Home : Blogs : LaShawn Norden, REALTOR, (321) 377-0157 Your Real Estate Advocate in Florida : Central Florida Real Estate~The Good, the Bad & The Ugly by LaShawn Norden, RE/MAX REALTOR

If it Walks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck, it's Probably...

a Duck.

With that being said, I am personally challenged by the fact that listing agents do not truthfully market the condition of the property in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking agents to "hurt" their sellers by revealing less than desireable qualities about a property (like the need for paint or flooring), but I do think that if the ceiling has fallen in, all appliances and light fixtures have been removed, the pool is swampy and/or the property has mold growing on the baseboards and walls, that the listing agent should disclose such when marketing the property...even if they do so in the REALTOR only Remarks section in the MLS.

When working with Buyers, it would certainly be helpful to know BEFORE I show the property that the property will need a tad bit more than just "TLC" or "elbow grease" in order to make it habitable.

If Buyers (and their agents) knew that the house needed thousands in repairs, they would then be able to make an educated decision about whether to see the home...but if that information is not provided in the MLS, the Buyer and their agent unknowingly can walk into a "disaster-like" home that the Buyer would have never even considered had they known the truth upfront.

In addition to disclosing "issues" such as the ones listed above, I would also think that listing agents who are marketing these types of homes would want Buyers to know if the home will require cash to purchase or if it will or won't qualify for FHA or VA financing. Since many more Buyers today are purchasing using a VA or FHA loan, it would be worthwhile to know if the property will meet the loan requirements before choosing to see it.

Lastly, if a property has mold...PLEASE protect yourself, the Buyer and their agent by putting a note on the front door stating so. Many people have sensitivity to mold and this is a liability house of cards ready to come falling down! Should a sign be posted on the door and the Buyer and/or their agent choose to enter anyway, they are assuming the risk...not you.

While I do not see the world through rose colored glasses, I do know that if a duck is a duck, there is no point marketing as a swan!

For your viewing pleasure, I have included a few photos of homes I've shown to unsuspecting Buyers lately because neither they (or I) knew the truth prior to the showing.

LaShawn Norden, PA, REALTOR, (321) 377-0157, RE/MAX Central Realty, Advocate for Buyers and Sellers in Central Florida, LaShawn@LaShawnNorden.com, www.LaShawnNorden.com

Posted by LaShawn Norden, REALTOR, (321) 377-0157 Your Real Estate Advocate in Florida on 03/19/2009 11:54 AM

Comments (90)

Truthful Marketing in the Home Selling Channel

disclosures, mold, fha financing, va financing, truthful marketing, lashawn norden, central florida, listing agents, foreclosures

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90 Comments on If it Walks Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck, it's Probably...

MAR

I am wiht you. I have wasted countless hours on looking at properties that say "Needs a little TLC" and the place should be torn down!

Hello LaShawn- I agree......with the above description the house actually sounds like a foreclosed property.

As a buyer's agent I guess we can always preview the properties before taking clients to see them but that's easier said than done, unless you get an assistant to it.

LaShawn...

I agree, there needs to be a little more "Truth in Advertising!:

Featured in the Group "Whacked!!!"

I agree. I had a ranting post just a few weeks ago about the same thing. Previewing doesn't solve the problem because you would still be wasting your time and putting your own health in jeopardy.

MAR

Absolutely right LaShawn. I hate it when I pull up to a property and find something other than what is expected. An informed buyer will look at the house if they are interested in a project but an uninformed buyer will pass it by if it is described incorrectly.

I totally agree. If the home needs repairs, this info should be disclosed. We have had some heated discussion on ORRA Broker Talk just recently about REO disclosure. Many banks specifically tell listing agents that they cannot disclose in MLS the fact that the property is bank owned or REO. Obviously this gets just a few people upset because there are plenty of additional issues that arise when a property is an REO. It is a tough tightrope to balance.

LaShawn - When a home needs a LOT of work (and some do), it seems wise to just say so in the MLS rather than irritating buyers and their agents when they show up to see a home which needs "TLC".

I agree I often ask the buyers agent .. what type of fund is your client using what is your clients goal .. and from there I can say yes go and show or no this is not the right listing for your client .. it cant make FHA or will need $x in repairs ect... If the deal is dead before the showing why try and push it.

There's a buyer for everything, so why not attract the prospect who really might buy the house - in these cases, someone who's looking for a disaster to renovate.

Ahhhh..the truth is what we perceive it to be...tooo often under tge guise of "working for the seller" the house gets a littlen more glamourized that it should....

It is frustrating and a waste of time. It is also embarassing to take a client in to one of those properties. I feel they think I should have done a better job of screening.

Kathy

I agree with you 100% and it's my company's policy to be truthful, completely truthful in advertising. And just for kicks I wanted to share the prvevious blog post about one of those "bad" properties where I tried to tell it like it is. We did the sell the house, but the buyer knew what he was going to see when he found my ad and called.

LaShawn, I know I'd be mad at my time being wasted on this property if all it said was needs a little TLC...

I agree with you totally as to an accurate description of the property. It's totally a waste of time showing something that will not work for your buyer, either with a financing issue or with the house itself. The only thing I don't agree with is the sign on the door for mold. If the house is accurately described in MLS, then a sign would not be needed. The issue I have with this is has it been determined by a professional that mold is on or in the property? If not, you are opening yourself up to a litigious situation. That's my two cents.

I agree, especially on the mold issue. I went into a house 3 days ago that had mold in the basement. I couldn't see it but could smell a slightly musty odor. I still have a sore throat and am coughing from it. I'm so glad my client didn't bring her baby on that one.

There absolutely needs to be more truth in advertising, however, that being said we are limited by space as to how much we can say in a listing. However, there are several categories of condition in the click the box parts of our mls and hardly anyone uses those to indicate condition. If it needs major work you can say 203K or cash/conventional contracts only please are a pretty good indication of the property needing at least $5000 in repairs.

Great points!! Nothing is more irritating than walking into a disaster with clients who are expecting a home that "just needs updating".

LaShawn, I know we can avoid many of these problems by previewing listings before taking clients to a property but that's not always an option for busy agents. I appreciate candid and truthful MLS remarks. The less than truthful remarks get some pretty candid feedback. Rich

La Shawn,

Great analogy! Ducks vs. swans!!! I think the agents are "protecting' the Sellers feelings. I once listed a "house... shack... lean-to" that smelled so badly that I wanted to say "Only show if you wear a gas mask!!!" (Dog urine had permeated the plywood floors!... for years!) But I couldn't .... I wrote something nice like "pet odor", which was a huge untruth!!!!...... Amazingly, someone bought it at full price! So we can't always be as HONEST as we'd like to be.....

Kathy Opatka Re/Max OCEAN CITY,MARYLAND

LaShawn--We all agree with you! But why take a listing that you cannot sell...especially in this market....Your name, your reputation!

Great post. I hate when the agent says "TLC" and it is a lot more than that. Unless TLC stands for Totally Lacking Consciousness regarding the agent, then please note what the house is really offering.

LaShawn, I totally agree with you. If there are things about a property that I know I need to disclose and the seller wants to keep it off MLS I walk away and let somebody else deal with that headache. What I try to help sellers understand that full disclosure right up front is as much to protect them as anything and 'tricking' somebody into looking won't help it sell. Love those pictures.

LaShawn,

Interesting. I think I would have been upset, too, if I walked into a house like that.

I would think there would be some requirement about access to a home like that. It isn't just about courtesy when a house's aire quality is bad, it can be potentially injurious to someone with severe mold allergies -- kind of like feeding peanuts to someone who is allergic to them. (It's more than just a courtesy to tell someone the food may have been exposed to peanut products.)

Oh, and:

What! no home inspectors have weighed in on this one.

This would have been a beauty for a pre-listing inspection.

Completely true - one time I showed a property that the agent assured me was "move-in" - I was so embarrassed when we walked in the door - it was atrocious, broken-down and filthy. It did have a nice pool, but the burned down house next door kind of put the final nail in the coffin!!!

Great post. It would be nice to know these things via the listing data; and, the mold issue is indeed a liabilty issue, not to mention common courtesy to the unsuspecting visitor.

Usually in our area agents will put in Major fixer, contractor special or FHA will not approve loans on this home as a clue.

You should know up front if any one of those items are mentioned , this property is not for the average joe.

Usually pricing will give a big clue as well. When you see a property listed for $200000 in an area that normally sells for $400000 there are big issues involved.

I have to tell you though I have had buyers who did not believe me and insisted on seeing some of these homes....Apparently they did not believe me but when they walked thru the door they turned around and said I guess you do know your business, sorry I wasted your time bringing me here. I will defer from now on to your judgment.

The comment about Mold is very good. There are many people ,including myself, who have severe allergies to mold.

Bravo LaShawn!

I agree with you 110%!

I wish that I knew the "awful truth" before I showed a home and had the ability to give the buyer the option to proceed or not...

LaShawn- As a listing agent I would let you know the house needs to be fixed like major and has mold before you go but I would not put that on the mls without a signed agreement from the seller that I may do so. The reason you would know before you go is because you must call us for showing instructions, even on our vacant listings. ( We do not state the property is vacant in our mls either- for safety reasons) When you call, we talk to you and sell you on the property in a truthful way.

Here in our area, if we have an inspection report on file, then this becomes disclosure and we get to let you know ahead of time what the inspection report says. We can also fax you the sellers disclosure statement prior to making an offer.

On the subject of mold, not all mold is deadly, in fact very few types of mold are actually dangerous. Many people are sensitive to mold. I am allergic to it and can smell it a mile away. But the fact is that there are mold spores in the air you breathe every day every where. Katerina

LaShawn,

What gets me is sometimes the picture rally does not reveal the real front elevation. Seems like people are trying to be deceptive. Congrats on the Activerain feature!

Hey gang...thanks for weighing in on the issue. Both properties in my post WERE foreclosures and both had serious water intrusion that resulted in black stuff growing...now, that black stuff might not have been BAD mold, but it was still mold. When I called one of the agents back to ask why they didn't disclose that the ceiling was falling down (raining in the Master bedroom, mind you), there was no ownership to the issue...which tells me either they aren't concerned about it. Maybe when someone slaps them with a lawsuit for endangerment or some other type of litigation, they will care. All I can say is that IF the property is not habitable in it's current state, it should be noted somewhere in the MLS so that agents don't spend their time, effort and gas to show it to a Buyer.

As for not putting "Vacant" in MLS or allowing agents to access showing instructions via a software or automated system...well, that's a whole other post.

I would love to comment to each of you individually, but am headed out to go show more homes to the same people I wasted time showing these others to. This time, I CALLED each agent to ask if there were any issues that might prevent financing or would require costly repairs...more work upfront, but hopefully, less aggravation today.

Happy selling (non-moldy homes),

Dear Lashawn,

The only thing worse is going in and finding out that "unexpected" tenants have moved in! Ugh!

Barbara

GREAT POST ! I must agree.. it would be nice to know true facts up front. No need to waste showing if it does not meet the clients needs, or requirements.

Properties like this neet to be advertise as: INVESTORS great opportunity and mention the repairs necessary. There is a whole section of buyers that meet this criteria. Also price accordingly.

Good idea -- we went into a home in this sort of circumstances with a buyer and we all got sick.

Hi LaShawnda~ We shoudn't HAVE to preview first, the real truth should be disclosed, period. It is what is is! Honesty is always best....

LaShawn... Great post. You're so right. I've done nothing all week but show scummy, foreclosed properties - many of which I wouldn't have taken my buyers in if we'd had a clue before entering. When I get home at night, I head straight for the shower because I even smell like a foreclosure!

Hi LaShawn, You're preaching to the choir on this one ! I really do appreciate when an agent shares the true nature of the listing.

I don't think I have ever seen one that deceiving before!! Thanks for the post.

LaShawn- Great post! You so right, especially regarding FHA buyers.

AMEN Girl!! I completely agree, this is so frustrating & such a time waster! KM

What's worse is when you speak to the listing agent prior to showing and they tell you it shows well, no problems. Then you walk in and SURPRISE, THE LISTING AGENT FLAT OUT LIED OR HAD NEVER BEEN INSIDE THE PROPERTY. It's a jungle out there LaShawn!

I agree with you entirely! From the perspective of a photographer who does real estate virtual tours and photography, you would be surprised how many times we are asked to mask or "fix" something in the images to hide the problem. There ARE times where a client has committed to have something fixed before the images go online and we have accomodated them but for the most part, we have to refuse that request as I consider that an integrity issue. Without our integrity, what do we really have? Thanks for posting this one as it truly hits home with me.

Which is why I preview when ever possible. I don't want to waste a buyer's time looking at something that is overpriced for condition.

With mold, I don't even want buyers to enter the structure.

I don't even want to enter the structure and when I'm surprised by mold, a broker is going to get a complaint from me.

LaShawn, I agree we need more "Truth in Advertising! And, I agree with Lenn...preview whenever possible. Makes lifes a little easier on you.

I hear ya. Agent only remarks are there for a reason.

I am reminded of the movie "Crazy People",

Buy Volvos. They're boxy, but they're good. We know they're not sexy. This is not a time to be sexy anyway with so many new diseases around. Be safe instead of sexy. Volvo: boxy but good.

I don't think buyers are blown over by a little bit of puffing, but things that are considered a health risk should be disclosed up front.

Years ago, a wet ceiling fell on me when my buyer poked at it...It was obvious there was a problem with the ceiling, but it would have been nice to disclose "enter at your own risk". --- I am not as fast as I used to be.

(Wow, this comment seemed to have posted several times. Whew! - All better now)

Best wishes and continued success!

Featured @ Club Chaos

It is always easy to determine which homes need help when the listing agent uses certain words.

Im with Katrina on this. I've a property listed that has mold. The mold is contained in one small area in the basement (most of the basement is unfinished with cinder block walls) and though I do not disclose this on MLS I do tell all agents showing the property about any defects not specified in the listing. I also have a prelisting inspection that was done available for any interested buyer to peruse.

That being said, I too have been in homes described as needs TLC that were true teardowns. I've learned to ask lots of questions when I see that but YES, wouldn't it be nice if the agents representing those properties would have let you know the truth.

I agree with you that the listing shouldn't be glamorized in the MLS and a listing agent should put something in the private remarks that the home is not inhabitable in its present condition. However, posting that the house has mold on the door might be going overboard especially if it is just your visual knowledge and not an actual mold inspectors findings.

I would go a step further and say that listing agents are doing their clients a disservice. If a property is obviously 'investor-grade,' the agent should target investors and/or home-buyers who don't mind the work. Create interest by talking about the potential, etc. The goal is to sell the home. If you are advertising to those unlikely to buy it, then you aren't doing your job correctly.

Hi LaShawn,

I agree wholeheartedly, and I also want to point out the flipside. I've seen some listings that say it is a handyman special, needs tlc, won't pass FHA, etc. (I work with rehab investors so that gets me excited) and when I go it needs about $200 worth of carpet cleaning and maid service and it's ready to go. They are scaring buyers/agents AWAY from their listings by making it sound worse than it is.

so be careful before you disclose bad condition (not everyone may be as picky as you are about condition). I usually see this when high-end agents take a low-price listing that is out of their comfort zone.

We put the disclosures and picture right where everyone can see them. Disclose, Disclose and when in doubt disclose some more.

Hi LaShawn -- You are right. The data in many MLSs (from conversations I've had) leave much to be desired, as well as the things you mention. Wouldn't it be nice to know the age of all major system components if known, among other things? We could all (including clients) have far less work to do if there was more detailed data collected in the MLS, along with the things you mentioned. That would allow us to work smarter, not harder.

LaShawn, I am with you 100%. I don't know of anything that I could add. Very good information.

LaShawn, I've been in many homes like the one you describe and it's no picnic. I had to laugh the other day when an agent called me with feedback on one of my listings and she said that the home was beautiful and that I had accurately described it with my remarks. Doesn't every one? LOL

I always hate it when the bad things aren't shown - especially mold!!! And I also don't like it when agents tell me that a home can go FHA/VA when really it can't!!!

No matter how much an agent puffs a listing ~ it is what it is ~ and if it is quacking it is a duck and should be marketed accordingly. The old saying: The truth will find you out, applies here!

LaShawn - I'm not a Realtor so I don't show property but one my pet peeves with REO LA's is when they do not disclose clouded titles that they undeniably know to be true. Recently, I had a client (buyer) who made an offer on a REO property that was listed in the MLS "as-is" so my client knew from the get go it would be a fixer. After seeing it and deciding it actually didn't look as bad as he was expecting and he could deal with the expected repairs, he made an offer and it was immediately accepted.

Shortly thereafter, we get the prelim report and there are clouds on title for city bldg code violations. When my clients Realtor confronted the REO LA about it, she played dumb and said she had no idea what we were talking about.

When I contacted the city about the violations, they sent me the violation notices. Guess who the notices were sent to? Both the REO LA and the seller/bank were notified of the violations six months earlier and the city inspector included a very detailed letter indicating that she explained this to the last lender that called her when this property was in escrow four months earlier. The city inspector told me that she told both the REO LA and the seller/bank that until they took care of the violations, they (the city) would not remove the clouds on title.

Talk about failure to disclose! Despicable!

It seems to me that this "creativity" keeps showing interesting, perhaps to much so ; )

It just boils down to telling the truth.

LaShawn, you are preaching to the choir. :-) There is an agent in my area with the gift of the written word who is notorious for these listings. When we see her name as the listing agent, we immediately assume the worse.

MAR

Agreed. We try to preview as much as possible before taking a client to a home but we are able to do that because we sell in one community and know most of the properties there. That's not to say that occasionally, we don't get a surprise! Thanks for the post.

LaShawn:

Salespeople that embellishs the truth... naaaaaaaaaaa that just can be so.

I guess its the difference between seeing the glass half empty and the glass half full... let's just skip over the fact that the glass is full of SLUDGE.

Thanks for the original post.

Another excellent reason why previews are so important. I know in some areas brokerages don't still tour, or they don't have a collective MLS tour. We tour in our office every Tuesday and since we outsell every 2.5 to 1 in our market, we see MOST of the listings this way...however, I try to set time aside during the week - same time every week - Tuesday afternoons to preview properties so that I am up to speed. I hate walking into a listing I've never seen because you just never know what you're going to get. And if you are showing the buyer something that clearly doesn't meet their needs, you are damaging your credibility. With todays market the way it is and so few buyers, I want to land every buyer I have and not risk them deciding to work with someone else because they perceive me not listening to their needs and wants.

I think that some agents think the the phrase "Handyman Special", or "Fixer" means that anything goes. I have seen fixers with everything from flooded basements to kicked in front doors. I tell my buyer clients that it usually means "Buyer Beware!"

You couldn't be more right. There is a property in our area that has fire damage. The sellers listed it with an out of the area Realtor who only posted pictures of the yard and has the condition listed as average. This is very misleading for any agents that aren't familiar with this home.

LaShawn, misleading or missing remarks about the true condition of a house waste everyone's time and are not professional. Granted, you want to put a home in the best light. But people are going to see it eventually so be straight up front.

I always try and be as honest, yet tactful as possible. It is a fine line to walk

I wish I had read your post a couple of days ago, I could have saved time ranting about the same issue. A little more honesty would do well for all of us. Does the listing agent think we are going to be fooled once we see the property? All they have done is stain their own reputation and make me wary of showing other properties they may have.

Todd Pierceall
Prestige Properties
www.prestigeproperties4u.com

I would like to know who first came up with the duck line. I have heard it in old movies. Nice article

Steve

MAR

Steven, what a cool trivia question that would be... Hmm... wonder if anyone could find the answer to that one. I kinda wanna know as well. :-)

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