One of the things I want to see in this industry is the bar raised. I hope what Zillow is doing now with the lending industry will carry over into the agent’s world. I understand mistakes can happen and do happen, but the ability to minimize the number of mistakes made or how fast you can fix them is paramount in any industry or facet of life…especially ours when we have someone else’s money/house on the line.
I was putting a pricing/marketing report for a client today and I come across a listing that’s only been on the market for 3 days and it already had a price drop. Naturally I was curious to see why the sudden price drop. I find this in the listing history:
Okay, …again …mistakes happen. But this mistake is almost unforgiveable. First, in our MLS system there are two text boxes for you to fill the price in separated by a comma. If the intended price was $599,000, I could fathom someone not noticing the second text box right after the comma (which is pre-populated with 000) …and enter the entire list price in the first box …but that would have resulted in a $599,000,000 list price. No…the only way to get the original list price was to enter the price wrong $59900 , 000. This person obviously needs to go through the MLS training class again.
BUT…that wasn’t the worst offense. As a seller, I could probably forgive my agent for an entry error. Don’t see how it could have happened, but fine…it happened. What is really unforgivable is that it took this agent practically 48 HOURS to correct their mistake. For the first 48 hrs of this listing’s life, it was probably THE most expensive house in our MLS. Do you not look at your own listing after you’ve posted it..even as a cursory check to make sure it actually posted?!
Not to mention this $600K house still has…62 hours later ….zero pictures posted for it.
Good times.
Gary Frimann says:
Good one. You forgot to mention howthat messes up the statistical analysis for anyone who uses a statistical analysis on a listing presentation. If you used Average or Median Listing Price, and then were showing price reductions, your graph would be wrong.
What torques me the most is why some agent from their office did not pick up on this?!? Is it possible that agents from your own office want to see you fail?
How about if they forget a “0” and have a $2.5 million house listed at $250,000. It would be a sure bet the phone would be ringing off the hook… Which is why I feel there are no mistakes. The agent answers, because the public can now view this information, and starts collecting names and phone numbers of active buyers, until (as they explain it) their assistant (which doesn’t exist) changes it. Same trick works with square footage or 4 bedroom instead of 3 bedroom. MLS hygiene is lacking for so many agents, which is why we have rules and can fine them, if your MLS has a strong enforcement team. The MLS is an offer for compensation, not an advertising medium, but this stuff drives me crazy.
March 11, 2008 — 6:49 am
Charleston real estate blog says:
James, it’s all sad but true and it isn’t just the bar for agents that needs to be raised. Why is the seller not interested enough to check on their listing. As to the lack of pictures, I’m sure one day we’ll see the inevitable toilet with the lid up.
March 11, 2008 — 9:33 am
Teri Andrews-Murch says:
James, you have brought up several of my pet peeves, I’ve seen the price issue happen many times. It’s easy to mistakenly tab instead of enter, BUT reviewing a listing after it is posted is very important for that first day exposure. I feel there is no excuse in the digital age for not having photos on day 1 or a lock box at the property for that matter.
I have a few times e-mailed an agent “just want to confirm the (obvious error….)” I would hope someone would let me know, as I am pretty much a one woman show so I have to depend on the kindness of strangers if I miss an error.
Don’t get me started on the agents that don’t set the property pending on ALL the MLS services they have it listed on, invariably that is the one my client finds on Realtor.com and falls in love with
March 11, 2008 — 6:19 pm
Vance Shutes says:
James – you’ve done an excellent job of self-control in this post! Me? I would have lambasted the broker for shoddy oversight. But that’s another story.
Three days without pictures? Apparently, a $59M house is so big that it takes days to shoot the photos, and weeks to process them.
You didn’t mention how many other important fields in the MLS posting went unfilled. Plenty, I’ll bet.
Sadly, the culprit is likely too “busy” to read and learn via posts like this on the BHB.
March 12, 2008 — 11:22 am
Rick Belben says:
Some of the stuff we see in the MLS never ceases to amaze me. Personally I think it is lazy/non caring agents. How hard is it to view your listing after you enter it. The photos or lack of in this day and age of digital photogragy – there is no excuse! Hey if you can not take good pictures at least try to brighten them up . Some are so dark I think they took them in the dark without a flash.
June 12, 2008 — 4:23 pm