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Pond View or No View ?

By
Real Estate Agent with Santrock Realty Group Inc. , 244213

I had clients in from Florida over the weekend on a "trip to purchase".  We always like those kinds of buyers.  They had all of the Buyer Agency paperwork and everything signed before I picked them up at the airport on Friday!! Fabulous. 

When I spoke to my clients they were looking for only homes that had a "pond view".  Fair enough.  I pulled the Top 10 listings from Wake Forest to Cary with pond views. 

We set off on our venture to find the perfect home with a pond view.  ". What became frustrating is how some agents "STRETCH THE TRUTH".   We pulled up to Hedingham and the house listed wasn't even close to having a "Pond View".  There was a beautiful pond in the neighborhood but it was across the street.  The only way you could see the pond is if you crawled up onto the roof!! Same thing - in Cary in the afternoon - we pulled up to an agent's listing that has a "reputation".  There was not even an inkling of a pond view.  My clients were very frustrated to say the least.  They wanted to file a complaint with the Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors for false advertising.  I don't blame them. 

At last - the last home we came to was a cute ranch on the pond in Silver Oaks in Cary.View of Silver Oaks Pond  The home had everything my clients were looking for and a pond view to boot!  My clients are happy and that makes me happy.  However, agents be advised to be careful how you market your properties because buyers are senstive when you stretch the truth about a property. 

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Comments (15)

Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Tracy,

Same thing here...when I list a property with water...I'll tell them that the lakefront is the straight look at the water from your backyard or front yard window....if they want a lake-view then it's when you have to turn your head all the way to the side until it starts to hurt your neck. Lake-view and lakefront are two different things...same goes for a canal versus a real lake. How about a pool view of the community pool and not the actual home:) It's a big mistake and misrepresents the listing,

May 26, 2008 11:50 PM
Hope Goss
Ventura Property Shoppe - Ventura, CA
Ventura Real Estate

I agree - you want to exceed expectations when the buyer actually gets to the home to physically view it.  Over zealous descriptions and "too good" pictures don't sell a home.

May 26, 2008 11:55 PM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

Doesn't that just frustrate the heck out of you ? We have the field water in our MLS, then we can define the kind of field. I have seen water checked and nothing else. Because I know the sub, it is only a drainage ditch. Now if I didn't know that I would probably think it was on water. But, hey your clients found the right house so that is the good thing.

May 26, 2008 11:59 PM
No Longer Active
Real Estate - Fallon, MT

Not only does it annoy prospective buyers but stretching the truth tends to get me a little tee'd off because I take the poor reflection on me personally.  We cannot preview every listing on the market but I, like you, spend a bit of time sifting through all the listings to find homes of interest and don't appreciate when other agents falsely describe their listings.

May 27, 2008 12:05 AM
Brian Schulman
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Lancaster PA - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster County PA RealEstate Expert 717-951-5552

Tracy, I don't see what the point is of false descriptions.  When the buyers get to the property they will see that it doesn't rise to the description anyway! 

Listing agents who do this are just irritating buyers and their agents, and helping to propogate the negative stereotypes of real estate agents.

May 27, 2008 12:08 AM
Michael Sahlman
www.HomesForVIPs.com - Keller Williams Realty - Miami Beach, FL
e-PRO - Miami Beach Florida Luxury Homes

Hi Tracy I have the same problem in the Miami area. You would be shocked to find out how many realtors here "stretch" the truth. I always ask them before I show a listing if it has a direct direct water view or is it a partial? Even when you ask the question like that I get lied to. One of the things I have discovered is not to show houses or condos without a lot of photos and to make sure the photos include the balcony in the shot, so it gives me an idea of how direct the view really is. Unfortunaely the lack of professionalism goes beyond the mis-labeling of views here. Let's just hope that over the next several months we weed out a lot of these realtors from the business. By the way, I liked your site and your blog. I'm new to this, so I am still trying to figure out what to do on a daily basis like how to join groups and the best way to learn information about the site and others here.

 

May 27, 2008 12:14 AM
Rob Muller
ReMax Town & Country - Canton, GA
Cherokee County Real Estate

All it does is annoy everyone. Do they think people will change their mind whe they get there- not if it is something they really want. Glad you found a home.

May 27, 2008 12:15 AM
Adam Waldman
Westcott Group Real Estate Company - Hauppauge, NY
Realtor - Long Island

TRACY - People never want to have their time wasted, and truthfully, the seller suffers also by this type of marketing.  They bring in people under false pretenses, that will never buy the home.  With gas at around $4 per gallon, I don't want to drive anyplace that I don't have to.  There really needs to be something done about this ongoing problem in our industry.

May 27, 2008 12:17 AM
Eleanor Thorne
Equity Resources - Cary, NC
Advantage Lending 919-649-5058

Saw a property in MacGregor West that was on Realtor.com with a "LakeView" - I was thinking - Lake View?  Macgregor West?  There's no lake... but across the street there is - and apparently from the window in the stair landing, if you hold your head just right - you can kinda' see the lake across the road!  I understand exactly what you're saying!

May 27, 2008 04:49 AM
Thom Abbott
MyMidtownMojo.com |770.713.1505 | Intown Atlanta GA Condo Living - Atlanta, GA
Midtown Atlanta GA Condos For Sale

Tracy....We hear you here in Atlanta as well. Our biggest challenge is looking for homes/condos based on the area we search in FMLS, and someone puts a condo in Buckhead in the listings for Midtown. Duh...do you really think it's going to sell if you list it in the wrong area....and they are doing that to s-t-r-e-t-c-h and try and put their listing in a better area/location.

I am sure the Seller's would appreciate knowing that wouldn't they?

I've also learned not to "trust" what a listing says, and I preview everything I am showing to a buyer to avoid any issues.

May 27, 2008 06:06 AM
Anonymous
Passing Thru

Plug the address into Google Maps or Google Earch and take a look to see there is water nearby. I agree that the property should be described correctly, but if you want to save some gas, check Google maps.

May 29, 2008 04:59 AM
#11
Tracy Santrock
Santrock Realty Group Inc. , - Cary, NC
Raleigh - Cary Broker

Passing thru,

I don't disagree at all and have the tools to do so.  In a busy weekend w/three buying clients that becomes a problem.  I generally teach my clients to map the properties so we don't run into this issue but, when time is of the essence and they pick the properties, you've got to go w/the flow!

Microsoft Maps has a wonderful program that is much better than google that gives you, not only a birdseye image, but a 3D image as well. 

 

May 29, 2008 02:31 PM
Ginger S
Wilkinson & Associates, Wilmington NC - Wilmington, NC
Wilmington NC Real Estate & Relocation~

Hi Tracy, UGH, I  HATE this!  Unfortunately this Hyping is a huge problem in our coastal area. I always check with the agent before going to view the property. If possible I will take a look-see myself before going out with clients to view>

Ginger

Jun 01, 2008 02:26 PM
Tracy Santrock
Santrock Realty Group Inc. , - Cary, NC
Raleigh - Cary Broker

Ginger - I can only imagine what its like in your area.  It seams some agent really like to stretch the truth!

Jun 01, 2008 02:41 PM
Todd Clark - Retired
eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR
Principle Broker Oregon

I know your clients pain! I had a client looking for a river view and all we could find was homes that you have to stand on a ladder left of the garage to see the river. I think they should file a complaint!

Jun 02, 2008 05:06 PM