When showing homes to buyers, do you tell them that you don't have any more information about a specific house than what was provided in the MLS listing?
If you have not yet seen one or more of the houses you're showing, I think you 
should disclose that fact to the potential buyers.
Here's why...
You've probably been hearing all the talk about artificial intelligence in general and Chat GPT in particular. Some copywriters are worried that it will take over our jobs. Others are pretending it doesn't exist. I decided to learn more.
Over the past few days I've listened to a couple of panel discussions with top copywriters discussing the subject. What I learned is that while it can write passable copy (what they called C-grade) it lacks soul.
BUT - they all agreed that Chat GPT is an excellent research tool. What it might take a human hours (or days) to ferret out on a search engine, it can spit out within a minute or two.
So this morning I asked it to give me the top 10 complaints consumers have about real estate agents. Number one was as I expected - lack of communication and responsiveness. Several others were pretty predicable as well.
One complaint that stood out was "Misrepresentation of property information."
Further questions added "Failing to disclose relevant information" and "Inadequate preparation for showings."
Just to round out my research, I also checked with Google, and found a Forbes article that took it a bit farther. That article indicated that consumers felt the showing agent might be employing bait and switch tactics when showing homes that looked good in photos but were a disaster in person.
They also shared that potential buyers felt that the showing agent should have all of the information about every house - including floor plans.
In a busy real estate practice, that's a bit unrealistic.
So - I think you should prepare your buyer clients ahead of time by disclosing that you haven't seen the property and don't have all the information they might want. However, if they like what they see, you'll get that information.
Of course if you have seen it and you feel that it was misrepresented, you should disclose that as well.
That blame is misplaced, but...
Blaming a showing agent for a listing agent's shortcomings is right or fair - but it happens. Just like blaming the waitress for poorly cooked food in a restaurant or blaming the grocery store checker for soaring prices.
Head the blame off at the pass by making that disclosure!
UPDATE...
Just a bit more research took me to a 2017 article in Realty Times.
I'd say this blogger doesn't like real estate agents one little bit. Perhaps she had a bad experience with a poor agent so is painting the entire industry with a negative brush.
Reading what she has to say might make you cross, but it's good to know what some people think, just so you can counteract it.
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