CBS only wants the bad news
CBS Wanted Us to Do An
Interview- But There Was A Problem...
I
was so excited yesterday morning when CBS news called us to do an
interview for the local nightly news. I asked the reporter
how she found us and she said I did a Google search on the Internet. Of
course our Active Rain
blog came up with our articles about Foreclosures and Short Sales.
She
said she wanted us to show her some bank owned properties that were
ransacked and destroyed.
She also wanted me to set up an interview with one of our buyers to
talk about how hard it is to buy a nice house and that they are all
destroyed because the banks are not taking care of them and that the
interest rates are going up so they can't buy a home. She said that she
was doing the story because Florida is in the top 4 of most foreclosed
property states.
I
seized this opportunity to spin the story.
First I told
her about our seller who we were trying to save from Foreclosure
and we would love a story about that in hopes that it would reach
someone at Countrywide that would help us. She was NOT interested.
Next I told her about the
short sale crisis
and how the banks would do better financially if they would streamline
their short sales process and how we would love to do an interview to
let people who need help know that we and others can help them. She was NOT interested.
Then I told her about how
we have buyers who are buying right now,
the interest rates are still extremely low, that I worked in the
business with interest rates at 18% and how FHA is giving our buyers
some great options. We need more buyers to come into the market because
here in our town, now is a good time to buy. She was NOT interested.
So
then I told her I would look up some properties and see if we could
meet her at one of the bank owned properties.
I was still excited at this point to do an interview because I know and
teach about how powerful media coverage is to our business. I am a PR
queen just as Patricia Kennedy is a PR hound. We understand how to
leverage a chance to be in the news in print, radio or on T.V. This is
the best way to create a reputation and an image. People don't believe
your ads but they do believe the news. When you buy and editorial style
ad versus the obvious ad in a paper, you will get a larger response
from the editorial ad even though you must disclose at the bottom of it
that you paid for it. It is just the way it is and so in our business a
press release or an interview is far more valuable than a print ad,
which we don't even do anymore.
I
called Nestor to tell him that he would be the one showing the houses
because she wanted to meet in an hour and I was not ready and I would
do the research. Nestor told me take a deep breathe, not get so excited
and then asked me, " What is her objective? Honey, we don't want agents
around here to hate us because we are spreading negative news. We also
don't want to be the bearers of the bad news, if there is any." He had
a very good point.
Then
I researched the foreclosed on properties in Wellington and there were
ONLY 39 Bank Owned properties on the MLS!
In all of Wellington. Even I was surprised. I looked through each one
and guess what! They all looked great and well taken care of.
I
called buyer agents from other companies who I know work with lots of
buyers and show lots of houses. They all told me that ALL the houses
they look at that are bank owned are in great condition. Next, I called
the agent I know who has the most bank owned properties, in fact that
is all she does and she has 274 Bank Owned Listing across 5 counties.
She told me if I go down to Miami or Broward County I could find some
homes like that but not around Wellington and West Palm Beach. Not
these days she said.
It
is great that I did this research
because it really gave me the opportunity to discover that it is not
bad in our area like the news says it is. We do have tons and tons of
short sales and lots of lis pendens filings but not bank
owned
properties compared to other counties in Florida.
The
reporter called me back at our appointed time and I told her my
discovery.
She was NOT sharing in my joy! I even looked in the blighted areas of
our county and even there the banks were fixing up the properties to
sell them. There was one very bad one that had been torn apart but it
was already bought so her theory that if they are torn up they will not
sell was not the case either. I tried to get her to see the truth and
asked her to do a story on the many reasons buyers should buy now and
how they could help us get the word out about short sales and
foreclosure defense. I told her that here in our county, there are a
lot of people with a lot of money and they care about their homes and
take care of them no matter what. Sure, there are bad apples here and
there. But is she wanted to really see this massive bank owned areas
she would have to go and visit my friend Bryant Tutas in Poinciana
Florida or other parts of Florida. Of course, this was for our local
news so she was not going to do that.
Now
my issue became weighing wanting to do the interview versus my
integrity. Well,
my integrity and values supersede fame any time. Do I want those 10
seconds up in lights to assist her in spreading her doom and gloom, the
sky is falling reporting or do I want to maintain my positive
outlook by staying firm and fast to my resolve to share the good news
and the truth?
She asked me on more time, " So you can't help me?" My answer was, "
No, I am sorry but what you are looking for is just not here and not
the truth!"
Stay
away from the negative reporting and stop reading the papers and
watching the news.
Do not support bad and untruthful behavior. I was telling Patricia
Kennedy about this on the phone yesterday and she told me how the
Nightly News called her broker and asked her to take them to Washington
Row and show them a street with all the foreclosure signs up and down
the street. Well, the problem there too was, there were no foreclosed
property signs and the houses were not getting foreclosed on in the
area they wanted to see. This is appalling
behavior and irresponsible journalism. The
sad thing is more than 80% of people watching believe the news.
Contact Nestor Gasset and Katerina Gasset, CIPS,
Realtors®, International Properties and
Investments, Inc. Licensed Realtors® in Florida
at 561-753-0135 to list your property for sale or to purchase a
property in Wellington,
Royal Palm Beach, Loxahatchee, Lake Worth, Hypoluxo Island, Lantana,
West Palm Beach and the rest of Palm Beach County Florida.
We are accepting referrals.
Copyright © 2008 By Katerina Gasset, All Rights
Reserved.*CBS Wanted Us To Do An Interview- But There Was
A Problem...*
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P.S. If you are listing your home as a short
sale in Palm Beach County Florida make
sure you hire an agent who knows how to do short sales and has the
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packages. Call us at 561-753-0135 to find out more about Palm
Beach County Short Sales.
All the news that fits to print. Only now the mantra is "All the news that fits our point."
I am actually on public record as stating I personally distrust the media at a local Townhsip Committee meeting over 10 years ago. A reporter was in the audience. My statement went into the public record. Now for kicks I google my name and re-read my quote.
Up until this very moment, the moment I read your blog I always thought I sounded like a quack. Thank you for the vindication.