Navigating stuff online has been increasingly complex and it's even harder for a first-time home buyer in Sacramento. They don't know what to believe. They go to Zillow and find listings that are sold, and to Trulia to find listings that are not on the market, and even Realtor.com has some time lags to it so new listings are not immediate.
Yesterday I received an email from what was disguised to look like Realtor.com but was really an outfit in Australia called RealSatisfied. It asked to link reviews to our Nerds number and license number in Realtor.com. It said it sent me the email because I had either asked for it or because I was part of their group, and neither was true. They probably bought the mailing list from Realtor.com.
I had to track down this company and insist they remove my profile, which I did not authorize. I've got enough legitimate stuff going on that I don't need this kind of exposure and risk. And I know what I'm looking at online. I am savvy enough not to click on a bad link, but some day, somewhere, I probably will.
Some of the spam stuff and hacking crap is coming from people disguised as first time home buyers. They write to you and ask for more information. When agents respond, they send an email claiming to be on a honeymoon and coming back to town and would like you to look at a list of homes they are leaning toward, and then include a php link. Agents, don't click on that stuff!!
No wonder it's so tough for first time home buyers when there is this kind of malicious stuff happening all over. Nobody knows who to trust.
You can read more about this in my personal blog today at this link: Sacramento Agents Display Patience for a First-Time Home Buyer.
Comments(6)