There are certain things about real estate that drive me absolutely bonkers.
Bad data in the listing is way up that list.
In just the past couple of days, we’ve shown two houses that clearly stated in the MLS listing that the “refrigerator conveys”. What this means is that the refrigerator will stay in the home and transfer to the new owner when the home is sold (typically refrigerators, which are not fixtures, do not convey).
OK, so the listing says the fridge conveys, what’s the problem?
The problem is, there was no refrigerator in either house.
Why then, would the listing agent say the non-existent appliance conveys?
I honestly have no idea.
Then there is the listing that mentioned the tile in the hallway. You know, the hallway that is carpeted.
And in what may be the most egregious error we’ve seen in the past few days comes this gem…
In the listing remarks for a home built in 1977, it stated that a somewhat notable architect had built the home. The problem is, said notable architect died in 1951 – some 26 years before he supposedly built the home.
Good grief.
What is one to do?
About all a buyer can do is verify everything. Sadly, it’s not safe to assume anything in the listing is correct. Missing refrigerators, dead architects, wrong square footage, the wrong address, the wrong price. You name it, and it has been done. Verify everything.
Seller’s should check their listings for accuracy. Ask your agent for a printout of what is actually in the MLS. Insist that inaccuracies be corrected swiftly.
Agents, triple check your data entry and brokers should do the same. The age-old, “Oh my transaction coordinator/assistant/trainee did that” is about the lamest excuse out there. Be smart, be responsible, do your job.
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We have seen the same thing. The biggest item we see are directions that are not even close to correct. However, the good agent do normally get the information correct. But I would still double check anything that was important.
Love it. It seems like there is a greater amount of this going on now and I don’t know if that is because of the foreclosures and a sense that the Realtor is not spending any time in the property.
I posted about one recently where the Realtor called the home move-in ready but even in the photos you could see heavy urine stains throughout the carpet. Of course, maybe the Realtor was talking about it being move-in ready for untrained pets.
Great post. If we want this industry to reach a higher level of professionalism, it’s this kind of thing that needs to be called out.
David Lorti
**Chandler Real Estate´s last blog post..Phoenix Short Sales – Why Aren’t You Getting Feedback?
Yep. It’s a damn shame that more of our peers don’t recognize the value of quality data – it’s amazing how little many Realtors value the MLS.
I’m still calling (quietly) for some system by which one could alert sellers to inaccuracies in their listings …
Great point! Our MLS here in Portland just recently added some fields for “Green Home” specifications (LEED Cert, Green roof, Sustainable Hardwood, Rainwater harvesting, and other features of that nature). Unfortunately a lot of agents are filling in bull crap “green” features for homes that have nothing of the sort. Come on man, don’t lie to try to sell a home.
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Great post, It frustrates everyone when people intentionally fudge-up information on the MLS. However, unintentional mess-ups irk me as well. For instance, what is a “walking closet”? And how can a balcony be described as expanding? That would be one surreal place. Great Post
One of the worst examples of this is when a family has young children and they require 4 bedrooms on the main level do you go to see this nice home that fits the bill seemingly and when you get there it is actually a 3+1 bedroom and they really can’t put their young 5 year old son in the basement by himself so it was a complete waste of time! I LOVE CORRECT MLS DATA!
Recently when I said in a blog post that the listing comments in the MLS, in my opinion did not match the agents description of the property I was slammed by another agent. Yes another agent took offense to my opinion. The suggestion was that by publically disagreeing with an agent description of the property that I had violated Article 15.2 of the Code of Ethics.
Please lets just always agree that the listing agent is 100% correct and keep our opinions of what constitues move in ready, green or whatever to ourselves. It is much easier for us to waste our time showing our clients homes that don’t match their needs than it is for the listing agent to be spot on with their description.
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When I bought two years ago I was constantly asking my agent why the things that I was seeing at the house didn’t match up with the listing details. Eventually I started eliminating properties that didn’t match up with their descriptions — if the listing can’t get it right, how do I know the other party will be truthful in ANY of their dealings with me?
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AMEN. There is nothing that can turn a buyer off more quickly than misinformation on the MLS. It looks slopy, seems shady (beacause really, if that is wrong, what else is wrong in the listing?), and honestly, with all the choices homeowners have on the market right now, they don’t need to put up with looking at a home that was listed to have a fridge, but instead doesn’t.
There is nothing more frustrating for a home buyer and a buyers agent than walking into a home excited to see one thing, and then being confronted with another-like a carpeted entry vs. a tiled one! I shake my head at the agents that allow such drastic mistakes to happen.
Amazing. I can’t belive some of the things that are listined incorrectly in the MLS-houses listed with decks that don’t have decks…blows my mind how agents let this happen. I think Jim Duncan has the right idea; we need a way to let people know their home is listed incorrectly.
That is great advice to verify everything on a MLS listing. You can never count on all the information being correct. Another thing that bugs me is when data is not field in. I wonder if these buyers know how their home is being listed.
Start telling the listing agents about it. The worst is when they say don’t call if the listing is showing active, it’s active. I sometimes would not call for status and show only to find out the property went pending two days ago. I have been holding agents accountable especially the large REO agents that are impossible to reach and are rude about everything. They somehow make you feel like they are doing you a favor just by calling you back. You have to text them or email for availability and lockbox codes. When the transaction goes to escrow you can never reach them. The only way this changes is to speak to them or the broker. Be heard, be loud and stop rewarding bad behavior.
I had to come back to this post given the comment by Bill Iannelli.
Bill-
Thanks for that post. I am finding that some of the REO Realtors treat their colleagues very poorly as well – anything goes no matter how that impacts the other side or how it reflects on our industry.
I have one deal going on right now where I represent the buyer and the level of shenanigans by the listing agent’s office will sit with me a long time.
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I would agree that all of the errors present in listings are frustrating. There also seems to be a “window” of potential liability. If an agent brings a buyer (ready, willing and able) to a property that has error(s) in the listing that damages the viability of the transaction; wouldn’t it be correct that a claim for commission due could present itself.?! Agents should check and double check not only for accuracy but for professionalism…
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Also a very good and funny post. My MLS error of the day was a home I showed this morning. Client remarks state that the home is spotlessly clean and there is even a note on the door to please remove shoes. Walk in to the formal living room and there is cat poop in two different places. Cat litter box in kitchen?? and it was full!!
Years ago I learned the value of sending the MLS sheet to my sellers for proofing. It was very late at night when I entered the data. Then I emailed it to my sellers who caught my late night typing error. Had he not found the error, buyers may have thought they would be getting a “large panty” in the kitchen rather than the pantry that was acutally there.
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I do the same, send the MLS sheet to the seller for final approval & to be sure I got everything right. Having the right info available is extremely important, I just read in Texas Realtors magazine a case study where an agent was sued for having the wrong square footage in the MLS. Be careful agents & be thorough, it is our job!
Haha, you gotta love it. The best way to make sure to avoid that is to just send the MLS sheet to the homeowners, make sure they agree with everything, and then post it for everyone. And for anyone out there with interns-you are supposed to check behind them, or have others do it, because they are INTERNS. They are learning. So don’t lose a potential buyer by having the wrong info printed when a simple spot check with the seller can fix it.
You gotta love it; I just shake my head at all of that. Perhaps some of these realtors that don’t seem to care about their jobs and do such slopy work will finally close shop now that the times are tough, making it TONS easier on the rest of us that really care about giving great customer service to our buyers AND sellers.
It’s amazing the things some agents get away with. As with everything you have to double check what your assistants, interns are doing. Hopefully they get the message.
Southlake Real Estate
Again rippng my hair out…along with banging my head against the fridge. Oh wait, fridge coming with the house is gone….banging my head on the door instead…if it is actually there.
Is there some sort of way for consumers to complain about this sort of behavior, perhaps a regulatory agency?
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This is a very nice and informative post. I think its the buyer’s responsibility to verify the authenticity of a real estate property that he/she intends to buy. One should do a lot of research before making any final decision.
Regards, Shane, Guy into real estate in panama