms."
Even if we were to talk solely about its target audience, there's still room for The Broke Agent to grow as there are over 2 million active real estate agents in the U.S.
Who Needs Inspections?
We had a good example here at work. Dude owned a camping site with houses. The firefighters did a surprise inspection. Dude got fined for not having any fire alarms or smoke detectors. He then proceeds to glue smoke detectors to ceilings without connecting them to anything. The firefighters came back, opened the detectors and found his little scam. Dude got fined AGAIN and then called us to install things properly. 😂
Apparently The Description Read “Stainless Steel Appliances”
Simon started Real Estate Fails to grow The Broke Agent brand and to reach people who aren't necessarily just real estate agents but he quickly realized that it's just a really fun account to manage.
"Everyone likes looking at housing pics, especially luxury or real estate 'fails,' so it resonated with an audience outside of the real estate industry as well as real estate agents."
"Real estate agents love the account because it exposes marketing blunders, property description errors, and other mistakes agents make when uploading their marketing online. It also gives them a platform to submit all the crazy stuff they see in the field and out on showings. The account also casts a wider net on the industry, attracting contractors, appraisers, inspectors, handymen, etc."
According to Simon, curating the account is pretty straightforward because by now the community around it has gotten big enough for him to receive a steady stream of content.
"Most of my posts come from other realtors in my DMs, but I also get submissions in my Discord, through The Broke Agent and in our real estate Facebook pages and groups," he explained. "Like I said above, most of the photos come from agents actually spotting these crazy fails in the field on showings, inspections, or open houses. We also have a series called #ThingsWeSeeAtShowings on The Broke Agent stories."
My Worst Nightmare
Get a doormat. If that is an important vent, get one with holes.
You couldn't find another person more suited to run the project. "Because I am a licensed realtor, I have developed a good eye for what is 'out of the ordinary' and what will perform well as a post," Simon said. "Also, I've been looking at and posting real estate content every day for 6 plus years so that helps with my judgment for what to post."
"The best performing content on Real Estate Fails is toilet content and anything that's sexual. If it looks like a penis or is provocative in any way, the audience goes crazy for it."
Another successful ongoing theme is staging fails where people try to cover up eye sores or contracting issues. The keyword here is 'try'.
No
The F**k Is This?
Simon constantly searches for ways to engage his followers. "The best way to [do it] on these posts is to say something in the caption like 'describe this like it's in a property description.' That way, agents can put their humorous twist on a housing feature and highlight it in a positive light like a realtor would do in their marketing."
The man behind the show also highlighted that The Broke Agent has much more to offer; it's a full-on real estate media company with Podcasts (The Over Ask Podcast), blogs, YouTube videos, contributors, and more. "Our goal is to make real estate professionals laugh through the daily stress of the industry and also help improve their business with our marketing, consulting, and content platform."
Light Mold
congratulations! you just got yourself a free houseplant! or dinner, if you’re feeling lucky
The Things We See At Showings…
bad idea, good execution. at least whoever thought of this was pretty good at drawing
Thoughts On Photoshopping A Ferrari Into Your Listing Pics?
"Beautiful Balcony Looking Over The Palatial Entertaining Area"
Innovative
Whoops
Maybe this is the bathroom from the story a few days ago about the anti-masturbation family.
Mine too. She is firmly convinced I MUST have a bathroom escort.
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Take a screwdriver. Unscrew the hinges. Move the door. Replace the hinges. Door is now ok. This is done to make a funny picture.
Having chihuahuas, I really haven't gone to the bathroom alone in about 5 years anyway.
Or pocket door. Those can have locks and doesn't change up the asthetic like a barn door might. But geeze, even a curtain on a tension rod would be better than this.
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I think they were installing a new toilet with the door open... stood back to admire the finished product and... ohhhh 😔
The kind of handyman that will then think it's easier to take up the toilet than to take the pins out of the hinges.
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So seriously, no one looked at that and said, "Hey, here's a place we should use a pocket door"?
you can still take the door off the hinges and re hang - on the other side of toilet
I saw a photo of a diy half bath built into a former coat closet. Well, the sink was actually out in the hall, and they had ‘fashioned’ a Dutch door (cut the door in half) because the toilet stuck out past the doorway. The bottom of the door had to remain open, but you could close the top, so at least you could hide your face while using the toilet that’s actually just out in the hallway. OH- I forgot to mention that they *INTENTIONALLY* left the upper shelves and closet rod in this ‘bath’, so there were coats & stuff hung in there as well. That was one guy who was not going to back down when his wife said, “Hon, I don’t think the closet is deep enough to fit a toilet, and we really can’t give up the storage space.” “Measure twice? Kiss my ass!” LOL!
I think they were supposed to install the door AFTER the toilet and not the other way around! Easy fix!
They could put the hinges on the other side and problem solved.
Seen something like this but it was a half bath ND they cut the shape of the toilet out of the door.
All my life. This is just 1 incredible reason all doors should slide!
Seriously what do you think 🤔 looking at the picture again 🤣
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So …. which genius had no concept, the architect, framer, plumber, finishing carpenter, or inspector?
Call the builder, he'll come and CUT A HOLE IN THE DOOR IN NO TIME, then you'll be able to shut the door.
My boyfriend had to go to a jobsite because the homeowner had done something similar to this. Dude wasn't even smart enough to just take the door off in order to fix it.
That's very easy to fix. I hope they didn't leave it like that before selling it. Lol
I lived in a flat where I couldn't close the toilet door because my knees got in the way. Good times. Did I say it was a shared flat?
Just take the door off the hinges and put it back on in front of the toilet, Easy fix.
Yeah this one was definitely content they created
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What In The Fresh Hell Is This?
Ah yes, the sideways toilet. Sometimes you make it in the bowl, sometimes you hit the TP.
“4th Bedroom”
It's a room. There's a bed in it. The car's been repossessed anyway, so what the heck
Staging In Tampa...
I faked a bed in an empty bedroom with cardboard boxes and a couple of blankets. It's pretty common when occupants have already moved.
More Of This
at least they’re being honest…? unless it does suck of course
Nothing To See Here
This is a stupid inclusion. It wasn't a real estate listing; it was the Texas freeze in February 2021, which caused catastrophic damage due to two main reasons: 1. TX houses are not built for such weather (including water pipe insulation) and 2. MOST OF THE STATE WAS DUMPED OFF THE POWER GRID SO THAT IT WOULDN'T FAIL WHICH WAS COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE IF THE TX LEADERSHIP HAD WINTERIZED THE GRID AS THEY WERE TOLD TO DO A FULL TEN YEARS BEFORE BECAUSE EXPERTS KNEW SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULD HAPPEN EVENTUALLY.
Note: this post originally had 110 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
"Most Hectic Homes"? ..." I do not think that word means what you think it means." — Inigo Montoya
Well, the Fashion Life staff is Lithuanian, so...
I have been correcting the title in my head, figuring out what they really wanted to get at: eclectic perhaps? Lithuania...intriguing...
you killed my father.. prepare to die!
Onion rings like to make your breath smelly, but they are very yummy in your belly.
I've heard Aussies use "hectic" this way. As in generally messed up.
Yeah I read hectic as in chaotic
Idk, made enough sense to me. Maybe not the best word choice perhaps chaotic would've been better.
I did indeed speak those words.
I actually came here to say this :D I can't think what word they meant, electic doesn't quite fit either. Quirky? Weird?
I don't know. Imagine a house filled with teenagers making a run at some of those bathrooms. Imagine living in Mother Nature's vomit emporium. Or tending to the emotional needs of people so needy they built a lofty balcony indoors so that they can look down on others, be looked up to. This is all the opposite of Feng shei and good sleep hygiene.
I want to briefly visit the minds who made some of these disasters, just to have some chance of understand what they were thinking, if anything.
Jo, can I listen in, on your conversation, it's bound to be interesting !!!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Most of these are repeats.
Yup.
I've seen every single one of these photos in multiple BP lists before. BP editors, get a grip. I certainly hope no one gets paid for this sh!t.
We just sold it so I can't take pics of it...wish I had...but our last house had some...interesting design choices. They left all of the paintings in the house when we moved in, and said paintings covered up some things like a misplaced vent, a corkboard, etc. There was a fully finished basement but the previous owners obviously failed at something because the shower was in the laundry room while the toilet and sink were in the other end of the basement. Oops. To make room in one of the basement rooms to call it a bedroom they put an indent into the furnace room to create the closet. We never used the room for anything but storage but I couldn't imagine being stuck between the furnace room and the stairs. Other than that it was a gorgeous house and we seriously sold it for twice what we paid for it because of location and the design of the house. But yes, we removed the paintings, we didn't want them to have the surprises we had.
I have not laughed so much in a long time! I feel sorry for the poor agents who had to try and sell those places!
This gave me a good laugh. Thanks. I needed it
Bizzaro. Cool and creepy!
my reaction was 'uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' for pretty much all of them
it would be fun if someone built a house with all of these and more and made it a rbnb experience, i would totally go to it
This post, was one of the strangest, without a doubt, somewhat interesting, there must be a great number, of weird carpenters, or should I say, wanna be carpenters !!!
There's surely a lot of funny businesses going on here.
If I could pick some bits at the cost of a random bit being included, I would love to buy a house made of these.
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Corgo Man loves you! :D If YoU wAnT mOrE oF ThiS tHEn hIT ThaT LikE BUttoN But really. Corgo Man loves you
"Most Hectic Homes"? ..." I do not think that word means what you think it means." — Inigo Montoya
Well, the Fashion Life staff is Lithuanian, so...
I have been correcting the title in my head, figuring out what they really wanted to get at: eclectic perhaps? Lithuania...intriguing...
you killed my father.. prepare to die!
Onion rings like to make your breath smelly, but they are very yummy in your belly.
I've heard Aussies use "hectic" this way. As in generally messed up.
Yeah I read hectic as in chaotic
Idk, made enough sense to me. Maybe not the best word choice perhaps chaotic would've been better.
I did indeed speak those words.
I actually came here to say this :D I can't think what word they meant, electic doesn't quite fit either. Quirky? Weird?
I don't know. Imagine a house filled with teenagers making a run at some of those bathrooms. Imagine living in Mother Nature's vomit emporium. Or tending to the emotional needs of people so needy they built a lofty balcony indoors so that they can look down on others, be looked up to. This is all the opposite of Feng shei and good sleep hygiene.
I want to briefly visit the minds who made some of these disasters, just to have some chance of understand what they were thinking, if anything.
Jo, can I listen in, on your conversation, it's bound to be interesting !!!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Most of these are repeats.
Yup.
I've seen every single one of these photos in multiple BP lists before. BP editors, get a grip. I certainly hope no one gets paid for this sh!t.
We just sold it so I can't take pics of it...wish I had...but our last house had some...interesting design choices. They left all of the paintings in the house when we moved in, and said paintings covered up some things like a misplaced vent, a corkboard, etc. There was a fully finished basement but the previous owners obviously failed at something because the shower was in the laundry room while the toilet and sink were in the other end of the basement. Oops. To make room in one of the basement rooms to call it a bedroom they put an indent into the furnace room to create the closet. We never used the room for anything but storage but I couldn't imagine being stuck between the furnace room and the stairs. Other than that it was a gorgeous house and we seriously sold it for twice what we paid for it because of location and the design of the house. But yes, we removed the paintings, we didn't want them to have the surprises we had.
I have not laughed so much in a long time! I feel sorry for the poor agents who had to try and sell those places!
This gave me a good laugh. Thanks. I needed it
Bizzaro. Cool and creepy!
my reaction was 'uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh' for pretty much all of them
it would be fun if someone built a house with all of these and more and made it a rbnb experience, i would totally go to it
This post, was one of the strangest, without a doubt, somewhat interesting, there must be a great number, of weird carpenters, or should I say, wanna be carpenters !!!
There's surely a lot of funny businesses going on here.
If I could pick some bits at the cost of a random bit being included, I would love to buy a house made of these.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Corgo Man loves you! :D If YoU wAnT mOrE oF ThiS tHEn hIT ThaT LikE BUttoN But really. Corgo Man loves you