March 31, 2008
Listings Lingo - a Real Estate Double Dare
Real estate listings are fun to read. The most enjoyable are those that are really well done or really, really bad. I like to look at the pictures and prices, but the words that are used to describe a home can be a kick too.
From time to time we bring you great ideas for writing and developing good listing content. Not today. Today is just a peek at real life listings that are bad, misguided, or unappealing. I don’t have much else to say on the subject. Take a look. These ones speak for themselves.
Too Sparse - “Final sale terms subject to short sale lender approval. Buyers/Agents to verify all b4coe.” I’m serious, that’s all this agent has to say. No pictures either…none!
Too Repetitive - ”location, location, location! Did I mention “location, location, location [?]” French doors to the private front yard…French doors to the private side yard deck…the one car garage has…a French door….There is a French door to a breezy balcony…and an additional French door to the garage….The second bedroom has a French door….” Stamped concrete is mentioned three times and suffice it to say it’s abundantly clear this home is quite “breezy.”
Irrelevant - “Not a short sale or REO.” This house is priced higher than its Zestimate, lower than its eppraisal and is just about on par with its cyberhomes valuation, so why bother stating what it’s not?
Lacking Appeal - “Completely remodeled from the ground up, all new carpeting, paint, lights, bathroom, kitchen with state of the art appliances, new roof, full length covered proch (no, that’s not my typo) off MB with french doors, 200 amp service panel, all new dual paned windows, fully landscaped with sprinkler system, access from street or alley[.]” Ooh…I’ll be right over!
Too Much Crazy Punctuation - $M ~ @the!!@!180*!/ba ftrs>SUPP ,,, !>>!! ~ & ,,, 1/2 & w/ { ),&!!~.w. & ~-[,!], & !! !!~#2w/ w/ &!! !~@*#3:(&) * . *** w/ **,, mls ,,, &’s , ..!! I am not making this up!
SCREAMER - “BACK ON THE MARKET AS 03/30/08///S. W. E. O. BETWEEN $385,000-$425,000//ALL OFFERS WILL BE ENTERTAINED///STEPS FROM THE BEACH///GOURMET KITCHEN WITH GRANITE SLAB///STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES//CUSTOM MADE CABINETRY///CROWN MOLDING////WIRE FOR SURROUND SOUND IN LIVING ROOM///WASHER/DRYER HOOK UPS IN UNIT/////////BRING US AN OFFER//////ALL REASONABLE OFFER WILL BE ENTERTAINED/////BEST DEAL IN OCEAN BEACH////BUYER TO VERIFY ALL INFORMATION BEFORE CLOSE OF ESCROW. PHOTOS ARE FROM MODEL UNIT///MUST USE BUILDER’S CONTRACT///”
Here’s the dare part: Listing agents, up for a good humored challenge? Send us your listings and let us develop some creative content. Bring us your worst, best or just any plain old listing that you’re struggling with. We’ll re-write and post it live for free. The double dare part? Double or nothing says nobody takes us up on this offer!
Recent San Diego Sweet Digs Posts:
Open House Countdown 3-29-2008
High Brow, Low Brow - Ocean Beach
People are Staying Home in Droves!
Toys for Boys (and Grit Iron Girls)
Mayhem, the Market and Messy Monsters (What a Whammy)
Rob said:
It never ceases to amaze me how crappy some listings are.
Here’s a doozie that just hit a couple days ago: http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1596740
Yeah, this agent is so rad that they don’t even have time to run a spell check. Or how about the fact that they lowered the price by $50k in one day. Whoops. Oh yeah, and it’s a “must see”. Especially since there are no pictures.
March 31, 2008 10:20 AM
Max D. said:
Psst! Your typo is “sparce” (should be “sparse”).
April 3, 2008 10:10 AM
Julie Lance said:
Lol… this is funny. These listing agents just crack me up sometimes.
April 3, 2008 4:28 PM
Carol D. Hian, HDFP said:
Hahaha. Good call Max. Fair enough, sparse it is. There goes my career!
April 3, 2008 6:50 PM
ed said:
I believe some folks put not REO/Short-sale for two reasons… to pickup sites that search specifically by those keywords for “deals” and if the homeowner is underwater, an easier/quicker sale versus a short-sale.
April 7, 2008 8:19 AM
Carol said:
Excellent observation, Ed. So saying something is not what it isn’t is an SEO tactic. How does that sit with you? It rubs me the wrong way, much as I appreciate the importance of key words and the like.
April 7, 2008 4:20 PM