Special offer

Weird Spice Called Google

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408

A condo in Oceans Grand in Daytona Beach Shores. 2 showings in one day.

The first couple walks in, looks at the unit, checks the view, asks a few questions, and then the lady asks to show her the indoor pool.

Sorry, there is no indoor pool in Oceans Grand.

The Buyers are upset.  Turns out they told their agent that they were coming only in winter and indoor pool was an absolute must.

The agent keeps a leather face. She has no clue. She thought that all condos have indoor pools. She has a list of condos she lined up for showing, and, probably, none of those have the indoor pool. She never sold a condo before, and looks like she is not breaking her record today. Buyers are way more knowledgeable than the agent.

Second couple walked in already pissed off, because they told the agent they only wanted a direct oceanfront building, and Oceans Grand is not right on the beach. The agent is from neighboring county, and has no clue about condos in Daytona Breach Shores. He was sure it was on the ocean.

The funny part is that it is not something unusual. It is quite common. When I hear unfamiliar name, requesting a showing, I am ready for this scenario. Of course, there are agents who know condos well, and it is always a pleasure working with them. And there are those, who would prepare to the best of their abilities, even if they are not familiar with condos. I respect their ethics.

Weird Spice Google

But a lot of buyers end up with agents, who have no clue. What stuns me is that the agents would not even try to find the information. When I Google condos, I find blogs about them, videos.

Also, it looks like they do not work MLS as indoor pools are marked if there are any. This is easy to know in advance. Plus if you read public and agents' remarks, you will learn at least something about the condos. How many times I would go to sold units and read the remarks in listing after listing...

And, finally, there is always a phone, and you can ask the listing agent a question, so that you do not look like a moron before your customers.

Recently I suggested to the agent, who brought a customer and they were upset that it was not an oceanfront building, to Google condos if she did not know them. She got very offended.

- I am a professional.

She sounded as if Googling was an indecent proposal...

It was not in the presence of her customers, so I do not know why she had this reaction. Probably she thought Google was something different.

Some weird spice, maybe…

P.S. if you are looking for a condo in Daytona Beach area, call me 386-405-4408. And if yu need an indoor pool, these would be the only condos I would take you to.

* Modified images by gharness (Peppers) and Carlos Luna (Google) via Flickr.com

Elite Home Sales Team
Elite Home Sales Team OC - Corona del Mar, CA
A Tenacious and Skilled Real Estate Team

Yes the uninformed agent and the unprofessional agent do damage all of us who are good agents.  It reflects on us all. 

Jan 17, 2014 11:00 AM
Claudia S. Nelson
eXp Realty - Woodbridge, VA
Local Expert Making a Difference!

If I don't have an answer to something Google is aways the first place to turn to, when it comes to Real Estate lost of the time Active Rain is my first place to search. 

Jan 17, 2014 11:15 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Mark - isn;t it weird when agents "catch" unsuspecting customers, and then would take them to places hoping that somehow something would click

Jan 17, 2014 11:22 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Claudia - I use Google. If Google pops the stuff from AR, I will go there, but not the other way around. At least this is how I search.

Jan 17, 2014 11:23 AM
Gary Woltal
Keller Williams Realty - Flower Mound, TX
Assoc. Broker Realtor SFR Dallas Ft. Worth

It sounds Jon like the blind leading the blind with client-agent AND a lot of laziness layered on top. Sad. Not professional.

Jan 17, 2014 11:46 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Gary - I would sure agree about laziness. Interestingly, often times buyers have done more research than agent. You may not know everything, but being licensed does not mean that you do not have to be prepared.

Thank you

Jan 17, 2014 12:16 PM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Jon,

I would say that in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king...however, he cannot see that there is no indoor pool or not an ocean front condo...Google is NOT THE SOURCE in many instances, and often is the one eyed man.  LOL A

Jan 17, 2014 12:42 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Alexandra - but it is much better than nothing. Google map can show the location, and it would have been easy to exclude the property, based on that.

Jan 17, 2014 01:16 PM
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

If an agent is going to show outside of their area of expertise, they could at least do some homework.

Jan 17, 2014 09:00 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Gabe - of course. I do not understand this proud "I am a professional" when people get offended with Google. I believe being a professional means being able to find the answers and not stick to MLS only.

Jan 17, 2014 10:19 PM
Rob Arnold
Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc. - Altamonte Springs, FL
Metro Orlando Full Service - Investor Friendly & F

Agents should stick to their area of expertise. When they venture outside it, this is exactly what ends up happening. 

Jan 17, 2014 11:09 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Rob - Agents tend to usurp the customer, and then try to sell them something. It is often very pathetic.

Jan 17, 2014 11:28 PM
ReadySetLoan Team
ReadySetLoan Condo Team LLC - South Windsor, CT
Residential, Commercial & Condo Financing Experts

There is no question that for any agent to learn something new - like selling his/her first condo - mistakes will be made.  But the mistakes should be those that are far less easy to avoid, like showing a condo with no indoor pool.  I would surmise that this agent isn't very good at showing properties of ANY sort.

Jan 18, 2014 01:27 AM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Eric - if a person is indifferent and sloppy, it shows. I can't imagine going to show a property, where I have not been before, and not doing my homework. Checking Property appraiser's site, reading remarks in sold listings, trying to find blogs about this building and the area... adn still I will not feel very confident.

These guys simply donot care

Jan 18, 2014 01:34 AM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Jon- It's unfortunate that agents like the ones you mentioned give the industry a not so nice name.  It doesn't take much to do some homework or Googling to find the answers. 

Jan 18, 2014 04:13 AM
Bill Lauler
Chase Realty LLC - McLean, VA
Associate Broker,CIPS,CRB,SRES,GRI

Prior planning prevents poor presentation's all the time. I always tell our agents if it is not in writing it does not exist. So, get the email and research the product you are selling or showing.

Jan 23, 2014 09:30 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Kathy - funny, but I do not see any shame in Googling, whether you are licensed or not. Thank you

Jan 23, 2014 09:44 PM
Jon Zolsky, Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Condo Realty, 386-405-4408 - Daytona Beach, FL
Buy Daytona condos for heavenly good prices

Bill - I am amazed that agents can go and show properties without any preparation, in cases when this is not what they know.

Once an agent told me "Bring 'em, and we will stick something through their throat". This mentality is alive.

Jan 23, 2014 09:46 PM