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Princeton Real Estate - Is Honesty Required In Real Estate

By Faina Sechzer

Real Estate Agent with Henderson-Sotheby's International Realty

March 22, 2008 04:58 AM

Honesty and trust are the most overused words in real estate. Look at the real estate agents sites and you will see declarations of honesty Honesty In Real Estate and trust somewhere real soon. Read the comments on Active Rain, or even Wall street Journal and you will find, as quickly, consumers accusing real estate agents of dishonesty and general mistrust for the profession. I usually write about real estate in the greater Princeton NJ, but this issue seems applicable to many places in the country.

It was with great surprise I found consumers discussing their dishonesty on the Wall Street Journal blog.

In the WSJ post the author describes her practice of going to the Open Houses without being in the market for another home. She registers under the false name and asks commenters if they do the same thing.

Only one person said that he leaves his real name and phone number. The gist of the other comments is "Who wants to be in a realtor’s rolodex? " (quote). Another angle on the same theme -the agents are there to find buyers for other houses, so it's OK to be the "lookie lou" (quote).

Several questions come to mind in terms of the real estate practice:

Should agents hold Open Houses only if it's been a successful method for them of selling the property, rather then looking for buyers for other properties?

Should the Seller be told, if this is not an effective way of marketing a property?

Coming back to the issue of consumer honesty, the question is for both consumers and agents:

Are consumers being harassed by the real estate agents to the point of consumers choosing deceptive practices?

Are deceptive practices by consumers justified for any reason?

The most important question of all: Could honesty and trust be a one way street?

Photo by MegElizabeth

One of the goals of the Princeton Real Estate Blog is to make a lot of the information, previously not available to home buyers and sellers, accessible at their own time and convenience. Here are some articles that could be of interest.

15 Reasons you should not buy a home now ...5 reasons you should

What Did That House Sell For? January 2008

Who Else Wants Clarity About Real Estate Prices

Is Princeton Real Estate Local or Global?

Secrets To Buying A House In This Market

Secrets To Home Selling In A Bad Market

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Please contact Faina Sechzer at 609-553-4175 with questions about real estate, homes for sale and/or listing your house to sell, and relocation assistance in Princeton, Montgomery Township, West Windsor, Hopewell, and Lawrenceville New Jersey. Referrals are accepted.
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Daniel J. Brudnok, REALTOR

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach, REALTORS - Exton - PA License #RS-225179-L / Delaware License #RS-0025038 - Downingtown, PA

SRES, e-PRO,ABR,GREEN,CSP

Faina,

Perception that they have been lied to by a real estate person is a mixed bag. While I can say I have never been told I have lied to anyone, I know I have had many conversation about what I told them and when (this is why I keep meticulous records) I told them.

Then there is the remorse of clients, especially in todays market.

My rule has always and will always be.....HONESTY!

Mar 22, 2008 05:14 AM

Faina Sechzer

Henderson-Sotheby's International Realty - Princeton, NJ

Real Estate Expert - Princeton, Montgomery ,Hopewell, NJ

Dan - I don't see how anything else but honesty on everyone's part is the only way to do business. The discussion is always focused on the real estate agents dishonesty, but it actually applies to all parties. I am not sure what is gained by consumers if they are not honest with the agents. Thanks for your comment.

Mar 22, 2008 05:26 AM

Bart Whitmore

Keller Williams- Louisville - Louisville, KY

Real Estate Agent

I had a friend who is not ready to place his home for sale at this time nor is he ready to buy his replacement home yet. He and his wife like to go to open house just to look at the homes so he can compare them and the neighborhoods he made the comment to me a few days ago about realtors asking him all kinds of questions and bothering him my advice was take my card with him and tell the other agents that he is working with me, they will leave him alone then---Bart

Mar 22, 2008 06:03 AM

Lenn Harley

Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA

Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

The media wouldn't have much readership if they wrote positive articles about the real estate industry, agents and brokers. They's be accused of being cheerleaders for advertisers. So, I ignore them. They aren't worth of my time.

I believe that most folks have better things to do than tour open houses unless they are or plan to be in the market.

Agents who hold open house hoping to pick up buyers are merely networking. If the right buyer comes along for that property, they'll sell it.

The reporter who pretended to be a buyer touring homes has no respect for what we do so her opinions are worthless.

Gee, aren't you glad I stopped by and debunked everything?? It appears that, no matter what we do or do not do, we're going to get grief. At this point, I don't really care what the media people think. They should hear what I think of them.

Mar 22, 2008 06:19 AM

Steve Loynd

Alpine Lakes Real Estate Inc., - Lincoln, NH

800-926-5653, White Mountains NH

All good points to ponder I must agree there is a level of deception with buyers as well, they are loyal only as long as you can see them I will find customer's cars at competitors offices after spending hours with them.

Mar 22, 2008 06:42 AM

Faina Sechzer

Henderson-Sotheby's International Realty - Princeton, NJ

Real Estate Expert - Princeton, Montgomery ,Hopewell, NJ

Bart - I know of brokers who require the agents to call everyone who visited the Open House. This could be the reason why consumers hesitate to leave their true credentials.

Steve - there seems to be a level of mistrust on the part of the consumers towards agents and agents towards consumers. Both attitudes would have to change to make it a more effective process for all.

Mar 22, 2008 09:39 AM

Faina Sechzer

Henderson-Sotheby's International Realty - Princeton, NJ

Real Estate Expert - Princeton, Montgomery ,Hopewell, NJ

Lenn - I am very glad "you stopped by and debunked everything", because your opinions are based on a deep understanding of real estate practice.

I don't often see consumers confiding to being deceptive, so this was an interesting exception. I agree that negativity, at least in regard to real estate professionals, sells better and provides more "entertaining" value for the readers.

Honesty should be a two way street and extend to the consumers as well. It could make buying and selling homes more productive and less stressful for all parties.

From my personal experience with Open houses, I saw a lot of people who did not want to put down their names or contact information. I wasn't sure if it was caused by prior bad experience of being contacted by the agents. I do not contact people who do not want to be contacted.

Mar 22, 2008 09:58 AM

Cameron Wilson

Labrum Real Estate - Murrieta, CA

The Short Guy - Murrieta,Temecula,Menifee Californ

When people come through my open house I have the opportunity to make an impression and prior to the folks leaving I do ask if they would like for me to stay in touch. About half say yes and 90% of the time the info is correct and I don't ask in a pressuring way. We had a real estate journalist in our area writing articles about how it was not a good time to buy and it turns out he was 20 years old living at home with mom & dad.

Mar 22, 2008 11:29 AM

Sarah Cooper

Real Estate Shows - Hurricane, WV

Faina, without honesty, who really cares what other qualities we have? Excellent reminder, thank you for sharing a very well written post.

Mar 22, 2008 11:36 AM

Missy Caulk

Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI

Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

Faina, the internet has made everything equal. Problem is do we really know the person behind the web-site or do I say the blog post? No not really, the proof is in the pudding.

Mar 22, 2008 12:03 PM

Adam Waldman

Westcott Group Real Estate Company - Hauppauge, NY

Realtor - Long Island

FAINA - I always tell sellers that open houses are not a very effective way to sell a home. I strongly believe in the broker open house, because another agent is very likely to sell the home, but buyers usually don't buy the home at the open house, although it does happen from time to time. As far as the false information being given, I have found a way around it (to some degree), and I will be doing a post about it this week.

Mar 22, 2008 09:46 PM

Lissa Uder

RE/MAX Next Generation, LLC - Lebanon, MO

Your Lebanon MO Real Estate Agent

I'm with Adam on the open house issue. I regularly visit REALTOR open houses, but have never had any luck holding a public open house. They just aren't very popular in this area.

I have found that the false information part happens alot on online forms submittals too. People will sign up on a website giving fictitious e-mail and phone numbers. I suppose when they are ready to buy or list, they'll call their agent of choice.

What gets me is the person that calls up insisting on viewing a property today. You take them only to hear that they aren't really interested in buying it. Just wanted to see the inside.

Mar 23, 2008 12:30 AM

Jason Crouch

Austin Texas Homes, LLC - Austin, TX

Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)

I am not a big fan of open houses, for brokers or for the public, honestly. However, I have had more success with public open houses, having sold five homes this way over the years. It does surprise me somewhat to hear consumers discussing this on WSJ.

Mar 25, 2008 01:43 PM

Kathy McGraw

CELLing Realty - White Water, CA

Riverside County CA Real Estate

Faina- Maybe if some of our colleagues wouln't be so pushy, and if some of them would show respect for the "prospective buyer" then that buyer might not want to put a fake name down. I personally don't use a book, only because from experience I noticed people didn't want to write in it....it was looked at as a threat. So, I got rid of the book, and increased the space I gave people......this works for me, and most of the people that have come through my open houses :)

Mar 28, 2008 05:31 PM