Inspired Real Estate For Today

I also think the "million dollar club" or the Multi-million, etc...at this point who isnt in the club. Does it really have tell prospective clients anything

Hi Lola,

IMHO, super agents of the 90's= Ego Agents.

Lolo, my all time most successful ad started with a heading, "Abominable Condition".  It drew a mob and a really nasty listing got a bidding war.  Go figure!

Lola - I have a spaciously immense comment, that is truly super & fantastic.  I don't remember it.  When I do, I'll come back under the mantra, "Back Condition....Why Am I Carrying Your Weight?" 

Good post. People want to hear what you can do for them rather than which club you belong to.

Lola,

There is no doubt in my mind at all that credibility has been eroded by consumers realizing the absurdity of some ads...and the ridiculous ads are cumulative...they seem to feed and grow on one another!!! Thanks,   Fran

Lola, good topic.  Everyone tries to present things in the best light possible, but there is a big difference between using favorable words to accurately describe something, and "Puffery" which describes something in a manor to deceive.

There isn't anything much more salesmanly than puffery. All the more reason to avoid using it. Although, that pretty piece of pastry looks mighty tempting.

Rob, Multi-million dollar clubs reveal very little. They may not reflect current activity either.  I've never seen a business card that said, I sold exactly XYZ in X days and X number did not sell etc.  This is what we require of the mortgage industry isn't it?

I'm glad you added IMHO Lynda. :)  I tend to agree.

Patricia...LOL...that's amazing.  So much for truth in advertising!  I'm sure your clients were happy about the results...did you have any opposition with telling the stark truth in the manner that you did?

Jason...too incredibly, outrageously, amazingly funny.  Your profound and albeit, most extraordinary comment was  unfortunately cut short by a sudden release of hot air. :)

Gita...I don't think the average person cares or remembers what club you belong to.  The only sale that matters to them is the one you're doing for them at the moment.  That is the measure of success that the client uses.

Fran, thanks for sharing your insights.  I also think that there has been a cross over effect.  Not only are consumers increasingly wary of what is said about advertising and our services, but I think there has also been a carry over into what they think about WHAT WE SAY about the state of the current market. 

Lola

Great post, I am starting to like reading your various posts. I find them interesting. Everyone uses puffery, ever hear of Genuine Imitation Leather?

George, you're right that there can be a fine line between trying to be complimentary and being deceptive.  My concern is that we rarely wrestle with the definition of what that fine line is anymore.  We have come to accept Puffery as a norm in our industry.

Rosario...cream puffs are one of my favorite desserts.  However, a steady diet of them would be very inflationary for the figure...a little like what is transpiring perhaps with our tendency to puff....

Gary...you're right in observing that puffery is used in many places...the television media would have much less material for it's expose pieces were this not the case.  At least Genuine Imitation Leather is an indication that the product is a Genuine Fake...something which is less readily discerned when advertising real estate products or services.

Lola...

Puffery? Lord I wish I had thought of that one :)

I never got past that when reading the post.

What was the post about? LOL.

TLW...ROAR! 

You hadn't heard of that one before...It does sound like a term just made for a TLW post...Take it and run with it!  You gave me a very good laugh this evening.  And...the cream puff picture is just diversion...pure diversion not to be confused in the slightest degree with the content of this post. :)

Lola- OK, so if we write our ads more like Patricia think we'll get a better reputation, and more sales LOL :)  I don't know how many listings we might lose though as some sellers believe the condition of their house is different than what we think.  I never could get into all that "puffery stuff" the best I can do is "lovely."....and only because I find that word hilarious :)

Working with mostly buyers I couldn't agree with you more.  Glad Jason brought up your post, since I missed it the first time.

Kathy...lovely is a vaguely descriptive word...I think "interesting" is another such term.:)  You're right about differences in perception ...one man's perception of a place as a "dump" might inadvertently end up dissing another man's "castle."  Interesting ...

Karen, Thanks for stopping by to read and comment.

Hi Lola-Yes we sat with a FREC, Florida Real Estate Commission Attorney and current buyers who are wanting to sue...are looking for these types of situations more along the lines of Great Investment Property, Awesome Rental Income...I could go on and on.  Congrats your post was selected for Blogger's Choice Selections.

I think the creative license that many people rely on is perception--what's beautiful to one is hideous to another.  You pose a thought-provoking point though.  I once did a focus group on the perception of Realtors in the Philadelphia, PA area and found that many consumers here are actually peeved by the use of headshots in advertising.  (Several participants said the practice is narcissistic and one person even said these ads remind her of "ambulance-chasing" lawyers.)   Although the impact of ad copy didn't come up, I was surprised to learn how subtle, common advertising practices within the industry could cause a negative perception.

Great post!

Great topic- excellent observations.  You skillfully manage to tingle our tastebuds while pointing out that the fat in advertising is an unneccesary evil.  Good Job Lola!  Congrats on a delicious gold star!

I guess that destroys my new marketing campaign... I've sold 100% of my inventory!

I'm a fairly new agent, and with having only listed 5 houses, this statement is true.

Lola...

I just popped in to let you know that I wrote "Puffery" down in my Blogging Ideas Doc :)

I will email you if I ever find a way to turn that into a Blog :)

I will also make sure you get some link love out of it :) 

If you're going to inspire me there should at least be some love there :) 

TLW...ROAR!

Hi Midori, Although Puffery is technically "protected" in a sense, it's ultimately not a good practise with regards to building a solid reputation of professionalism. 

Sheba...you're right that perception does differ from person to person.  Recently our real estate board posted guidelines to help real estate agents to understand what the expectations were for different levels of rating, AAA vs AAAA for instance.  Puffery is defined in more exaggerated terms and borders on a description which is "excusable" because it is so outrageous that it is not likely to be believed by the average person. 

Thanks for the comment & visit Allison.

JoEllen...:)  At least you're telling the truth albiet in a limited context.  A lot of times Puffery is simply a puffed up lie!

TLW...Link Love is always appreciated! :)  If you ever write that blog, you know I'll want to read it.  The posssibilites of what you may come up with are already making me smile in anticipation...

Lola, you are so right. If agents will take out all puffery in their listings and advertising, they might have space to tell more about the property.

I have to say that I am even disappointed when I read an MLS sheet and then actually see the property for what it is.  I try to preview everything first before bringing my clients to be sure we don't find any surprises!

What gets me is when the listing agent advertises short sale and it's not. I see a lot of houses that claim to be in a great neighborhood and are not. I have seen more deceptive advertising in the last month than the last place I bought a used car. Do these agents know that the next time I come across one of their listings I may just look past it? Do they realize I'm going to add addendums for my clients protection above and beyond? Do they realize they are just working themselves right out of the business?

There is a listing...still listed right now....that says "lake front property." I have shown this property before. The LAKE is what we country girls and boys like to call a Tank or Tanque. A tank is a hole that is dug and it fills with rain water. It usually is green with lilly pads and other plants growing on it. It's usually under 1 acre in size. You typically find them on farms and ranches to water cattle. This one was not the exception. It was ugly. The only thing growing in it is mosquitoes. It was not lake front property. The "house" was so run down I'd rather live in a cardboard box. At least a box would start out mold free. Duct tape was being used to hold many parts of the "house" together.

This listing is listed with my broker I am ashamed to say. I can't believe he is letting the other agent list it like this. When I am on floor duty and I get calls on this house....I tell them like it is. I tell them because I don't believe in lieing. It may get me into trouble but I won't be accused of lieing.

 

Karen...novel thought....:)

Nice blog great info!

Staci...with photo editing, it's becoming even more challenging.  Not only are words used to create less than accurate pictures...the pictures themselves can be digitally  enhanced.

Jeff...I'm really perplexed about why a listing agent would want to advertise a property as a Short Sale when it wasn't??? Short Sales are a challenge to negotiate.  Disclosure is the key with a short sale...no manipulation needed.

Cheri...Thank you for your honesty.  We can't control what others do, we can only look at ourselves and seek to do what is right...being willing to change when we are corrected. 

Thanks for stopping by to read and comment Scott.

One of my favorite MLS listings started out something like this:  "Seriously - this house is not for the faint of heart.  At this price, you have to realize the condition is horrible!"   I had to write the agent and tell her that while i didn't have anyone interested in her property, I loved her description that was frank and honest.  She wrote back and said "I don't feel like wasting anyone's time, mine, yours, or your buyers."

Time and time again I've been fooled by descriptions (my least favorite is Seasonal Lakeview.)  Okay, right - you have to stand on your tippy toes, with binoculars, and crane your neck and maybe, if there's no snow on the trees, you can glimpse the water that's nearly a mile away.  Right!

It makes it hard for buyers to actually believe you when you say that all your listing needs is a fresh coat of paint inside - I've seen that description used on homes that need to be gutted!  There was another one that said "All this home needs are a few finishing touches..."

So I called the agent to discover it needed a new SEPTIC SYSTEM! Oh yeah...a "finishing touch" to the tune of $30,000????? 

Hi Lola, Years ago I had an ad writing book, who knows where it went, I think someone borrowed it and nevrer returned it.  But one of my favorite ads was " Enough room for everyone and a mean mother in law!"  I got so many phone calls for that.  People laughed. I like Patricia's comment and getting a bidding war going, go figure?