misleading-real-estate-adWe all know what "quaint", "cosy", "gem", "first time on the market in 25 years" mean in real estate ads.

But how far do you go to try and make your latest listing sound attractive to potential buyers?

I'm writing this not as a home stager or home staging trainer. I'm writing as someone who personally bought 7 homes in various cities. I lived in and staged all of them which is how I got into home staging.

I'm always on the look out for my next house so I'm an active reader of real estate ads, visitor to real estate agents' websites and open houses, etc. Besides my own desire to find my next home, I keep up on what sells and for how much so that I can better serve my staging clients.

This house was promoted as being "steps to the lake... sit back and listen to the waves... lake views... walk out to balconies/veranda from almost every room..."

By now you're probably imagining (as I was) a house on the water (or pretty darn close to it), listening to waves from all those balconies! 

This house in fact several blocks from the lake making it completely impossible to hear any waves without walking for 5 - 10 minutes down a hill on a busy street, and then making your way around a large water filtration plant.

Yes, technically there was a lake view if you define that as the ability to see a thin band of blue in the distance beyond what appears to be government subsidized low cost apartment buildings.

I am not naive enough to think that this wouldn't qualify for "lake view" in an ad. BUT, when "lake view" is combined with a description of hearing waves, an entirely different expectation is created in the buyer's mind.

All that said, it IS a lovely house both inside and out (and it did sell quickly - in no small part because it was priced way below market value in an already hot market). So my question to agents is:

What is the point of creating a completely false impression in an ad to promote a listing? If the potential buyer ends up annoyed at being lied to, are they likely to respect your professionalism or trust your claims in the future?

It's my view that when you become a trusted real estate advisor, you have a client for life.

What do you think about short term tactics to get the phone to ring like overblown claims in ads, versus the longer term view of building client relationships?

 

 

 

 

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Voice of Possibility Group Inc.

Debra Gould's mission is helping people realize the many possibilities that lie around the next corner when they build a business around their passions. Frequently profiled in the media and a contributor to Century 21's blog, Debra has trained 7,000 home stagers around the world and is the author of several guides.



 
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17 Comments on The Truth About Lying in a Real Estate Listing: A House Hunter's View

MAY
21
2012
724,827 Points 49 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Debra, LOVED YOUR POST, I had a fellow agent who would state "Fantastic Opportunity to bring this home back to life..." then I knew another agent both in the same office would write "piece of sh.. create your own home" now both agents were were successful, which one did you like better?:))
11:04pm • #1
MAY
22
2012
2 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp

Debra, this is an excellent post on a very important topic!  You made your points so well, and of course, you are right on!  One does have to wonder what an agent who fabricates such ridiculous claims is thinking when they do that!  Surely the buyers will be upset when they get there and see how untrue the claims are, as were you!  Some folks just really do need to "get a clue!!"  Thanks for the well written and interesting post!
1:43am • #2
159,298 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I think some people believe that as long as the buyer shows up to the house, it is alright to make false claims. Supposedly they will fall in love once there and overlook the falsehoods.
6:26pm • #3
482,741 Points 15 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Debra -- Have been misled many times by homes claiming to have 3BRs when in fact there were two and the owners were using the dining room as a bedroom.  Another is 'waterfront'.  Most buyers want waterfront meaning direct frontage on a lake, river, etc,  not a brook running through the back of the property.  These types of descriptions have definitely irritated buyers I have dealt with.
6:31pm • #4
564,585 Points 152 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Debra, that was a bit exaggerated, wasn't it?  I did want to buy it before you gave the real scoop.  I recently listed an REO that was just down right nasty.  It was so bad I wouldn't let my employees in it without a mask.  I basically told how bad it was in the listing.  It sold in 60 minutes.  There's a buyer for every house.  Just tell the truth, and it might sell quickly.
7:01pm • #5
109,091 Points 2 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp
Hi Debra, I guess sometimes agents get too creative in stretching the truth. I think I did once or twice early in my career, but once I guaged the reactions from buyers and their agents I quickly realised it is better to depict the truth in the most positive and reasonable way.
7:20pm • #6
902,323 Points 51 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master
AMEN! The listing is simply an adversisement for the home AND the listing agent. If the ad is a lie, then the agent is a liar. Not a good characteristic for a resume.
7:57pm • #7
254,438 Points 7 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Hi Debra,

I think creating false hope only leads to disappointment.  A qualified buyer who may otherwise have liked the house may get turned off because the expectations created couldn't be met.  I'd much rather let the house exceed expectations then overstate what is real. 
8:28pm • #8
226,860 Points 6 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

Debra...Thanks for calling "professionals" out on this.  A major pet peeve of mine. Rarely do the "puffing" comments make a buyer want the property once they see the real thing.
8:41pm • #9
790,245 Points 112 Featured Posts Outside Blog Called Shot Master

I am not going to misrepresent a listing nor risk losing a buyer's trust in the listing agent or the seller. I recently had a listing that had beautiful photos. The home was built in 1998 and I had maple cabinets and Corian counters listed. There were several photos showing those cabinets and counters. We kept getting feedback that the home was dated. The truth was clearly presented and shown in the photos. If the buyers wanted granite and stainless steel appliances, they shouldn't have gone to this listing at all. It is currently under contract. That buyer loved exactly what was displayed in the photos.
8:42pm • #10
1,172,112 Points 38 Featured Posts Localism Sponsor Outside Blog Called Shot Master

Glad you said it! :)

 

Love and light,

Laura
8:52pm • #11
1,363,859 Points 42 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Debra - There are certain descriptions that just make you scratch your head.
10:47pm • #12
MAY
23
2012
557,602 Points 31 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Hi Debra,

I took a class the other day.

In it, the instructor said it is acceptable for real estate agents to "puff" their listings.

But certainly not LIE!

Phil
1:08am • #13

That is quite rude. You know, just like subtitles that say almost nothing about the real content for a product or property. Most of the time, advertisements are used to just get prospects and suddenly disappoint them when they're there. My my my. Great post!
1:09am • #14
468,781 Points 20 Featured Posts Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Awesome post, Debra. 

Nothing like disappointing the potential buyer when, upon arrival, they find nothing that was desribed in the listing. 

Congrats on the feature.

Kathy
5:45am • #15
235,133 Points Outside Blog Attended Rain Camp Called Shot Master

Debra -- great post - excellent example of what not to do.  You mentioned it sold for well under market -- shows that the listing agent really didn't know what they were doing in helping buyer set price, or in properly marketing.  Yes, you can get people to come look at it, but they won't really want you as their agent if you pass the line between "puff" and "lie".
11:12am • #16
MAY
26
2012
300,234 Points 8 Featured Posts

I was out of town and didn't realize this post had been featured. Thanks everyone for your comments and apologies for not responding sooner!

Enjoyed the distinction so many of you made between "puffing" a listing and actually telling lies which don't serve you in the long run since they only disappoint potential buyers (at minimum) or worse, really piss them off and destroy your credibility.

Reminds me of the line home stager have to always walk between showcasing a home's best features (which does distract people from the property's flaws) versus actually covering up defects (which a stager with integrity will not do).

Thanks again for joining this discussion!
8:59pm • #17


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Debra Gould, The Staging Diva (Six Elements Inc.) Rainmaker_large

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Toronto, ON

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Six Elements Inc.

Office Phone: (416) 691-6615

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Articles of interest to home stagers and real estate agents to improve understanding of the business of home staging (real estate staging, house fluffing).

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