What Does Tlc Stand for in Real Estate
The Appraisal
3 Consonants, Open to a Number of Interpretations
When Madeline Williamson included the words "needs a good dose of TLC" in a listing for a town house in Brooklyn Heights, she nestled it among more alluring phrases like "great potential" and "dog heaven."
Ms. Williamson chose TLC over other phrases that some might have thought more apropos, like "handyman's special," "needs renovation" or "Bring your shrink, your contractor and a bottle of Scotch."
Yes, TLC. Tender loving care. The ubiquitous code words favored by brokers to describe homes needing, um, work. While most brokers cannot recall when they started using the phrase, they sprinkle it liberally in advertisements for properties.
The Appraisal visited several apartments described by brokers as needing TLC and discovered, perhaps not surprisingly, that these three capital consonants can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.
As Ms. Williamson, a Prudential Douglas Elliman broker, walked through the musty house in Brooklyn Heights recently, she pointed out a "not horrendous" kitchen and bathrooms that had not been renovated since 1968 (when the town house was built). As floors creaked under worn-through green and orange carpet, she pointed to walls that buyers could knock out to add light.
The price is $1.1 million, and she said renovating the town house could cost $100,000 to $200,000.
"It's a question of how someone wants to live," Ms. Williamson said. "TLC means that you love it as it is now and love it even more when you get it the way you want it. It's a softer way of saying it needs a major renovation."
Craig M. Dix, a broker whose client closed last week on a $9.5 million Upper East Side town house whose listing mentioned TLC, put it this way: "It's a euphemistic way of saying that it's going to be in poor condition."
He gave examples of other Pollyannish words or phrasings in real estate listings and how to translate them: " 'Cozy' means minute. 'Quiet' means it's in the back of the building. It's just the language of the industry. TLC means a total gut job."
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Corinne Pulitzer, the broker who listed the Upper East Side property that Mr. Dix's client bought, said she was explicit about its condition. She did not stage the town house with furniture because, she said, that would be like "putting diamonds on a monkey." She told buyers that renovations would "conservatively" cost $1 million.
"It's really about managing expectations," Ms. Pulitzer said.
Jack Strohbach, who is selling a 170-year-old town house near Gramercy Park for $3.1 million, had his broker include in the listing that the house "needs TLC," although he bought new appliances two years ago and spent $30,000 to have it painted five years ago. He said a buyer could move in immediately.
His agent, Holly Sose of City Connections Realty, was not as optimistic. As she walked through the town house, she politely pointed out a kitchen that had not been renovated since the 1970s and rooms filled with outdated built-in cabinets covered in mirrors. Structurally, she said, the house was sound; renovations could be largely cosmetic.
"This needs a hug, maybe not a face-lift," Ms. Sose said.
There's an expression you might not see in a listing anytime soon.
Karen Stone, a Citi-Habitats agent, brought a client, Danielle Altschuh, to see a two-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side listed as needing TLC. After entering, they discovered that the apartment had no operating electricity and that the seller had removed all the appliances. Ms. Stone and Ms. Altschuh had to view the apartment with flashlights. A renter was living there in conditions so bad that they first mistook him for a squatter.
TLC, indeed.
Ms. Altschuh, a firefighter, bought the apartment for $276,000 in December; the renovation process lasted through April. She had so many problems with her contractor that she got fellow firefighters to help her finish the work. Then she changed her locks to protect herself from the contractor.
Ms. Altschuh says TLC "leaves a lot of room for interpretation."
"If you heard 'TLC,' you would think it needs a little paint, maybe change some handles on cabinets," she said. "It needed a whole lot more than TLC."
But whatever TLC means, some buyers are attracted to apartments that need it. For one thing, they tend to cost less than properties that have been newly renovated.
Sarah Miller looked at an income-restricted three-bedroom apartment in Harlem listed as needing — well, you know. It had many problems, including a collapsed bathroom ceiling. Ms. Miller bought the apartment for $90,000 and moved in after a six-week renovation.
But Ms. Miller said she preferred overseeing the process herself.
"When other people do renovations," she said, "it's more superficial work that gets done."
What Does Tlc Stand for in Real Estate
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/nyregion/07appraisal.html#:~:text=Yes%2C%20TLC.,liberally%20in%20advertisements%20for%20properties.
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