LOL....I love the title of this post!

I've had on two seperate occasions and with two different buyers looked at homes that had "water views".

The first one mentioned a water view from the front yard.  Now what he forgot to mention about this water view from the front yard.....was that it was from the front yard of the HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET!  LOL....and if you stood there long enough, you might just catch a glimpse of it if the wind is blowing just so and the tress part for a split second!  He should have provided some binnoculars for us to use to see that water view!  My buyers were laughing in the street about that one!

The other one was a condo that "overlooked" the bay!  Now mind you, the mangroves were so tall, they blocked the view of the water.  BUT...if you stood out on the lanai and strained all the way to the right and looked between two trees, yet again if the wind is blowing just right....there's your water view!

However the BEST house I have ever looked at was the house built for smurfs!  Now keep in mind the agent that had this house was also the owner of it.  The write up on this one was a doozy for sure.  All brand new on the inside, total remodel, new bathrooms, new kitchen, new counters...it just went on and on about how beautiful this house was.  We get there and my buyers are so excited.  I open the door and it's like we walked into Alice and Wonderland or Papa Smurf's house.  It was a house built for munchkins.  My buyers about died laughing when we opened the door.  He is 6'4 and she is 5'1...that's another story in itself.  The ceilings were so short in the kitchen that he couldn't stand up.  The bathroom ceiling was so short that he would of had to sit in the shower to fit in there.  Picture a bathroom in a motor home only with really short ceilings!  It looked they had converted what used to be a back porch into the kitchen and new bathroom.  The person that did it, was just plain stupid!  I am only 5'4 and the ceilings were only about 2 inches taller than me....literally!!!!!  I don't think I've ever laughed so hard as seeing my buyers in that house.  He had to walk through most of the house hunched over.  All the ceilings were low, but the bathroom and kitchen were REALLY low.  He got in the shower just to see if he could fit....and my sides and cheeks hurt from laughing so hard.  It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen!

Just when you think you've seen it all.....you view another home that tops them.  Atleast they give me a good laugh now and then!

Oh, I've heard him sing his song, too...."Hi diddley dee...an actor's life for me..."  Then out comes his nose and donkey ears.....

Here, our MLS is very proactive with listings which are misleading, and one just needs to drop the MLS an email stating, "there's no view of the river", or "the property is not level at all, but rather on a cliff", etc.  

It's completely anonymous.  Our MLS will in turn contact the listing agent and their broker, and often impose fines if it is a repeat of past bad behavior.

I love this blog....I had an out of town agent list a property here and said it had a "babbling brook" running through the back yard. It is the town drainage ditch. Either my rose-colored glasses are worn out or some people tell so many lies it is a second language for them. I emailed the agent and told him what it was, he still left it on the description. I showed the property, never did hear that brook babble....

My problem usually is with those who tend to confuse the terms "Updated" and "Remodeled" ... not knowing there actually is a difference. Or that something is "new" ... like 5-years NEW

I don't think these agents realize that they will attract buyers who in the end will not buy the property anyway because it doesn't really offer what they were promised and looking for.

I'd say just bring out the positives of the home but don't make up stories.

I'm not going to add my "experiences" with this type of thing. But I will add that I "used to think that REALTORs were honest people". Needless to say that my opinion of this has changed.

But more importantly, when I first got licensed I couldn't understand why people that I came into contact with when attempting to make a client out of them, whether it was for a listing or a buyer, would treat me like I was a user car salesman.

After being in the business for a few months and seeing the actions and attitudes of many of my colleagues I began to get the picture. The self-righteous indignation and flat out dishonesty made me understand why the public feels about REALTORs the way they do and why they are so skiddish when talking to us.

In my former life in the computer field I can't recall anyone treating me that badly. But then I built computers that worked because I didn't load them down with third party garbage. So my clients were always happy with the performance and quality of the systems I built for them. On the rare occassion that I got a call from a client after building them a system it was usually a "how to" question.

I simply try to look past the "fluff" that agents place in descriptions and do my own research to the best of my ability. Knowing my market is key to that because trust in this industry seems to be somewhat of a rare commodity.

Steve and Sharron,

I agree with everything you have said in your recent post. Maybe it is time we got the MLS committee and Brenda involved in forcing people to either do their job the right way, or just get them out of the business if they cannot act in a professional manner. Keep up the good work !

John

Scott McClain,

I understand your frustration and unfortunately as the REALTORs continue to grow in numbers across the country there is a better chance of seeing more of the same.  However, you can't allow this fact to affect the way you do business and most importantly your attitude.  Your business is yours and their business is theirs.  I leave every customer feeling good about our relationship and that is why they return and send referrals to me.  Ask them about REALTORs and they talk about me.  We can only be responsible for our own actions and the impressions we leave.  This is childs play compared to our elected official's conduct.  A smile is infectious so spread it around.

There is an agent in my area whose descriptions always include at least two "BEUATIFULLY UPDATED" comments.  I learned after showing several of his homes that is not the case.  Should a client of mine want to see one of these, I warned them ahead of time - it lessons the disappointment.

There are just too many examples to cite them all.  The latest one I've run across said "walk to beach."  I knew where the house was located and I was pretty sure they hadn't moved the beach, so I plugged it into driving directions to check the distance.  4.4 miles to the beach.  I know I'm not in the best shape but at 4.4 miles, I'll take the car.  I can just see my clients dragging pails and shovels, blankets and beach toys, while herding two little ones down streets that don't even have sidewalks.  Walk to beach...yeah, right!!!

I couldn't agree more with your analysis.. I find it a dis service to other brokers and agents when listings do not contain correct info.. sometimes a homes appearance will be listed as Diamond or Pristine and you tell this to your buyer and are embrassed when you see the home is only mint or mint + at best ... why don't we use a grading system like  A  B  C  D for appearance .. .  

If only Pinocchio knew that by telling the truth in MLS descriptions the listing would actually sell faster.  If you want to attract the "handyman/handywoman" types, then let agents/consumers know the place needs work, be specific.  If the place is truly a "cream puff" then you will attract those that really don't want to roll up there sleeves.  

Car salespeople are very smart people.  Their motto "there's an @ss for every seat".  What they mean is they have to find the right seat, for the right @ss.  So agents need to write correct descriptions or they just might find themselves to be the @ss those car salespeople are looking for.

Hi Sharron, Yep, run into this all the time, but good agents preview so we don't have to find out with clients in the car! So at least you find out before you have to waste their time too! I had one lady that got so upset about a listing we went to see that was advertised in MLS as "fast moving creekfront" and the creekfront ended up being way down over the hill, across an old logging road and you couldn't even hear it when we found it! She wanted to call that listing agent up and give her a piece of her mind!!! I think there is a little "policeman" icon to report this to the Board when you are in the MLS in the table format. It really does waste time when you view a Pinocchio Listing!

Sounds like puffing to me, I would report the repeat offenders to the MLS. There is fines for these types of actions, exspecialy if it is an on going problem with a particular agent. I say agent, because there is a difference between a real estate agent & Realtor(TM).

I find it amazing how some agents list properties in MLS. You would think the sellers would ask to view it.

My favorite is this home will not last long", or will sell quick and it has been in MLS for 172 days. You would think they would at least update their copy once in a while.

I too sell at the lake, and have the same issues with the lake views. And like many of you I normally go preiview  before the clients arrive.