The Truth About Lying in a Real Estate Listing: A House Hunter's View

Debra, LOVED YOUR POST, I had a fellow agent who would state "Fantastic Opportunity to bring this home back to life..." then I knew another agent both in the same office would write "piece of sh.. create your own home" now both agents were were successful, which one did you like better?:))

Debra, this is an excellent post on a very important topic!  You made your points so well, and of course, you are right on!  One does have to wonder what an agent who fabricates such ridiculous claims is thinking when they do that!  Surely the buyers will be upset when they get there and see how untrue the claims are, as were you!  Some folks just really do need to "get a clue!!"  Thanks for the well written and interesting post!

Debra -- Have been misled many times by homes claiming to have 3BRs when in fact there were two and the owners were using the dining room as a bedroom.  Another is 'waterfront'.  Most buyers want waterfront meaning direct frontage on a lake, river, etc,  not a brook running through the back of the property.  These types of descriptions have definitely irritated buyers I have dealt with.

Debra, that was a bit exaggerated, wasn't it?  I did want to buy it before you gave the real scoop.  I recently listed an REO that was just down right nasty.  It was so bad I wouldn't let my employees in it without a mask.  I basically told how bad it was in the listing.  It sold in 60 minutes.  There's a buyer for every house.  Just tell the truth, and it might sell quickly.

Hi Debra,

I think creating false hope only leads to disappointment.  A qualified buyer who may otherwise have liked the house may get turned off because the expectations created couldn't be met.  I'd much rather let the house exceed expectations then overstate what is real. 

Debra...Thanks for calling "professionals" out on this.  A major pet peeve of mine. Rarely do the "puffing" comments make a buyer want the property once they see the real thing.

I am not going to misrepresent a listing nor risk losing a buyer's trust in the listing agent or the seller. I recently had a listing that had beautiful photos. The home was built in 1998 and I had maple cabinets and Corian counters listed. There were several photos showing those cabinets and counters. We kept getting feedback that the home was dated. The truth was clearly presented and shown in the photos. If the buyers wanted granite and stainless steel appliances, they shouldn't have gone to this listing at all. It is currently under contract. That buyer loved exactly what was displayed in the photos.

Glad you said it! :)

Love and light,

Laura

Debra - There are certain descriptions that just make you scratch your head.

Hi Debra,

I took a class the other day.

In it, the instructor said it is acceptable for real estate agents to "puff" their listings.

But certainly not LIE!

Phil

That is quite rude. You know, just like subtitles that say almost nothing about the real content for a product or property. Most of the time, advertisements are used to just get prospects and suddenly disappoint them when they're there. My my my. Great post!

Awesome post, Debra. 

Nothing like disappointing the potential buyer when, upon arrival, they find nothing that was desribed in the listing. 

Congrats on the feature.

Kathy

Debra -- great post - excellent example of what not to do.  You mentioned it sold for well under market -- shows that the listing agent really didn't know what they were doing in helping buyer set price, or in properly marketing.  Yes, you can get people to come look at it, but they won't really want you as their agent if you pass the line between "puff" and "lie".