Fun with the MLS

"MLS BLOOPERS"

"Freshly stained bathroom."

"Will smell fast."



We’ve all seen these kind of typos – or unintended messages – in MLS ads. Lisa Loper, a Sales Associate with RE/MAX Realty Group in Harleysville, Pa., found several MLS entries that will give you a chuckle. Her comical observations are featured in an online article on a local news site.

Here’s an edited excerpt from the article:　

You really have to wonder sometimes what some Realtors are thinking. 

Our MLS has lots of funny bloopers in the descriptions of homes. These mistakes are certainly comical, but no seller really wants their listing to be the object of jokes or ridicule. 


The following are a few examples of what can go wrong with a listing:

Shower with multiple heads (That and "Psycho" will scare me out of the shower)
Heater with new boils (Sounds painful)
Seller is motivated – doesn't like the area (TMI, TMI)
Big lard in back of house (Is that included with the sale?)
Freshly stained bathroom (Will the seller clean that before settlement?)
Large walk in closet and hanging area  (Lethal injection seems more humane)
Big fenced-in yard with kennel and sandbox for the kids (Good for when you can't find a babysitter.)
Large in-ground heated poo. (Sounds like an environmental hazard.)
A sinking living room. (Does that go along with sinking house values?)
Will smell fast! (The Realtor must be stinky too.)
Oak bra with brass accents. (Sounds terribly uncomfortable.)
Good property for investigators. (Why? Are there bodies buried in the yard?)
Owner evacuated - will consider all offers. (Talk about your fire sale.)
Seller will not pay for any introspections. (Gee, and I've been feeling a little conflicted lately.)
This house is a real germ! (Got hand sanitizer?)

The World's Greatest Roller Coaster

The roller coaster of emotions that is the stock market never ceases to amaze me.  Take the last 4 hours the market was open yesterday and the first 4 hours of today and you'll see what I mean.  The major indices were sliding by about 6% yesterday afternoon, only to see a 2% gain this morning.  So tell me, has the value of the companies that make-up our indices changed that drastically in 12 hours?

Of course not, it is simply the emotions of our psyche being tracked and reflected in an index.

Of course, the burning question in the real estate world is what should I do?  Well, for starters;

Don't Jump, Yet!

YouTube Fun

Does Your Broker Get It?

A Home Is A Lousy Investment - could it be that I agree?

There is no disputing Robert Bridges article in the Wall Street Journal is a must read and quite informative.  

Let's expand a bit on some of the concepts and thoughts.  Do we understand there are two totally different processes for buying a home compared to buying property?  When will our yearning for a national real estate index wane and thus Mr. Bridges wish in the final paragraph can begin to come to fruition.  

We need to understand there are real estate investors buying "properties" for a profit and that we are buying "homes" for a future.  The fact this article has to be written speaks to how far things swelled up in the early part of the century.  Real estate investments can be compared to the major indices (think REITS, real estate partnerships, etc); homes cannot and should not be.  That is not the primary reason for them.  You buy a home to build a foundation for you and your family, to squelch your desire to meet new friends and share good times, to make a difference in a local community, and of course to feed your hoarding addiction.  

We are constantly trying to find the index or indices that reflect the appreciation and investment return on our homes from a national perspective.  The problem is, the value of a home is inherently tied to the community in which its concrete is poured.  A home is anything but a national statistic. 

Take for example a local community dependent on tourism or a community dependent on one particular industry?  The idea that we can examine the real estate market nationally lies at the root of the issue of us considering it as a financial investment worthy of being compared to the equity markets.  


Take two towns 90 miles apart from each other.  We'd all agree in today's world, 90 miles is a lot of people's daily commute.  Price a home in New York City and price a home in Philadelphia and you'll see property values 5X's greater in New York City.  That's right 4 bedrooms in Philly $500,000, 4 bedrooms in New York City a cool $3 mil.  That's comparing two major cities just 90 miles from each other.  Now try comparing the local economy of a Santa Barbara, CA to the local economy of a Pittsburgh, PA.  

The point being, there is no magical national index for us to look at and review.  The homes that create the market create the very communities, neighborhoods, and block parties that we are in search of when searching for our perfect nest egg.  Buying a home is a contact sport.  Get out there, get local, and talk to the local experts.  That's how you buy a home and build the foundation for your wealth.  Not by researching graphs, earnings per share, book value, and by simply clicking "confirm trade".

Innovative RE/MAX Technology Delivers - remax.com Connects Over 10 Million Customers to Agents

An overwhelming majority of families start their home search online and they find what they’re looking for on www.remax.com, the number one real estate franchise website. With advanced search properties and complete home listings in thousands of cities and towns, the site also connects homebuyers and sellers with award-winning and experienced RE/MAX agents through the RE/MAX LeadStreet® system. To date, remax.com and Leadstreet have provided more than 10 million unique leads for RE/MAX Associates across the country. And, those agents have helped millions of families buy and sell homes.

“The success of LeadStreet and remax.com is proof of our dedication to customer service and our dedication to our agents,” said Kristi Graning, RE/MAX Senior Vice President of eBusiness and Emerging Technologies. “The fact that RE/MAX agents have received more than 10 million leads, without the referral fee that our competitors typically charge, has brought more experienced real estate professionals to our network. And, those professionals make their customers a priority.”

LeadStreet debuted in 2006 and has sent out an average of 2 million leads a year to RE/MAX agents via email, which means they can receive leads on any computer or mobile device and get back to the customer within minutes.

“Staying on the cutting edge of technology is extremely important. Homebuyers and sellers today expect a quick response and they deserve one,” said Graning. “The combination of LeadStreet and remax.com has helped our agents become the most productive sales force in the industry.”

Two recent respected national surveys show RE/MAX agents continue to outperform their competitors, selling more homes, assisting more families, and leading all other national real estate companies in sales performance.

In the REAL Trends 500 survey, the average RE/MAX agent achieved 14.5 Transaction Sides in 2010, compared with the 6.8 average of all others in the survey. In the 2011 RISMedia Power Broker Report, RE/MAX agents averaged an impressive 14.7 transaction sides, outselling many competitors by more than two-to-one.

Our customer service is the foundation of our culture! How are we doing thus far?

Richard was an amazing agent. He was always available (he even called us while on his vacation) and did a great job explaining complicated manners to us in terms we could understand. Being first time home buyers is obviously an extremely nerve racking concept, but with an agent like Richard I felt as though we had someone with vast knowledge who was both willing and able to guide us. Agent: Richard Strahm

Valerie Carlisle is a superhero. From the beginning of the process, Jon and I both knew that she was the perfect agent for us: kind, patient, great personality, and extremely knowledgeable about the homebuying process. She never led us astray, always made us feel comfortable and informed, and I would recommend her to any of my friends or family looking to buy a home in the Philly area. Agent: Val Carlisle

Our experience with our realtor was exceptional and we knew, as he did, our house would not sell quickly. So, patience was a virtue at that time. Agent: Bob Abbott

Scott was helpful answering questions and providing information after the sale as well as before and we appreciate that. Agent: Scott Loper

Dawn of a New Era?

Did you ever stop to think just how much our industry has changes over the past fifteen years or so?  True, probably a question nearly every industry can ask themselves, but think how much information a consumer has access to in the real estate world today compared to just fifteen or even ten years ago.  What makes this really interesting (well for us real estate geeks anyway), is the majority of Realtor's® started their career when we controlled the information with listing books, map books, etc.  Imagine, the consumer came to us to find out all the information!  We’re talking BZ time (Before Zillow).

Well, obviously times have changed, but what is staggering is the number of Realtors® that have not changed with the times.  This represents an enormous opportunity for those that embrace the change and learn to grow their business (dare we say it).  Consumers can see and feel the different between those that have not only accepted the change and those that have failed to progress.

For starters, when working with your seller’s it is critical to discuss the importance of technology.  Remember, any consumer who has not been in the market to buy or sell over the past fifteen years or so, never really heard the term “buyer agency” and certainly didn’t set-up their own search on a website complete with daily property updates emailed right to them.  Think and discuss with your client what you do to increase page views.  With the quantity and quality of pictures and virtual tours, the first showing actually occurs online.  By the time a buyer walks through the home, they are on their second showing.  Want a shameless plug?  Call us for more ideas to help tweak your listing presentation to stay ahead of the technology!