When Seeing Is Believing

 "There's a sucker born every minute."

                                                                                       David Hannum

Have you ever wondered what separates fact from fiction?  Is there a difference between fact and opinion?  If so, is it simply a matter of personal interpretation?  

In the real estate business, we sometimes find that what is advertised may not be exactly what is delivered.  In real estate vernacular, that is often referred to as "puffing" or "puffery".  According to the 17th edition of the textbook, Real Estate Practice, puffing is defined as "a legal exaggeration of a property's benefits or attractiveness."  Apparently, in the sales business, this is an accepted practice!  On the other hand, its evil twin, "FRAUD", is characterized as "the intentional misrepresentation of a material fact to harm or take advantage of another person." 

 So, as a prospective home buyer, how do you decipher the creative verbiage you often encounter when reading property descriptions about homes that interest you?   In other words, how do you minimize the "noise" or misinformation?  Short of giving the listing agent a dose of Truth Serum, an "eyes on target" approach is probably the best one.  After all, nothing replaces an actual walk through of any property that might interest you.

 Since many of my buyer clients are PCSing (for you non-Department of Defense types, PCS means permanent change of station, in other words, you're MOVING) from across the country or around the globe, their first look at properties is done via the internet.  Come to think of it, that's how most people shop for homes these days! 

Their desired home criteria is used in defining their property search, and that criteria is also used to provide them a direct e-mail feed of homes from our area's Multiple Listing Service or System.  Unlike other online home databases like Realtor.com, Zillow or Trulia, the MLS feed of homes provides prospective buyers the best and latest (Realtors who have homes listed on the MLS are required to keep the status current) information on properties.  Since the MLS e-mail feed is free to the consumer, and the status of viewed homes current, why would those looking for homes use anything else as their reliable source for information on homes for sale?  

 Many home shoppers have pored over tons of data sources to include magazines, flyers, and various online sources for information.  After days and weeks of reading property description after property description, there are times when they probably feel like they're in the Twilight Zone  instead of on the road to locating their next home.     

 Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  While it is difficult to know exactly what they're getting, most property descriptions are an accurate depiction of the property being considered.  But as I mention to my incoming buyers, while they may get a fairly good idea of the homes and neighborhoods through pictures and property descriptions sent via e-mail, until they get their "boots on the ground" and actually see the properties first hand, they can't be certain that what they're reading is exactly what they'll see upon closer inspection.  Once they've actually walked the neighborhoods and properties, it's another story.  As they say, "seeing is believing."

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