Top 3 Deadly Sins of Real Estate

11 Responses to “Top 3 Deadly Sins of Real Estate”

1. Ray 21. Aug, 2008 at 4:24 pm #

   Interesting. How about hiring a realtor that knows how to prepare proper descriptions of your house? Look on MLS and you’ll see idiots USING ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU WANT TO BUY THIS HOUSE. Or using ~~~~I don’t know ~~~WTF~~~this is supposed ~~~to~~do ~~~ but ~~buy ~~me!

   And lastly, how about having an honest description of the house? Virtually everyone listing says “luxury” this, “top of the line” that, “shows 10/10″, etc. The reality is that these units are buy & flip specials purchased at the peak of the boom with the cheapest vinyl flooring, $2000 builder-spec (i.e. bottom of the line) 5-piece appliance sets, etc.

   How about a description like: “This is your run of the mill cookie cutter house built by Jayman for a speculator. There are no upgrades. Be just like the 2000 other people in this neighborhood and live in this average house in an average neighborhood.”

   After looking at a whole bunch of BS listings, the words “luxury, top of the line”, etc mean nothing. Since when were Park Place condos ever luxury units? Give us some honest descriptions!
2. sabb 22. Aug, 2008 at 6:38 am #

   LOL Ray, I like your generic description, although that would probably turn more people off. I’ve often wondered if there is a class taught on how to write a description (being concise, accurate, proper use of words) for a house/condo and would encompasses some suggestions on how not to write.

   There are some good descriptions on a few properties, but given the digital age we live in, I feel many realtors (the ones writing the descriptions) are so far out of touch on netiquette, they actually start turning people off.

   Take for example RFC 1855: Netiquette Guidelines (http://www.dtcc.edu/cs/rfc1855.html)

   This should be what is followed, prevents the look of hesitation or uncertainty with Rays example of the tildies, also all caps indicates shouting/yelling. Have also seen poor use of emphysis where an appliance is emphasized and then 2 sentences later they say new roof. To me the roof is a bigger item then say a $400 washer.

   I know in reality the person writing the description may feel it makes it easier to read, or makes it look unique, and I’m sure it does to people at 45+, but to the newer generation, it just looks like someone had a heart attack at the keyboard or they’re angry/desperate about the property they’re describing.
3. Rhettro 22. Aug, 2008 at 7:47 am #

   It is like an advertizement for McDonald’s – Have you ever had a burger that looked JUST LIKE the one in the commercial?

   I haven’t eaten there in 3-4 years but I don’t think it has changed….

   Marketing kids – it is called marketing.
4. Bigern 22. Aug, 2008 at 8:52 am #

   Oh yes, the classic write ups. One of my favorite one liners is “This property includes an unspoiled basement awaiting your finishing touches!” As if it’s a bonus to have an unfinished basement. I guess finished basements would have to be referred to as spoiled. I bet realtors copy and paste their most creative lines to better serve multiple listings.
   Hands down the best line I ever heard in a listing was from a Lethbridge real estate magazine I was reading last December. It read: “My clients wish to honour Jesus this Christmas by offering you an incredible deal on this beautiful bungalow.”
5. mdm 22. Aug, 2008 at 10:03 am #

   Bigern,
   let’s face it: Many developed basements are actually spoiled
6. Bigern 22. Aug, 2008 at 1:05 pm #

   Roger that mdm. Of course they are described as bright and functional in the listings though.
7. John 22. Aug, 2008 at 2:37 pm #

   Hey Sheldon,

   You are still going to be doing the weekly stats aren’t you? I thought I heard you say in your piece you were stopping
8. E-Town 23. Aug, 2008 at 9:00 am #

   Here’s some more sins:

   - Buy more house that you can afford and make the necessary “sacrifices” to get it: like putting groceries and gas on your credit cards like so many of our house poor 0/40 friends are doing

   - Buy a $300K house instead of the $325K house and spend $50K and three years of breathing drywall dust to make it look… as good as the $325K house did in the first place.

   - Take advantage of the new “value” hidden in your Edmonton home that you bought in 2006, and head down to Scotia Bank for a home equity line of credit and spend all that equity on stainless steel appliances, flatscreen TVs, luxury SUVs or any other “keep up with the Jonses” luxury items you don’t need.

   - Try and sell the gas guzzling SUV you bought with your HELOC when the price of gas hits $1.50 a litre.

   - Try and sell your run down Millwoods bungalow for $400K because it peaked at $450K so you can spend the $400K on a brand new house, while hoping prospective buyers won’t figure out how smart you are… and just buy the new house for themselves.

   - Brag to your friends about the equity you’ve built in your home in the last 12 months in E-town, just failing to mention of course that it happens to be NEGATIVE. (Don’t panic – this new “negative equity” is still equity… it’s just… negative. And you’re in it for the LONG HAUL remember… 40 years that is.)

   - Buy your first home in Edmonton before the next oil boom-bust cycle is done and over with.

   - Try and figure out where the next “Edmonton” and “Saskatoon” is going to be for the next big speculation-driven price run. Like the rest of the Joe Sixpack amateur investors that got in at the peak long after the RE agents were done, and are now carrying TWO homes nobody wants…

   - Con your ageing parents into calling the number on the screen of that “CHIP home income plan” so you can get into your first home, while putting your folks at risk of being homeless.

   - Tell people now is a good time to buy a home in Alberta when oil prices are starting to waver, interest rates could climb at any minute (causing a flood of 0/40 foreclosures to hit the market), China’s oil consumption was likely overestimated, non-OPEC oil producers have massive surplusses, Canada’s Federal government is toying with another 80′s style energy policy, while talking about Alberta’s new non-existent diversification that has somehow “bust-proofed” a Province with all of it’s chips on the Oil table

   - Employers who complain they “just can’t find workers”… who are willing to come to E-town for todays living costs and yesterdays wages and be “house poor” for the next 35 years.

   Anyone else know any good sins?
9. Ray 25. Aug, 2008 at 9:30 am #

   Well Rhettro, I don’t know about you, but my burgers don’t cost anything close to 3.3x my annual income.

   I have absolutely no expectation of anything that costs less than an hour’s wage that it’ll look anything like advertised. Anything that costs more than a days wage, I would absolutely expect to look as pictured. Would you pay $2000 for a week-long cruise where the commercial advertised a huge cruise ship but you actually spend a week on a Zodiac? That would sink a company pretty quick.

   E-town, the other sin is to listen and do stuff you read on the internet without doing your own research. That doesn’t happen much does it?
10. Rhettro 25. Aug, 2008 at 10:43 am #

    Hey Ray,

    Fair comment – the point I was making is that it is a realtor’s job to bring out the “full potential” of a place and describe as best as possible.

    Fortunately, we can analyze the pictures that follow these ‘colorful’ descriptions and realize the truth before spending said income – something that was not possible in pre-internet days!
11. E-town 25. Aug, 2008 at 2:24 pm #

    Hi Ray:

    That was just some sardonic comedy for my fellow blog watchers. Most people with good financial sense would not commmit ‘sins’ like that! Then again, I’ve met a few massively HELOC’d people who stare right through you when you suggest they’re playing a dangerous game. Some folks are just WAY too comfortable with “modern day” credit products if you ask me.

    I’d like to think I have done MY homework. My feeling is that there are different market “regions” being listed right now which accounts for the co-existence of high inventory with steady sales:

    1) Starter properties in the $275 to 325 range that have quite a number of “down sides” to them
    2) Properties that have fewer downsides in the $325 to $375 range
    3) Properties in the $375 to 425 range that are in good areas with few or no major downsides
    4) Properties at either extreme (junkers and mansions)

    2nd time buyers are getting into the 2nd or 3rd category. Prices are high, but their own equity jumped as well, so they are able to afford the “move up” they want or need. I believe this group is responsible for the steady sales numbers Sheldon has been reporting.

    1st time buyers are looking at 2nd category homes only to find out they can only qualify for entry level properties. They are now taking advantage of the slower market to pick through the homes that have the best value. The homes with the fewest “killer flaws” are selling, but as the number of flaws goes up, the longer the homes take to go. At the bottom of the barrel, you have a “seller in denial” combined with a home that has far too many “fatal flaws” for the asking price.

    I believe these two totally different market segments (and totally different demographic of buyer) is why there are steady sales figures at the same time there are so many homes that just won’t sell and keep expiring.

    It’s obvious that people who are living in starter homes are more likely to “take the equity and run” and jump into the next level, while speculators that got in late and are looking at losing money are fighting hard to keep the price up.

    Buyers are fighting back and walking away from homes that have too many flaws for the price, thinking they can either get more for their money elsewhere, or watch the “fixer upper” inventment property fall further in price. This part of the market represents the high inventories and homes that keep expiring.

    One thing is for certain, I think we are seeing far less activity with investment buyers, where the vast majority of buyers are looking to live in what they are buying (at all levels of the market).

    That is E-town’s armchair quarterback version of the real estate market! I could be way off.

    Cheers,
    E-town