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DOES NEGATIVE ADVERTISING WORK IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY?

NEGATIVE ADVERTISING WORKS IN POLITICS. DOES IT WORK FOR REAL ESTATE PRACTITIONERS AND/OR HOME STAGERS???

This post inspired by an article on ActiveRain last evening seeking opinions as to whether a listing agent could be sued for damages for publishing poor photographs in an MLS listing. I saw the article as an example of negative advertising. The question for real estate practitioners is does negative advertising work?

That public post was written from the perspective of a home staging entity for whom the visual is everything. Experienced real estate practitioners know that there are many important factors in the MLS listing information report other than or in addition to photos. The post is silent as to the skill or experience of the home staging company.

photo of staircase

EXAMPLE.

The photo on the left in a listing may not meet the photographic standards for a stager. However, the purpose of this photo is to show the "split staircase", something the importance of which I suspect may not be understood by the average stager.

The purpose is to appeal to moms and dads who don't want a floorplan with a long staircase and prefer the split staircase so that, if a child falls, they will not go down a complete level of steps.

Listing photos are for buyers, not stagers.

NEGATIVE ADVERTISING?? If only Home Staging companies would stick to their core business, that of improving the appearance a property for sale, for a fee. Do they really get business by denigrating real estate practitioners???? Must they so often attempt to enhance their own value by impugning the value and the practices of listing agents. One thing is clear.

IF THE PROPERTY SOLD, IT WAS DUE TO THE CLEVER STAGING.
IF THE PROPERTY DIDN'T SELL, IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE INCOMPETENCE OF THE LISTING AGENT.

Neither, of course, is true. There are nuances in selling a property that aren't addressed by staging.

That post is a classic example of stretching. Not only does the home staging entity criticize the photo in a listing, they imply that the listing agent is violating their duty of fiduciary to their seller client. Contacting attorneys for legal opinions simply leads one to ask, WHY??? Do they really expect an attorney to act in a such an unprofessional manner as to give a legal opinion on damages "off the top of their head", as does the home staging entity???

Did it occur to the staging company that the seller may have asked the listing agent to include the photo of the recessed lighting because they were a point of interest in a room??? What does the staging company know about the dynamics of photo selection for this property listing???? Were they present when the listing agreement was done??

DAMAGES ANYONE? One more question. What does the staging company know about copyright infringement??? This Wordless Wednesday photo appears to be pulled from a listing and published in the post criticizing a real estate agent. Would that be a violation of the copyright of the listing agent and the MLS who owns the right to publish that photo???

I venture to say that damages for the use of a copyright protected photo by another would be easier to establish than failure of fiduciary of an agent who publishes photos in their listing.

Posted by Lenn Harley, Real Estate Broker, Maryland & Virginia on 11/07/2009 05:36 AM

Comments (31)

Negative Advertising in the Sales Strategies / Tactics Channel

photos in listings

Post is included in group: Club Chaos
Post is included in group: ActiveRainPhotoBlogger

31 Comments on DOES NEGATIVE ADVERTISING WORK IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY?

NOV

Lenn, I always hated negativity in any aspect. Although we are in somewhat of a competition with each other for clients, we should ALL practice lifting each other up. It shows Class all the way around.

Just like voters don't want to hear it, I don't think clients do. It brings us down to a lower level.

Rick. I agree. We don't even have to lift each other up. If we merely engage in positive marketing of our services, it does lift our industry up.

LENN- an interesting point. Granted not all agents are Ansel Adams nor do they claim to be, and heck on REO and foreclosure sales you have one photo most of the time- while there may be a niche market for stagers (and no disrespect intended here) in smaller markets generally the seller will not pay for the additional service. But there is no need to put down any aspect of the professions on either end

Lenn, Copyright infringement...definitely! Unless, of course, the Home Staging Expert got permission from the listing agent to use the photo in her critical post! So much for the Golden Rule in this case! And you are correct about the recessed lighting...I have had sellers request photos of specific things because they feel that it is a critical selling point (and I work for the seller).

What does the staging company know about copyright infringement??

Oh Lenn, this is something that really gets my goat here. Unless I'm mistaken, most MLS services specifically have something in their TOS that clearly says "photos belong to the MLS" and so on...

When I see other agents, or stagers, post MLS photos that they have not taken, and don't have the permission of the MLS, agent, or owner of the home, I just shake my head in amazement.

I don't even like it when an inspector does this. Why? Unless my seller gives permission to have interior photos of their homes to be released then no one should do it.

I have to tell you, if an outsider criticized my marketing in a public manner I would be on the phone with them for an immediate retraction.

Negative advertising? I don't like it, I don't like it, I don't like it.

Susan. Agreed. Home buying is usually a positive experience. I certainly try to make it so for my buyer clients. Listing agents have a hard enough job to do without a staging company nit-picking their MLS listing report.

Allison. Fact is, homes sell through the MLS with no photos. Go figure.

Amy. Indeed. I thought the criticism of the photo gratuitous.

Kris. Right you are. Negative advertising is so much of a turn off. Focus on what you do.

The listing agent has two jobs 1. Interpreting the current market to the seller 2. Market the property to bring buyers to the property. These two actions will lead to a successful closing.

I guess in this case stagers have no code of ethics as we Realtors do. Otherwise I'm sure they wouldn't make such criticisms. That kind of criticism just makes the critical person look bad in my opinion.

Trashing everyone else...their listing...their lack of marketing..their this and that never makes as many "points" as promoting the positive attributes of the listing...the agent...the area...no no no doesn't sell sell sell.

If the person doing negative advertising wants cooperation and respect from the rest of the community that he or she does business with, it could become very problematic.

Negatives in politics, at least in NJ, are expected. In our line of work, it seems to detract from all of us whether we're agents, stagers or anyone else involved in the process of selling and buying realestate.

Laura. I love your comment. It didn't work so well in NJ recently. Ain't politics fun?

Gabe. Funny thing about negative advertising. It always leaves me wondering what the writer can do.

Sally and David. Agreed. Sell yourself is a better technique.

Bob. COE for stagers?? Mmmmmm.

Harry. Rarely does an observer have knowledge of what occurred between a listing agent and their client.

Lenn - as a former trial paralegal, I can tell you that any suit against an agent for a photo like this one would be nearly impossible to win. How would you measure damages? In order to PROVE that the listing agent failed in their fiduciary duty, one would have to provide evidence that a sale did not occur because of the photo. They only way I can fathom that happening would be to have a list of prospective buyers that would actually sit on the witness stand in the courtroom and say, "Well, I would have purchased the home, but that photo changed my mind." Now let's get real...who in their right mind would do that? And even if you could provide such witnesses, how much weight do you think a Judge would give them? There are so many other factors that would come into play, such as what instructions were given to the listing agent, or if the Seller even tried to mitigate his own damages? It's much too subjective to be taken seriously.

Lina. Indeed. Even more on point is the theme of the article denigrating Realtors. Why???

I stopped worrying about being sued when the lady sued Mcdonalds for her stupidity AND WON. Short answer is any one can be sued. A lawyer told me one time when I asked, he said if you have E&O you will be sued at some point and time. He went on to say if you make it worth my time I will take the case but if you stay looking like you've have nothing, I'm telling the client to take a hike.

Lenn - I suppose sometimes the only way a person can make themselves feel better than others, is to knock others down. I'm sure this home stager has some value to offer, and she would be better served to focus on that, rather than others shortcomings.

Charles. Funny. Fact is, we collect for "damages", not actions. Sue all you want but without damages, it's not a worthwhile endeavor.

Lina. Indeed. I saw no business purpose of that post whatsoever. Just food for thought. Did that agent refuse the services of that stager. Other than a get even motivation, why even post it?????

I am with you on this one Lenn. There are 2 sides to every story and the truth lies somewhere in between. The writer of the post did not give the whole story, was that the only photo? I doubt it, did the seller see their MLS listing, I bet they did (sellers always want to see their home on MLS ). Did the home sell? Who knows? If staging and professional pictures were the determinining factor for a home selling, I would hire the best photogs and HGTV stagers for all of my listings but the fact of the matter is, it takes more than just good pictures and staging to sell a home.

I am not against staging but also think the priority of hiring a professional stager is very low in my area.

Lenn - I have always been turned off by negative marketing. If the only way a company or person can market themselves is by attacking competition, it doesn't say much for their own product/service. Although, I will admit, this is a pretty catchy negative ad!

Hi Lenn. Negative advertising tunes me out. ~ Lana

Well it sure doesn't work for me. In fact when locally one firm ran ads bashing another firm I think the firm that ran the ads lost the most business. I really don't like it in politics either.

I'm not a fan of negativity in any area. That's why I hate election years. Why would I want to vote for someone who has such negative things to say about his opponent? I have a listing right now and the seller wanted desperately to have a picture of the bathroom in the 12 pics I can upload to the MLS. It's a pretty bathroom, but it's a small space and very hard to get a good picture of. I felt there were other pictures that warranted that prize spot but the seller differed. It's her house. I put the bathroom picture in. I'm sure a stager would say that was all wrong. Oh well.

Hi Lenn, You make some very good points here. Your example photo tells it all. An important feature that someone not close to the situation might think unimportant. More importantly in my opinion, we should all be working together, not being critical and derogatory of one another. Realtors, stagers, inspectors, etc should work as a team. Whether we're literally working together or not.

Debi

Lenn,

I love to see staged properties and I definitely think there is a place for them.

That being said, the quickest way for stagers to lose our business as realtors is to belittle us in a public forum. A smart stager would work with the agent and show them (in private) what WOW can do for you.

NOV

Lenn- I would think that stagers need to be partners with realtors in order to really succeed in their business and if they are bashing agents it is not likely agents would recommend the stagers' services.

I wish all this sue happy crap would just stop, it makes me sick- the blame game is like over done! Post the darn photos and let the listing agent do their job whatever that particular listing agent feels his or her job is to be. Geez!

Katerina. Agreed. It's got to be hard enough for stagers to succeed since their service is, in my opinion, quite superfluous to the agent's job of preparing a home for sale. Her post is the epitimy of "bitting the hand that feeds you".

Brenda. Indeed. Further, that post, if read by any agents in her market place would surely discourage any new agent business. Good grief, the fool is saying that if you don't take photos to suit her opinion of what is needed that you have violated your duty of fiduciary to your seller client. Rediculous.

Debi. Agreed. A listing agent's job is hard enough without kibbitzing from someone who is not necessary to the job at hand.

Susan. Exactly. Once we have photographed house after house, room after room, we develop an instinct about how to promote a home in pictures. Fact is, homes sell with NO PHOTOS in the MLS system. I'll preview and show them anytime the description fits my buyer's needs. Anytime.

Tammy. No one likes negativity in most areas. In this case, the stager criticizing the listing agent and the photos just went wildly overboard.

Lana. Me too. Politicians should remember the NJ election of 2009. I suspect that few overweight persons in NJ voted for Corzine.

Mike. Often the negative advertising backfires giving the victim an opportunity to advertise the truth.

Jeff. Perhaps you haven't read my posts regarding staging. I'm thoughtful and don't denigrate that business because, after all, it's a free country. It's only when a stager attacks a real estate licensee or claims that their staging was the proximate cause of the home selling that I have anything at all to say about that business. This was one of those cases. The stager showed a pathetic lack of understanding of what and how we do our job but went so far as to imply that the agent could have committed a tort. GEEZ!!

NOV

What does the staging company know about copyright infringement??? This Wordless Wednesday photo appears to be pulled from a listing and published in the post criticizing a real estate agent. Would that be a violation of the copyright of the listing agent and the MLS who owns the right to publish that photo???

I'm not exactly sure if this goes hand-in-hand but appraisers aren't even supposed to use pictures from the MLS report for comparable properties in appraisal reports. Our appraiser was told he had to go out and re-take pictures of the homes he was using for comps and could not use the pictures from MLS. The underwriter obviously knew because of all the "For Sale" signs in the yards.

I also recommend avoiding negativity. It brings everyone down.

NOV

David. The writer of that article claims that she took a photo of her own home, replicating the photo in the MLS that she found so offending, thereby removing the copyright matter.

She has since deleted the article.

Mmmmm. That seems to be an extreme task to make a point about an agent using poor photos.

In fact, if she did use a photo that she took herself to demonstrate that agent's photographic incompetence, all I can think is,. . . . . that's a lot of work to go through to criticize agents.

Further, seems to me that her photo, if it was indeed a photo she took for demonstration, should have been lebeled as such. She gave every impression that she was criticizing an agent's photo.

The entire matter was just an example of negativity.

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