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Rule #2 (of Elizabeth's R.E. Rule Book) NO! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A R.E. LICENSE IF YOU CAN'T COUNT!

In elementary school, we all learned the three R's...Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic. Anyone having flashbacks to storytime on the reading carpet? ::OH...THAT'S JUST ME!?:: What about the giant abacus with huge red and yellow beads...anyone have one of those in your class? MAN...I loved that thing!

Well...apparently...there are some listing agents (in my neck of the woods) who skipped elementary school. (OR...they fell asleep on the reading carpet.) I know this must be true...because all too often, I show their listings.

Not too long ago, I was working with a single mom (I'll call her Barbara)...a referral from another satisfied client. Barbara was on a pretty strict budget, but she wanted a nice four bedroom home for her children...in a specific school district. In her price range, there were few four bedroom homes. However, I was hopeful.

Every morning, I checked to see if there were any new four bedroom listings in Barbara's price range. After several weeks, the perfect home came on the market. I called Barbara immediately, and we rushed to see the home. Barbara was so excited that she took a few hours off from work. The home appeared to be a great bargain, and she did not want to miss the opportunity.

As usual, I arrived a few minutes before Barbara to the appointment. I opened the front door and quickly realized that the home needed more work than the listing sheet had indicated. Still...it was in a great neighborhood...had four bedrooms...AND was within Barbara's price range. "This is perfect"...I thought.

As I was exploring the first floor, Barbara arrived also...a bit early. Convinced it was 'the home' for her family, she anxiously moved from room to room. I followed her to the second floor and into the master bedroom. From there, we made our way through the two secondary bedrooms. Stepping back into the hallway, she asked me where the fourth bedroom was located. ::OH MY!:: "Hmmm...let's get our bearings. Maybe we missed it in the excitement."

A quick trip back through the home confirmed that there were, in fact, three bedrooms...NOT four. Now, you are probably thinking that there was some 'other' room that the listing agent was calling a 'bedroom'. NOPE! No sunroom...no study...no bonus room...no office...nothing...nada...zip!!! The home had a living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. THAT WAS IT!

Frustrated that Barbara had taken time from work to see the home (because the listing agent advertised it as a four bedroom)...I called the listing agent during the appointment. He answered, and I calmly explained that I was at the showing but that I was having some difficulty finding the fourth bedroom. (I will admit that I wanted to chew him out...but I didn't!) Without hesitation he said, "Well...it's got to be there somewhere. You must have overlooked it." Before I could respond, he hung up.

On the drive back home, I called him again and left a message expressing my client's disappointment that he had misrepresented the number of bedrooms. I suggested that he might want to correct the information in the MLS in order to avoid the same thing happening to another agent. Several weeks later, I stumbled across the listing again...STILL stating that the home had four bedrooms. It was apparent to me that the listing agent had no intentions of correcting the information...that he may have even misrepresented the number of bedrooms purposefully...to create more interest in the home. Either way...he was clearly wrong.

In my next telephone message to him, I said "Mr. Listing Agent...this is Elizabeth Nieves...and I just happened upon your listing at 123 Happy Trail again this morning. It appears that reporting information accurately and truthfully is not on your list of priorities...as I made you aware of this misinformation weeks ago, and you have yet to make the correction in the MLS. Perhaps, you don't care that you caused my client to lose valuable time and money at work...or that I drove an hour to show her a home that she would never have looked at had you done your job properly. Maybe not...but I think I know someone who will. Have a nice day!" Before the end of the day, the listing was corrected.

REALTORS are human beings (contrary to public opinion), and we will inevitably make mistakes. However, we have a great responsibility to our clients, and our fellow agents, to use due care and diligence in all aspects of the real estate transaction. Like my mom always told me, "If you do it right the first time, you won't have to waste time doing it again."

Written and Posted by:

Elizabeth Nieves - Broker, REALTOR® -- The Elizabeth Nieves Realty Group @ Keller Williams (A Bilingual Real Estate Team serving Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill NC and surrounding areas.)

Visit our website at http://www.elizabethnieves.com

Posted by Elizabeth Nieves - Bilingual Raleigh - Durham North Carolina Real Estate Team on 11/26/2007 12:36 AM

Comments (24)

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Originally posted at: Raleigh - Durham...A Real N.C. Girl's Perspective: Rule #2 (of Elizabeth's R.E. Rule Book) ***NO! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A R.E. LICENSE IF YOU CAN'T COUNT!***

24 Comments on Rule #2 (of Elizabeth's R.E. Rule Book) ***NO! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE A R.E. LICENSE IF YOU CAN'T COUNT!***

NOV

2007

Elizabeth - I've been to a few homes that were, shall we say, misrepresented in the MLS. I've called the listing agents too. I would have called the listing agents broker. Bravo to you for following up.

Hi Elizabeth: What a great story... and unfortunately, it happens much too often. He was either lazy, sloppy, or he misrepresented the information he posted in the MLS on purpose. Sooner or later he may regret this. If he does this kind of nonsense on a regular basis, local Realtors will soon tire of it... and sidestep his listings when they go out showing. What goes around... comes around. Thanks for sharing...

This aggravates the dickens out of me. I have seen more 4 bedroom homes where the 4th *bedroom* is in an semi-finished basement, or the 2 bath home in which the 2nd *bath* is also in the basement and merely a toilet and sink...Like you I call the listing agent and let them know they inconvenienced my client. More times than not they don't correct it. Sad.

Mistakes are one thing, but to refuse to correct one is inexcuseable. The worst though, are the agents that mis-state the features of the property on purpose just to make the phone ring or trick someone into showing it. In this area our practice is to report square footage as "under air" not "under roof" I cant tell you how disappointing it is (and how stupid I look) when Im showing a 2500 sq ft home that turns out to be only 1500, with a garage and lanai,

Whenever I can, especially for properties that seem to good to be true, (ie waterfront for under $200000) I preview listings before I show them. I will at least compare what the listing says to what the Tax Assessor says. In fact I have started to review the tax assessors web site and the clerk of courts website before every showing

I called on a rental Sat for 880.00, called the listing agent who was the owner. He said no it is 1500. Well, I said why does the MLS say 880. I'll change it, he said.

Has he ? NO

Because it is a weekend, I will give him until today and then report it to our MLS rep at the board office.

It makes us look stupid when we have to tell our clients, opps it is really 1500.

I have little grace for things like this.

This is just horrible and unwise (nice way of calling him something else!) on the Listing agents part. He's not even attracting the right buyer to that house...the house will sit forever! I sometimes run across a similar situation, 3 beds upstairs and a little bedroom in the basement where, by code, it shouldn't be. I also try and preview all listings before I even mention them to clients to save some heartache.

Elizabeth, I've run into this more than I want to remember. What happened to our responsibility to our client?

Elizabeth,

I've only been in Real Estate for two years and already could write a book about the things I've seen that disgust me. But it's not just our profesion , it is our society in general. But one thing I know you're with me on. I answer to a higher power than the realestate board and try to make my life an example. In the end you WILL get the only commission that really counts

Nancy: It gets old after a while. I hold myself to a very high standard...why shouldn't we hold other agents to the same standard? Thanks!!

Karen: The bad thing is that I've come across other listings of his...and they are always incomplete in some way. He has been doing this a long time...NO EXCUSE for this behavior. I wish I could show his sellers what he is doing. They may not appreciate his behavior any more than I do. Blessings!

Kris: What made this even worse is that there wasn't even a psuedo 4th bedroom...NOTHING. He just created it...and then had the gall to ignore me.

Ron: I would love to preview every home, but I just cannot. I cover 9 counties...and there is no way I can do that. I'm trusting the listing agents to do their job. It is sad that we cannot count on the information in the MLS to be...at the very least...mostly accurate. Thanks for stopping by! GBY!

Missy: I'm with you on this. When I enter a new listing...I check it over before I press 'submit'...then I print a copy and check again. How does someone make a mistake with a price difference of that amount? Does not make sense to my brain. Sorry...I'm not patient with that either. Blessings!

Krista: I wish I could preview everything, but it is impossible. I cover 9 counties, and I'm relying on the listing agent to know how many bedrooms his listing actually has. Is that too much to ask...hmmmm? I think not. HaHa... Blessings!

Linda: EXACTLY!! We have to hold one another's feet to the fire. GBY!

Hugh: You are so right. Behavior like this is just a reflection of our lack of care and responsibility to our fellow man. You will find this same type of behavior in every profession. What ever happened to taking pride in doing a job well? God bless you!

Elizabeth - I have made honest mistakes myself, but I am quick to correct them when they are brought to my attention. The fact that he hung up the first time shows me that he is lazy and indifferent, or that he assumed that he was right without checking. None of these qualities are desirable in an agent. This post is a great reminder to all of us.

Jason: Thanks for the words of encouragement. That is my sentiment exactly. The first time he hung up without expressing any concern over his mistake revealed his true attitude. He did not leave me much room to give him the benefit of the doubt. Blessings!

Elizabeth - this kind of thing makes me crazy.

I showed a home recently that was full (I mean FULL!) of mold. I opened the front door and got dropped to my knees in a coughing/asthma fit. My clients looked at me like I needed an ambulance. The walls were literally crawling with black mold - and the stench would knock an elephant over.

I called the listing agent to tell her that this had happened and her response........."Oh, I know. You just have to be careful when you go in there." Hmmmm - perhaps noting that this is an issue in the MLS might have prepared us better for what we came across? Nahhhh - that would have been too easy.

More I thought about it, the more irritated I got. I called her again and said that perhaps she should notify the bank that owns the property and let them know that a full scale mold remediation was going to be necessary. Reply? "That's not my problem. They just need me to sell it."

Ambivalence and greed. Two very ugly little faces.

Carol: That is JUST WRONG!!!! I know that foreclosures are sold 'AS IS'...but especially when you are talking about something as serious as black mold...ALL over the walls...would it be too much to ask the listing agent to mention it in the mls? MOST clients are not going to want to even risk a home with that degree of mold...so why lure them into the home under false pretenses.

Blessings, my friend!!

Elizabeth- I have been in Real Estate for just over a year now- and the things that I run across that are listed in the MLS are shocking to say the least. I take the time to go to Broker Opens to tour the houses and make notes about the listings. It takes a lot of time, but in the end, I have less aggravation to contend with. I'm glad you stuck to your guns and called this guy out!

Elizabeth! I like this posting to your blog. This is well written. let me try!....

1,2,3,4... yes three comes before four. Four bedrooms should be easy to find. If , on your second trip through the house, you were unable to find the fourth bedroom, and the agent said it should be there somewhere, I would start looking under the carpeting, and in the closets.

I think you hit this right on the head. I would have reported him to the MLS and the board of Realtors. We do not need misrepresentation like this.

Great job

Don

Elizabeth,

I would have reported the listing to the MLS. After the first fine, most brokers will correct the problem. After the 2nd fine, most brokers will make sure that it never happens again. I see this kind of stuff all the time in my market, but it's usually corrected after you let them know about it.

Great post and well written, as usual. Thanks!

Alecia: I must admit...it would go against my nature to do anything less. I'm not bashful. ;-) Luv ya, girlie!!

Don: I did ask him where the secret wardrobe leading to the 4th bedroom was located. That MAY be why he hung up on me the first time. But...I said it nicely. :-) Thanks for stopping by. You count so well!!!

Andrew: Well...in my second message to him...I threatened to do just that. I think that is why he suddenly found time to correct the problem. Thanks, my friend!!

NOV

2007

I got a call this evening from a potential buyer. He wants to see a home he saw on the internet on a one acre lot. We were both concerned that this might be a mistake as we both know it's in an area of mostly half acre lots. Its possible of course, that the seller owns an adjacent half acre too, But before going out I checked. The home is in fact, on a quarter acre, and the seller does not own either of the adjacent lots. The only time wasted was a few minutes on the County Tax Assessors website, and writing this blog. I wont be driving the 40 mile round trip (2 gallons, $6)(1.5 hours) to see this property.. The key here was my knowledge of my service area and a willingness to check the listing info against the county land records. Im starting to do that more often (check the land records) as a part of selecting property to show my clients.

Ron: You saved yourself and your client a lot of headache. SMART!!! I'm taking notes. :-)

NOV

2007

Elizabeth-I'm hearing you girl! This is frustrating to say the least. We all make mistakes, without doubt, but it's when people don't try to fix those mistakes and make it better.

Julie: You really are catching up, arent' you? You are too sweet!!

YES! It is frustrating...and NOT FAIR! (I'm making my pout face now.) ;-)

NOV

2008

That's really strange -- he thought it had to be there?? What an idiot.

JAN

I haven't read all of the comments so someone else may have already said this but it isn't always about the number of bedrooms. How many times have you visited a listing that said "needs minor cosmetic repairs" which translated to "needs and entirely new living room floor and bathroom"? Or the ones that tell you that there is beautiful landscaping but you visit to find all the grass has been paved over with cactus plants sporadically throwing around what used to be the back yard? Misrepresentation in the MLS hurts us all!

Kathy

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