Real Estate Tale EP.8: The “Unwanted” House No.13 Becomes a Symbol of Triumph

A real‑estate fairy‑tale EP.8: The House Number Nobody Wanted

Became a symbol of happiness.
.
On the main road of a city that’s growing,
There is a house quietly standing under the shade of a large white‐plumeria tree.
White blossoms drift down onto the lawn,
Which has grown beyond ankle height.
The wall colour has faded,
Until it looks like an old photograph in an album.
The owner is “Aunt Rumphai”,
A former high‑school principal in this area.
.
Three years ago,
Aunt Rumphai decided to move in with her son in Chiang Mai.
The house was then left vacant.
At first she tried to sell it through neighbour friends
Who knew old brokers in the vicinity.
But no one could close the deal.
.
Every time someone came to view the house,
As they glanced toward something,
There was only an awkward smile and the words
“Lovely, but… I’ll go think about it first.”
.
Time passed.
From the price originally set high to allow negotiation,
It gradually dropped little by little.
From a lovingly‑landscaped home,
It became a house with fallen leaves accumulating in a corner by the wall.
Aunt Rumphai herself started to tire
Of paying upkeep for a house she no longer lived in.
.
Until one day, a long‑time friend of Aunt Rumphai,
Leader of the retired‑teachers club,
Went to a social event
And happened to sit at the same table as “Mr Somchai”,
A former client of New.
.
Mr Somchai told of how
He had just sold his old house on the Thon Buri side
In under two months,
Because New used a market method that was “unlike others”.
When Aunt Rumphai’s friend heard this, she said:
“Then please introduce him to me — my house has been up for sale for three years.”
.
A few days later New’s phone rang.
A polite‑voiced older lady said:
“Is this you, New?
I have a house on a main road. Near a mall. Near the BTS.
But just one little hitch… the house number is 13.”
.
New listened quietly a moment.
He didn’t think this was a problem — instead he thought…
“This might be a new story waiting for someone to tell.”
.
A 2‑storey detached white house
Grey‑tile roof aged and stained by rain
Black iron fence still sturdy
But the paint is fading where the sun strikes each morning.
.
In front there stand two white‑plumeria trees
Guarding either side of the gate.
White blossoms drift to the ground
Like someone sprinkled light powder.
The lawn is unevenly mown,
In some corners mingled with creeping weeds.
.
When New stepped beyond the gate
The scent of old wood and dampness
Welcomed him like an old friend.
The parquet floor, once polished, now had small cracks from shrinking.
.
Morning light filtered through large wooden windows
Into the living room, falling on a striped fabric sofa
Faded with time.
The kitchen was at the rear — old concrete but clean.
The wooden staircase to the second floor creaked underfoot.
.
This house once held a big family.
But as siblings went their separate ways,
Only the retired owner moved out to her son.
The home was left vacant for almost five years before listing.
.
New, the experienced broker,
Started surveying the site, taking photographs,
And researching the surrounding market.
.
Land in this area was rising each year.
But the problem was the belief
Rooted in the minds of most people around:
Anyone who came to view the house
Would glance at the house‑number sign and go quiet immediately.
Some said bluntly “it’s beautiful but… the house‑number is bad.”
.
The price had been reduced from the original quite significantly,
Yet still no one signed the contract.
In his heart New knew
If he continued the usual method,
This house might remain on the market for a long time.
.
One afternoon, while New was retouching the listing photos,
His phone rang.
The voice on the other end said
They were an assistant director of a film production.
“We saw pictures of this house on a website… may we rent it for filming?”
.
They were looking for an old house in the city
That had a warm atmosphere,
Still bore signs of story in its past.
And this house appeared on their location list.
New began to see something.
.
When New called Aunt Rumphai to seek permission,
The owner hesitated.
“Will it be okay? The number is very unlucky. People will feel uneasy, right?”
New answered slowly, clearly.
“The number is on the sign—but the movie’s story lives in people’s memory.”
.
After the discussion and Aunt Rumphai agreed,
New had the crew come to prepare the house.
The lawn was re‑sodded,
Bright coloured flower beds added.
Inside, furniture was arranged to suit the script.
Every corner was dusted, wood polished, curtains opened wide to the light.
The scent of coffee and fresh food
From the filming set filled the house.
Laughter of child actors,
And the shout of “Take!” by the director
Made the house alive again.
.
During the two‑week shoot,
No one called it the unlucky house‑number anymore.
Everyone called it “Khun Dao’s House” (according to the film).
.
In the film’s storyline,
The house is portrayed as a symbol of love,
Of a young couple,
And as the gathering point of family affection
Before the story closes with a warm feeling
The characters once overlooked.
.
Three months later the film released.
Within its first week
It topped the trend chart on a major platform.
The scene of the front lawn and second‑floor balcony
Was mentioned repeatedly.
Hashtag #KhunDaoHouse
Was used over 10,000 times.
People started posting “Where is Khun Dao’s House?”
Now no one cared about the house‑number anymore.
.
New hurried to relist the house.
Using stills from the filming,
And angles from the movie as main images.
Headline: “Revealing the real house of Khun Dao from the current No.1 film.”
.
New told the behind‑the‑scenes:
This house was chosen by the director
Because “it has its own identity and story.”
New framed the words so people felt they weren’t buying just a house
But buying “a piece of memory from the film they loved.”
.
The number 13, once cursed,
Became a new story:
“13 beautiful angles of this house”
“13 things to know before living here”
“13 advantages of this house”
“13 stories before this became Khun Dao’s House”
.
The result exceeded expectations.
Enquiries came in more than ever.
And more astonishingly,
An investor made an offer
15% higher than the original asking price.
.
Because he wanted the rights to use the name
And the story of this house to expand into a themed homestay business.
.
13 from the unlucky number,
The name changed to The Thirteen House
To express its Limited nature.
.
The house that was once overlooked because of its number,
Was sold for its “story”
That people wanted to belong to.
.
Finally the sale contract was signed within one month.
The house once seen as the “number‑13 bad‑luck house”
Had become an asset whose “number everyone fights for.”
With a new story created.
.
The house that was dry and unwanted,
Breathed life again.
Therefore every house has a story,
But not every story will have the chance.
.
The “For Sale” sign was removed,
Leaving only a small plaque
That read The Thirteen House.
It wasn’t just a dwelling anymore
But proof that
The meaning of everything … can always change.
.
New looked back at the house’s gate again
Before walking away
He knew well that from this moment on
This house would no longer be the “house‑number 13”
Of misfortune
But the house of a new story
That would be told warmly for a long time.
.
Join the discussion at
https://www.facebook.com/Ex.MatchingProperty/posts/pfbid02zz8umfEcSaPSZrCv1C4HYC1nXFtUB1kuhVdQzhTUqpXCoH3amUvbjDVFJgGJVyWkl