Why produce somethng that makes you appear un professional?

A professional image will get you more clients 

I appreciate to even be let known about minor typos.  The good agents help each other out on stuff like that.  The agent you called needs to find another line of work.

Sue - typos are one of my pet peeves.  They happen.  But to omit a $100K Oasis swimming pool...that's just downright stuck on stoooopid! (spell check didn't like this one, but it sure works for me)

typos, errors and ommissions.  We see way too many in listings, in contracts, etc.  I suppose even the best of agents might make a mistake here and there but some are notoriously bad way too often!

Ethan:  Exactly.  At least we have to put forth the effort right?

Randy:  I was thinking "near" the same thing... just not quite as nice of a suggestion as yours.

Marlene:  It's one thing to omit the Oasis... but then to chastise me for bringing it to her attention?  I would've been kissing someone's feet. (ok, maybe not... but I would be appreciative, I can tell you that)!!

Kaushik:  Yes, the repeat offenders are the worst.  Anyone ever hear of dictionary.com?  I used it a minute ago to make sure I was spelling CHASTISE correctly!!  HA!

Sue you have hit on my #1 pet peeve with listings! I know I have a wee bit of a problem with spelling. I am dyslexic. I also know how to use my spell checker. I generally write my listing descriptions in word and use the built-in spell checker. I then paste into the MLS and use my Google toolbar and spell check one more time. When I am not sure I have the correct word even though it is spelled right I can use dictionary.com or word's built-in thesaurus. Does this all take a few extra minutes? Yes. But looking stupid can last forever. I will say that overlooking a pool goes beyond looking stupid though.

Yes, isn't it odd that people do that. Some things you can never understand.

Carolin Benjamin
Bob and Carolin Benjamin
The Benjamin Team
Keller Williams Integrity First Realty
Gold Canyon Arizona

Hi Sue,

Oh my is right!

A typo is one thing, we all see them every now and then, and most of us have been in the same situation. If you called me, I'd be thrilled that you took the time to let me know.  A typo is completely different from a known "material fact". Most of us would feel a spectacular pool, etc, etc, would be a material fact, rifht? And I think somehow a JUDGE would feel the same way if you were in court. 

 I do arbitrations and mediations for my AOR and the state AOR, I see things like this every now an then.  You can normally deterimine a mistake as opposed to those who are negligent.

Thanks for shaing.

Sue, This is a BIG pet peeve with me also. Not like the old days when people took pride in their work. Many agents are out there just to make a fast buck...but we all know most of those type of agents come and go in a years time. Sometimes it just takes a few more seconds just to check what you are doing. But just like any profession in life...there are ignorant, lazy, selfish, self-serving people out there. We all make errors once in a while, but it is the habitual ones that you wonder about.

That is just criminal. Good for you for trying to do right by the customer, even though it wasn't your listing. You could always have your broker call their broker.... -Charles

Sue,

Your points are quite valid. Like you, if I ever overlook a feature that should be marketed -tell me. It is in my client's best interest as well as my own. And, typos, as a young Navy officer I was told by an old codger that people judge you by what you sign. I say people judge by what you produce or have associated with your name. Good post.

It is possible that the agent wants to make the house look less desirable to other agents so she can sell it herself. I have seen it.

Good Morning Everyone!  I can't tell you how much better I feel knowing I'm not alone out here in my quest for more accuracy and less typos (or laziness). Thank you for your comments... I was seriously starting to think it was just me!!

And Greg... Wow... I had never even thought of that.  The funny thing is, we almost didn't look at it because the price was so much higher than the others - and honestly we were curious why.  It made a LOT more sense once we saw it!

My pet peeve in a listing is spelling mistakes. Sometimes they are extremely obvious.  I'm surprised by Greg's comment, would someone really be that way?

Kristine:  Yes, There are the mistakes you can see were an oversight & then there are the listings that just SCREAMS "I just wanted to hit the submit button and I don't care if it's correct"!! 

I too was surprised by Greg's suggestion, but it certainly is a possibility isn't it?  Very little surprises me anymore!

Sue,

You almost didn't look at it. How many agents do you think are not showing it? Has she fixed the typo?

Greg:  Yes, she fixed it immediately.  Maybe she was embarrassed? Embarrassment is one thing... Crude, Rude & Socially Unacceptable are another!! 

I notified a listing agent that she had the wrong address. By wrong, I mean it was 4 blocks away wrong. She never fixed it and she sold it herself. Go figure.

Greg:  She could title her own book... "Deceit, Lies & Misrepresentation"!

I agree with Randy about the agent you called needs to find a better line of work....or she just should have called out sick that day if she was having a terrible day, that is no way to treat any call that comes in to your office!!! VERY VERY UNPROFESSIONAL OF HER!!  I wish you didn't hear her say that but....being a past telemarketer for MBNA Bank for 6 yrs....It was a daily word I heard from customers (Only because they do not like the computer dialing there home...lol) Just move on and ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE BRIGHT Side to your real estate business and that will take you far...excellent posting and nice to point out your past experience, wow...is all I can say....WOW...Can't believe she did that...that was crazy wasn't it? Lol...ahh well shrug it off.

Bad spelling is one of my pet peeves. Thanks for the reminder!

Tell them like it is!  Its is the 101 of selling, be sure to proof read everything, even twice!

Sue, Two thoughts

1) Have you checked since? Has the pool now been added? Maybe the other agent was embarrassed by doing a poor job and has since corrected it.

2) Is insurance an issue with a pool? A liability? Is there another problem with the pool? None of this would be acceptable. But accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative pops into my mind here. 

Sorry had a third thought : disclosures! The Realtor isn't disclosing something. Something smells fishy...

My first thought wasn't so much that she wanted to sell it herself, but maybe wanted slow action from others so she could BUY it herself!  I am ever so thankful I live in a small town with a tight group.  That kind of behavior wouldn't go over here.

I totally agree with you.  I always wonder about that, especially when the agent is one of the area's "big boys."  I think that we do absolutely owe it to the clients we enter contract with to sell their homes to do the best job we can.  I often have homeowners help me choose the photos by checking them out on my digital camera and sit with me while I write the text for the advertising.  That way, they see the work I am doing and get to be sure that their favorite features are included in the listing packets.  They kind of like that, and I know that my stuff will make them happy the first time.

 I am the worst speller ever, but if they are kind I always welcome them. My Peeve is when they have pictures and you have to turn your head to view or they are too dark. How many of us have clients that have night vision?

After taking a ABR class, the instructor was telling us some scary stories about a home that was listed as "empty" and several attempts to get agents (mainly women) to the home, which was out in the middle of know where. I had a client that I thought was going to list with me only to find out that they listed with another agent who listed the property as "empty". I emailed the client telling her I understood and no problem, but that I didn't think "empty" was a strong selling feature to the home. She agreed and said she was going to tell the agent. I emailed the agent as well and never heard anything, nor did the listing change.

I think we owe it to our industry to keep us in check. Kind words can go farther, but if they aren't willing to say they made an mistake it can get ugly. "Atta girl" for you!

I think you are preaching to the choir, here. The agents who commit these faux paus probably never read these forums, just like they never show up at office meetings, or return calls.

I could not agree with you more!  Typos are one of my biggest pet peeves, no pictures being #1!!!!

I don't understand how we are supposed to be perceived as professionals if we don't present ourselves as professionals! 

You let her know about forgetting to mention an awesome pool and she got mad???

I love the people who are too busy or just lazy!!!!   They make me look so much better. 

Yes, Mr. Client, you can list with me or the illiterate person!

Oooouch  I was so shocked to hear of someone being cursed at in attempting to be helpful.  I am glad they changed it; even though I would not show ANY property represented by them.  It's too long to be in escrow with such an unsurely person. 

When this first came up this morning I was also thinking that full disclosure was not being made.  There is probably an insurance problem with the pool that the owners are not willing to make.  If I were to have been the one to show the property and not know there is a body of water there, I would have been upset.  Egg on my face and it presents a health hazard if my buyers were to have had small children with them or we had been walking out of the house to quickly and someone fell in.  If I had had a clue that there was a body of water, I am at least forewarned.

I am in southern cal and we have a lot of agents where English is there second language.  All I can say to them is learn to use the word processor and set it to the language option to the highest level of diction manners possible; use the thesaurus feature a lot ; along with getting someone else to proof it for you before AND after posting.  I have sometimes not even added a property to a listing of potentials because the description comes off as written in hieroglyphics; especially if it has no pictures or very unclear pictures as to what I am to be looking at.  Such as those that show the community's name wall as the first picture.

Sue, this is a great post.  One thing that I wonder, though, is: Do the sellers know the kind of service their listing is receiving?  I doubt it!  Their agent is telling them: Oh, we're not getting any showing requests, or, there just isn't much activity right now.

Obviously, none of us would want to tell them: I forgot that you had that beautiful pool, or,  the other agents have no idea what your property is like because my remarks make no sense.

I know we can't undermine the efforts of our fellow agents, but it's irksome to know the effort you go to, and yet the other guy gets the listing!

I'll keep plugging away though, because I know that my had work will appreciated and pay off.

Very sad for this agent's client.  Too bad that there are so many flaky agents out there.  If you're ever in Pasadena, CA and notice anything that could be better on any of my listings, I would more than welcome your call.  Lunch on me, definitely!

I don't see too much of this in my local Hilton Head market.  Thankfully, the agent shere are a pretty professional group.  However, I agree with you that omitting a 100K pool area is remiss on the listing agent's part.  Guess she didn't appreciate you telling her about it???

WOW, Lots of great comments and observations.  

Until now, the idea that someone would intentionally leave out such an amazing selling point had never occurred to me.

Thank you all for your insight.  This forum continually provides me with new perspectives.

My pet peeve is agents that will put in the lot dimensions, but not take the two seconds to calculate the lot size in acres. Most MLSs have a search function for acreage, not lot dimensions. If your listing is a 2 acre lot, a buyer looking for it might never see it because you were to lazy to do some simple math.

Sue...sounds like the same realtor I did a deal with a few months ago...every other word she said was a swear word in the same catagory as the one used above...the worse of the worse.  BUT this was her normal conversation...it drove me nuts!  I was so glad when that deal closed.  I used to hold the phone about 3 feet from my ear every time I talked to her...sad part about it is I think she talks like this to everyone...it seemed to be her normal conversation mode.  She owned her own company...so she's somewhat educatied.  Hmmmmmm, wonder if it's the same one!

Jennifer:  I agree!  You can't give too much information or detail (in my humble opinion) !!

Mary:  Gosh, I hope it is the same agent.  I shudder to think there might be more than ONE nasty agent like that anywhere, let alone right here in beautiful Las Vegas!

.....and some people don't know how to spell! BUT the part about leaving out an integral part of her listing makes me wonder! Was she trying NOT to sell it? Hmmmmmm.......

I also like to have the room sizes which many agents do not take the trouble to get either.

Typos in anything drive me crazy !  The trouble is - the human brain can process a sentence or paragraph regardless of the mistakes, and of course the old spell check feature doesn't catch everything. 

It just pays to be extra careful - especially if your printing brochures, cards or any promotional material.  Read it over at least 3 times and have at least 3 other people do the same. 

And if anyone sees a typo here in my comment - let me know. 

Thanks for the reminder, Sue. We have read alot on this topic and the problem is rampant. One wonders what the agents are thinking....or their clients? No wonder we get the bad rap we do and consumers complain about the commissions they are paying. Not too impressive. And what a professional attitude that agent had.

Jeff

Teri:  I agree, spelling is what it is.  I can live with the occasional oversight.  It's the total incompetence that chaps my behind.

Sandi:  I received an email once with every word misspelled (intentionally) and you could still read it quite easily.  Sad but true.

Jeff:  Good point.  No wonder the perception of our industry continues to decline. 

Thank you all for your comments.

Thank you for raising this issue, Sue!  I see this often and it drives me nuts.

"There" instead of "they're" or "their," same for your/you're, posative, definately (no "a" in either word), extra apostrophe's strewn everywhere, etc.

What does it say? Usually it screams "I AM ILLITERATE." Sometimes it says "I'm illiterate but at least I have a spell checker." It never ever says anything good about the author.

Just last week I was reading one agent's blog. It was loaded with atrocious grammar and gross misspellings - and he was bragging about home schooling his children.

Robert:  Agreed & YIKES!! 

The two most common spelling mistakes I see are 'definite and separate'.  Not sure why people don't like those words... but they don't!!!

I can't believe she said that. Yikes. She sounds very pleasant!

I should've asked her if she eats with that mouth huh?

Those poor unsuspecting sellers. 

My biggest bug-a-boo is alot....no such word!  It's a lot!

Mary:  Agreed!!!  My assistant's use accept in lieu of except and than in lieu of then.  Makes me cuckoo!!  Then a phrase they use that sends me over the edge is "these ones" or "those ones"!  I think they just do it now to make me crazy, I'm not sure!

Mary:  Agreed!!!  My assistant's use accept in lieu of except and than in lieu of then.

Sue...! Extra apostrophe.  Did you do that just to catch my eye? ;)

Robert:  Doggone it!!!  They are rubbing off on me.  I could go correct it & then make you think you're crazy couldn't I?

Typos drive me nuts. Sometimes I have people say "well, I can spell but I hit a key wrong, when typing, on occasion." So what! Who can tell? It still looks like you do not know how to spell or do not care. The spell checker can help anyone but one needs to keep an eye on it too, as sometimes it wishes to put in words that are wrong.

Steven:  We're all guilty of the occasional slip aren't we.  It's those darned habitual offenders that make me want to pull my hair out.

Thanks for the reminder.  A builder for whom I worked had a 45k "error" on an mls listing and guess what?  Yup- the buyer's realtor (also an appraiser) made the deal happen at the published price.  Good for her!

Laurie:  And they should, I agree.  We owned a Home Decor business a few years back.  If the listed price was wrong, we honored it.  It definitiely teaches you the value of accuracy.

Sue, great post! It's amazing how half-assed some agents are when it comes to doing EVERY little thing they can to maximize their efforts for their clients. It's also amazing that someone would reply to you in the way they did, but just take the high road and know that, in the end, you're the better agent.

Ryan:  Yes, I'm always thankful that I'm not THEM!

Just found:

"Grate Location"

Are you kiding me?

Frank

Hi Frank:  You realize you spelled Kidding wrong right?  :)