**This is the blog that the Boston Globe reporter picked up and quoted from.  ( see article in the 9/14/2008 Boston Globe Real Estate section)**

About a year ago some work mate forwarded me a funny email about how to read between the lines in personal ads....letting you know what certain key words often in the ads might mean.

Here are a couple examples in the personal ads joke email I can't remember the whole thing.

For women-- Athletic = Flat chested

                           volumptuous=over weight

For men and women-

                         likes to talk= won't stop talking

                          serious about commitment= not over ex yet

For Men-

                        Mature=bald

                        Stable=has had the same job at Arby's for over 6 months

So here it is  for Real estate  it's a bit of the same, like personal ads, sometimes athletic really means she likes to play basket ball, but isn't if just better to say that?

Cute=small tiny or perhaps even under 600 square feet including the garage....ok maybe a bit bigger than that.

desireable neighborhood= out of your price range.

victorian=old, pretty and has small rooms through out.

original charm=has all the original problems likely as well.

granet coutertops=expect to get every cent we put in back out of it.

fixer=not for the inexperienced or faint of heart, not something to live in and fix up at the same time unless you want financial ruin and perhaps a divorce if you are married.  ( see also cosmetic fixer and light fixer)

cosmetic fixer/ light fixer= some times this means the same as fixer and sometimes it just means that you had better fix it before you live in it unless you are a highly unpicky person and so is any one else in the house hold.  Some times it means will cost you $15,000.00 more than you thought it would to fix up.

3.5 baths= higher plumbing and water bills.

High ceilings=high utility bills

original owner=never updated and maybe never maintained either.

ready for your ideas=has 1970's counter tops with dark wood paneling and an olive green fridge, it really needs help coming into this decade!

unique=too weird and hard to resell later even if you like weird.

Any way you get the idea.... and really sometimes cute really does mean cute but likely it also means small.  As a consumer having a good realtor can help you sift though this, they can check the squarefootage of a home you saw in an ad and you skip it is it is too "cute" .  You can get info on any home in detail and often interior pictures too which can be helpful and save driving time. 

As a team we tend toward the say it just like it is method of marketing.  If it is small we say it's small, and if it is cute we will say that TOO.  If it really needs work we say it is a fixer, but we also give you pictures of what is wrong with it.  If it is the worst home on the block we tell you it is. And if it beautiful and we really admire it we will tell you that too, and like any good real estate team we will also really consult you on if this is a good fit for you and what the cons the home are in addition to the pros. 

Funny though we get lots and lots of calls on our ads, it seems the more brutally honest we are the more calls we get.  Funny concept.....truth in advertising, we wouldn't have it any other way~