Evidence Immobilier, a real-estate agency in Montpelier, France, has become the first in the world to revolutionize the apartment viewing experience by turning it into an exciting “Escape Room” game where potential buyers have to look for clues and solve puzzles, while at the same time discovering the layout of the place.

Whether you’re looking to rent or buy a new apartment, the initial viewing is a very important part of the process. However, for most people – youths in particular – it’s just another chore that has to be completed, not something they are overly excited about.  One real-estate agency in France wants to change that, and their first attempt has been attracting a lot of attention from French media. They’ve teamed up with an Escape Room game designer in Montpelier to turn one of their available apartments into an interactive experience for potential buyers.

Instead of being walked through all the different rooms and having to listen to a real-estate agent talk about all the amenities and characteristics of the apartment in an overly positive way, the ‘Escape House’ viewing lets you discover everything yourself, while keeping you entertained.

First off, you and your partner are blindfolded and locked in one of the apartment rooms. You then have to use your wits and observational skills to find clues, solve puzzles and eventually escape the apartment. Everything is designed in such a way to encourage would-be buyers to explore the apartment in detail, discovering all its assets and potential flaws firsthand, while also enjoying themselves.

But there’s more to this Escape House viewing than simple entertainment. If would-be buyers manage to work their way out of the apartment in 18 minutes or less, Evidence Immobilier promises to cover all the notary paperwork required to complete the transaction. Considering the Montpelier apartment is priced at €296 000 ($365,000), that should be quite a discount.

 

Obviously, participants don’t have to buy the apartment if they don’t like it, but Evidence Immobilier hopes that their innovative approach will at least get people interested in seeing new property, even if they are not yet interested in buying.

The French real-estate company is running this Escape House apartment viewing experience for a limited time only, but if it proves popular, we may actually see it adopted as a marketing strategy.

via La Depeche