Tonight I was watching Fox News & was utterly shocked to see in the first 10 minutes of the broadcast that the former first family of Illinois is looking for a new place to call home. For those of you who say “why is that news?”, the former Governor did not just lose his bid for re-election, Rod Blagojevich was convicted on corruption charges & will be serving time in prison in the near future. Now, his current address was public knowledge since the police arrested him there, but I don’t understand the value in announcing not only the neighborhood his family is looking in but the homes, listing brokerages AND prices! I was shocked as the newscaster stated that they were “very interested in this property, priced at $XXX” and proceeded to show the interior pictures!! He even described how much smaller the new homes were in comparison to the current home. Wait - it gets better. The reporter then stated the approximate value of his 2 current properties & theorized that they may be receiving down payment assistance from the in-laws!!
As a mother I felt protective for the children. Guilty or not, their father’s conviction should NOT give permission to broadcast their next home & schools. As a Realtor I automatically got defensive for the Blagojevich’s & their negotiating position. How in the world can they put forth an offer & be on even ground with the sellers when the other homes they viewed & liked were advertised? Why does the general Chicagoland viewership need to know how much equity he has in his family home & his condo in Washington D.C.?
So sound off fellow Realtors – was this an amazing journalistic effort that I’m being extra sensitive about for whatever reason, or is this “news report” further victimizing the entire Blagojevich family by putting out way too much information & negatively impacting their ability to get a fair deal in this obnoxious real estate market? I say shame on Fox News – must have been a slow news day!
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