A red front door is my trademark for my rehabs! What's yours?

Question

well it is really not officially trademarked but you get the point.  Not only do these doors look great but it helps people to recognize and remember my brand!

I'm curious if any other rehabbers have a distinctive item on their houses?

Aaron Mazzrillo · Answer

My trademark  is a big check. The door looks nice too though...

Mark Wallis · Answer

Hey Cal C.

There are a couple things that we do on most of our flips. If it has a pantry we change out 6 panel door to a full lite frosted glass door. We also look for ways to add a wine cooler or even wine bar area. Here's the latest project we finished.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Few years ago I posted about rehab branding, wish I knew how to search for stuff on BP...

If you do quality work, branding is important, it can add value to the property, intrinsic value that can be recognized. $$$$

Your signature should be more than a door color, doors can be painted and your identification or brand is lost.

Quality builders leave a trademark, a feature that is unique to them inside and out.

Not only can real estate pros, like agents and appraisers spot branding but many in the general public recognize it as well. It's "Oh, that's a Don Russel home"!  Jerry Jones (Cowboys owner) has a blue star on his properties, shopping centers, embedded in concrete or the exterior (the cowboys logo).

I'm not suggesting you put a company logo on your properties, that would be a little over the top and the next owner would probably get rid of anything that stood out. Your signature should be rather subtle, in good taste, that blends with the architecture.

Custom rosettes can easily be made in wood, they can be applied on door and window casings, fireplace mantels, deck railings and over a garage door. Another trick is to apply corner stones at the entry or garage door or ends of a home in a unique stacked manner (fake stone), changing the course and depth of brick on a wall has been done.

I've seen decorative, fake, ridge beams extended from the exterior under a gable(s) of the roof, as if the ridge of the roof was supported by a beam with a unique cut in the ends, not large, just noticeable.

Emblems on houses go back to the beginning of building them, crests, columns, arches, doors and windows would have unique markings.

Use a theme that reflects your work that blends with any style home, it needs to be consistent.

Now, if you're a quick fix rehab type, just doing average work, you might not want to have your reputation out there for the world to identify your properties! When an appraiser drives up and sees your signature, their opinion can go both ways.

If you have a good reputation, do quality work, the appraiser is more likely to fudge on the upper side of their valuation opinion. If your good, the appraiser usually notes who a builder, designer or architect was. Your local lenders can also be influenced as to their collateral. Branding quality means money!  :)

Kris Haskins · Answer

great topic. I had been using the red door for years. Seemed to be getting a little old and tired. I went to Richmond and saw something wonderful. These guys were using incredible pastel colors. Here is a sample of one we just finished. We got a lot of good response.

Carol Venolia · Answer

Nice! I'm guessing you know that a red front door is supposed to be good Feng Shui? Makes that chi wanna flow right in there.

Though I hadn't thought of it as such, my "trademark" seems to be "burnt almond" exterior trim color. I'll do the body in any of a number of colors, but that burnt almond seems to make everything look better--to me, at least.  ;-)

Kris Haskins · Answer

I here you Art, I've used it on others as well.  We just got tired of using the red, seems like everybody is using red.  We wanted to simply give another look and It kinda felt good having a little different style as the buyers pull up to the house.  Check out this one, got multiple offers .

Account Closed · Answer

@Kris Haskins I like that color door but not on that house.  To my eye, it doesn't fit.

@Cal C. Interesting topic though I find myself trying to avoid what I've previously done!  I also try to make my choices based on the style and character of the house and neighborhood, which might not be possible if I were locked in to a "trademark".  We house flippers are like artists!

Matthew Murphy · Answer

One of my investor friends always uses the same exterior body color paint. We have named it Ron green in honor of him haha. So there is usually 10-15 freshly painted "Ron green" houses in our area every year. And it is a great color!

Jennifer Jesse · Answer

Yeah all over Richmond I see pastel colors on doors, its like the new thing!  green, blue, and purple.  also neon green is popular in my neighborhood. I'll see if i can get a pic or two up later and see what yall think?

JD Martin · Answer

I suppose mine is a dishwasher and CH&A, since every property I seem to find doesn't have a dishwasher, and adding one makes my properties super attractive for the niche (lower priced 2br/1ba SFHs). I don't leave any property without these 2 items.

A red front door is my trademark for my rehabs! What's yours?

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