The wild, wild west was by all means an era where all was rugged with cowboys and Indians, pioneers and outlaws, gunslingers and LOTS of history. The west has been ‘tamed' and we know from history books and movies that it was surely a memorable time of a land to be conquered.
After reading a local Honolulu news article about how we advertise on the web it came to mind that it's getting harder and harder to compete against the mindset of those that believe it's a ‘world' of buyer/seller beware syndrome. A so called ‘untamed' part of the real estate industry where the true professionals are still fighting to overcome the bad publicity from the untamed.
There are good and bad in all walks of life so the assumption that all in one class are ‘bad' is by all means...incorrect. Read on......
We all can talk write about everything ethical, logical and fact; although it would be more realistic to say, "Actions speak louder than words". The majority of Real Estate Industry Professionals will do the right thing and advertise honestly about their expertise, knowledge and specialties in their niche market. Others will talk a bunch of bull hockey to ‘trap' the potential client into believing they are the real deal.
I don't blame many for taking that mindset (of buyer/seller beware) after many a client was burned with "little white lies" while reading on this vast library of information on the world wide web about a property or the person. I mean, come on now........
When the ‘truth' is stretched to say that they have luxury homes for sale in Hawaii.....
with a zip code in Missouri is where we all draw the line.
It should be the same for ANYONE in the real estate industry. Why advertise false information about what they are the experts or specialists in. The consumer can see right through it when they can't answer correctly or answer blindly. To misinform others for the sake of "looking like a know it all" is more damaging when they find out the truth.
Ask your Realtor®, loan officer, lender, stager, home inspector and anyone in the industry MANY questions. Don't just believe everything you read in an ad or on the internet. Buying or Selling a Home is one of the most important decisions you will make in your lifetime and having a REAL professional to represent you is the most important part of that process.
Many real estate professionals are tamed in the wild, wild web.
Make sure you have one of those professionals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman is a Realtor-Associate with Century 21 Liberty Homes in Mililani, Hawaii. With a sharp understanding that a listening ear is the key to a client's needs, she serves the island of Oahu (Honolulu County) and all Hawaii Military Relocating to Hawaii, Hawaii Retirees, Hawaii Job Transfers and Hawaii Residents.
Website: www.hawaiihomesmarket.com
It's a little like those dating services. You have to be very careful because much of the time the photos are old people are no where near how they describe themselves. And, some are even married. So, in this case it is buyer (and seller) beware.
Sally, you reminded me of something I ran across one time. Someone was posting listings that weren't theirs. I was not amused, and always make sure I am very careful with the reblog option or reading my google alerts. Although it may give the house more exposure, I for one didn't like it. Always be careful, very good advice.
Sally...
I guess there is a difference between puffery and flat out lying. We all want to embellish our accomplishments to some extent. If we didn't, the plaque makers would be put of business.
Sally- We have a listing here on the east coast of south Florida. Some of those scraper sites have picked up that listing but somehow google maps listed it as a property in Naples FLorida, west coast. There is nothing we can do about it and it is not worth my time either to go finding out who picked it up and syndicated it - it appears to be an issue with google maps and google base. So we just tell folks when they call the truth, the property is not in Naples.
Aloha Sally,
Hum...I'm a little perplexedat your post? Are you speaking of virtual real estate? Or, someone (you feel) who is deliberately trying to mis-lead consumers?
Please don't get me wrong here, I've got my fair share of those who s-t-r-e-t-c-h the truth myself, especially online. I see those who have a significant Internet image, yet zero to back it up.
Hi Sally... anyone who conducts themselves and their business with etics, integrity and honesty will never mind a consumer asking the "tough" questions... and if they balk at answering them, then my advice to a consumer would be to move on to the next person on their list.
Lynda: Both! The web is a vast "newspaper" of information. I read something in our local news about a company on the web that allows listings...a real estate investment firm was listing luxury properties in Hawaii with a different state zip code. Obviously the site closed that firms' account when they were contacted about why they didn't have rules etc.
Bottom line ...we have our website 'rules' and our COE.....so why is the web 'fair play' for snakes?
Katerina: What I'm talking about is a far cry from that. It's all about ethics and being up front with the consumer...on the web. When they finally pick up that phone ....are they going to hear the truth or continued bs?
Steve: I agree. It's sad that we ...who are conducting our business with integrity have to 'fight' for our place on the web....as professionals.
Richard: Of course we advertise ourselves....through our websites, blogs etc....but the puffery with a bunch of b.s. does not cut it. As I said...bad and good in all walks of life :)
Andrea: All I can say is that I can't stand when a consumer calls and starts talking about how "all of us agents". We are individuals and each of us has our place/status in the industry.
Gary: I'm talking about buyer beware because they believe we're to be classified ...all alike.
Jane: That's quite a comparison...but nonetheless the truth...maybe I'll tell you the story of my aunt....
Hi Sally...Great Post, The Buyers are...will we'll leave that, comes from they really are not knowing what they really want to Buy. Staggers and home decorators have helped many Buyers act, along with motivated Sellers with good house pricing..as for people making misleading statement, they are committing fraud, not the same league as Buyers not really knowing what they want :O))
Cheers,
Sally - oddly enough when we started our sites 9 years ago we used to get a lot of requests for properties in Uxbridge in the US and the UK.
Just today we recieved one from Wales (UK) even though we added "Ontario" to several places on our sites years ago.
Do tell.
It is interesting how we embellish on our accomplishments. Some folks stretch the truth like a rubber band...
Helping you help others live their American dream...
Michael: Rubberbands indeed!
Jane: Hold on...a story is coming lol
Kathy: But the point is that some are listing properties with bogus addresses.
Fred: Of course they're two different things...I'm talking about advertising on the web....with false info.
Sally, some of the negative has died down on the Loan Orignation side of the business, but now it is the Loan Modifications that are taking a big hit.
Sally - it is indeed amazing and sometimes sad how people present themselves over the internet - kind of like a dating service - you never know what you are getting -
Sally, You make great points. Consumers are very savy and expect honesty.
Steve