The caveman REALTOR sold real estate a little differently than modern day real estate agents, brokers do.
The early multiple listing service (mls) was chiseled in an ordinary flat piece of slate.
The social media spots to post new property listing information on were the local wash tub laundry down by the river.
Or local trade shows in the village on new weaponry and survival techniques.
And basically the grapevine around the jungle where the Realtor roamed, the area he canvassed, serviced. Showing properties, like new stone condos on a woolly mammoth.
Sending slow drip "emails" with just the right mix of dried wood burning on a visible bluff with carefully created smoke images of those new listings over head to show case feature listings.
Or hiring a pterodactyl to pull a property banner to sky write the highlights of the new property just listed up at the Stone Hedge, Phase Two upscale development. Those desirable zip codes commanded lots of clams, big piles of livestock, food stuffs even way back then.
Marketing on the Grape Vine Gazette was creative and pretty much the only local publication to advertise a new listing or an open house in.
The first real estate franchise, Caveman Realty had tree top seminars. Were cutting edge in how to "farm" your local real estate market, reach niche audiences.
Round table debates on what the difference between short and long tail reach in your marketing was all about to get property noticed.
Reaching a larger audience cheaper with less granular meta tags and headlines, affordable housing, etc. All was discussed in small group break out eat with your hands dinner table discussions. As the REALTORS broke the bread, ate fresh wildlife kill with out utensils. Pretty much like we still do at local, state, national realtor conventions...but with the introduction of napkins and eating plastic or metal flatware.
Even back then, waterfront real estate was pricey, sought tooth and nail, considered near and dear. No local banks or secondary mortgage market financing to buy these properties with though.
The owner financed the sale with whatever the buyer, broker, seller could haggle out for terms and conditions. So many put oxen on the bargaining table. Used trade out skills and bartered labor before the property deed was conveyed.
Held in escrow meant the granite title description with the official waxed seal, a spot of the owner's blood and hair sample. And a large "X" on the spot marked "grantor" releasing title after conditions of the mortgage were met.
Life insurance requirements, promissory notes to guarantee not to commit waste, to make payments on time, pay the local property taxes. All the same fine print like today. Of what happens for recourse if you didn't toe the line.
Pretty standard boiler plate language like today. These early loans were assumable with proper financial back ground checks. Character assessments. Being no more than a gut feeling. Meeting the new buyer and sizing them up before the loan assumption.The handshake, wishes for good luck in getting the land paid off quickly.
Oh sure, debates over pro-ration of wood fuel. Also whether the entire box of fist sized rocks for defense would stay with the property or not, be included in the sale. Multiple offers and how to handle two caveman after the same property. Procuring cause rules on who's listing it was, who's got the buyer to actually scrawl his mark on the purchase and sale parchment. Easy ways to determine who's efforts, communication led to getting that stone condo purchaser to the monolithic slab closing.
Commissions standard and set in stone so to speak. Not considered price fixing either. Real estate sales pretty black and white those days.
No lawyers to muddy the waters.
Yet.
You could write ads mentioning this neighborhood is ideal for kids, there are churches down the street. Nothing triggered the copy generator, no software big brother. You could raise a family, list, sell, run your real estate peddling operation without HUD warning flags spring up. Evictions of apartments, use the big stick with two words. "Get out."
No censure by the local REALTOR board. Early real estate sales were pretty similar to today's with the most successful brokers being the ones that literally boiled down to the early birds getting the property listing worm. Survival of the fittest and literally fighting for those listings and sales...just like in today's market. Competitive. Commission sales like that but back then, bartering for food, weapons, arranged marriage dowry was big.
No local zoning ordinances against billboards in your advertising saturation around the jungle either. Wall murals of layouts in public places sprung up every where. So early graphic artists, rock chiselers were in demand. And the penalties for ethic violations in any aspect of these early real estate sales a little stiffer than a slap on the wrist and a minor fine. A write up in the monthly publication from the state real estate commission.
Judged by your peers in an open pit with a tribunal much like the early witch trials in Salem Massachusetts or the McCarthy congressional hearings of the 1950's.
An early prehistoric real estate broker kept his nose pretty clean, watched his back and carried a very large stick. Literally. To use for defense, to pound in lawn signs and to distract. Or shoo away wild animals that might show up during showings of back yards of a stone duplex, waterfront or single family home, er cave.
Beside waterfront locations and high elevations for natural defense early warning features, one floor open concept properties were just as popular for the older generation caveman / real estate audience as today.
Ranches always always the pick of the pack, best of the bunch, cream of the crop for layouts selected by buyers two to one in the housing projects or rock quarry developments offering properties for sale. Selling property and making it so easy to peddle property that even a caveman could do it.
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