Fluffing, decreases home values

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Why are real estate agents among the top 10 most hated professions? Why is “fluffing” a property ok, but “lying” about a property is an ethics violation… and more importantly, where is the line. We’ve seen 1 bedroom homes “fluffed” into 4 bedrooms, and 0 bath homes “fluffed” into 1 bath homes - BY BROKERS?! Where is the standard?

Most home buyers have encountered a “lying listing” — the house for sale that doesn’t even remotely resemble its colorful description in the Multiple Listing Service or classified ad. Jon Boyd, past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, joined forces with NAEBA members worldwide to compile a translation guide of listing agent euphemisms.

They include:

  • Grandma’s house: Realtors interpret this to mean a) the house hasn’t been updated since Grandma moved in or b) it still smells like Grandma.

  • Great potential: The operative word here is “potential.” The “potential” in one case pointed to the fact that there was a large crack through the center of the foundation caused by an earthquake.

  • Light and bright: Bring your sunglasses because everything in this baby will be white: walls, cabinets, tile. Where have you seen this before? Oh yeah, the hospital.

  • Meticulously maintained: It could mean the owners never bothered to update the property. Maintenance is admirable for plumbing and HVAC, not so much for cabinets, carpets and windows.

  • Mile to the beach as the seagull flies: And you’ll wish you had wings. Those straight-line calculations can mean some pesky traffic lies between you and the lifeguard shack.

  • Needs TLC: You may freely substitute “OMG” for “TLC” here. Boyd says the phrase “TLC” often means the house has been abused and requires more than mere redecorating. “The average home buyer who sees HGTV a couple times before they go looking is not sensitive to that,” he says.

  • Newer furnace and AC: “Newer” has a certain “truthiness” to it. In one case, both units were 25 years old. When the listing agent was asked why she made such an audacious claim, she replied, “Because each one of them had received a new part within the last year.”

  • Retro decor: It’s ’60s flashback time. Can you dig the original paisley vinyl floors and avocado appliances, man? Groovy!

  • This house just had a total facelift: Loosely translated, it means the seller painted everything. But paint, like a facelift, can only hide so much.

  • This house will go fast: Might have been believable in the first 30 days on the market, but not anymore. One home with this description had been on the market 247 days.

  • Turnkey: Meaning they don’t want to have to haul away all that orange-and-brown-plaid-polyester-covered furniture.

  • Very bright, sunny home: Often true because there’s not a tree in sight.

  • Water view: Of course, you’ll need to stand on the upper deck railing and crane your neck. With binoculars. On an extremely clear day.

But to the original claim that fluffing decreases home values, lets explore how. Lets say we have a home that will need extensive renovation, and is beyond a “handy man’s” skills. What happens if we “Fluff” the property to a home with great “potential?”

  1. We list the home, include pictures of all of the home’s positive qualities (lots of exterior pictures of the lot, what little interior pictures we can manage). The seller needs an amount higher than the market value, so we attempt to push the upper end of the limit.

  2. Due to the listing, investors pass over the property because it is out of the lower price range that they need in order to make profit. The buyers who do see the property, and visit, quickly realize that the listing sheet is a lie. They leave, justifiably frustrated, asking “What idiot listed that house?!”

  3. The property sits, the price decreases, until it finally gets to the level that an investor will consider. However, by this point, an informed investor looks at the long marketing time and makes a lower than typical offer.

Agents, your job is to present your properties in the best light possible - that doesn’t mean to turn off all the lights and keep people in the dark.

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